I slept in it, lived in it, ate in it. Yes, but it was weird. Of course, I went to school here. The mansion was gorgeous! And I didnt realize it because I was always working. Then there was the main hall that went through, just like this: door, front door, back door. And there were two windows, like this. Oh, thats right. And he asked me would I be interested in working for him out here on Staten Island. I knew what she looked like, I knew where it was. Q: Did you keep up a conversation with Mario Buatta about. In a house that you dont even own? So I got this on the front porch somewhere, nailed to the house, butdoesnt matter. Burke: Yes, Mario come out all the time. And I know everythingId love to go out to Staten Island. So he said, Good. Obituary George W. Burke, age 63, of Hull, entered into eternal rest on October 2, 2021. Yes, but that was all the legal aspect of it. Im sure some will. The walkway going to the beach, its still there, where the house was. Im joining the Air Force. So I went out and I joined the United States Air Force of course. Oh shit, Im going to have to rebuild the wall. So I started pulling the bricks out, and wrapped up where one of the bricks was, was an oil cloth rag all wrapped up. Daller: Well, yes. Because she would always want her bottle of booze. Burke - 1 - 2 and grew up 90% of my time on Staten Island until I became old enough and I joined the military. Dont look at me. And we recognized Mario at the event. And that was the Air Force. So that had the outside kitchen. They even stopped you riding in the parks. Q: You mentioned that the South Shore has changed in the last few years. Put through the years, people recognized it and everything. And then Iwhatd I do then, Ioh, I paid for this house, didnt I? I moved in, I cleaned it all up. Its all stay in here. Im gonna save this house. And I took interior design and the history of architecture, and something else. Its just a shame. I remember you always loved it and liked it. So thank you. I hope it isnt that the people who have access come in and empty it because Ive had people say, Oh, when youre not here, Im taking that painting, and Im taking that painting, and I want that couch, you know. Located in Staten Island, NY. But what she did is she sold off parcel after parcel in order for her to live here in the house because she had no income. And it was very much built like this house. And that was a kitchen, and that was bedrooms and a little living room, all up there. I was Thats whats in this whole house, all the things you see. All my life, I was raised in a big house. Because, now, they cant tear it down. Daller: Yes. Burke: Yes, there was a little man in New Jersey. I said to him, Are you kidding? Burke: And Im leaving everything thats in the houseits staying. Daller: At least the property itself, because when you stood outside, I mean, you couldnt see anything. Lets move out, youre being kicked out anyway, the house is sold. She was a nasty old lady! But that was funny. Well, what are we talking about? Burke: I had a beautiful big old house in Tottenville that I loved. And it was actually three stories high. Are you still interested? And I said, Well, of course I am. Q: And, do you keep records on, on those kinds of things? But she used to wear three, four dresses and she smelled like an old goat! Burke: So that should pretty well cover it, I think. Burke: And its great when you have friends come, you have extra bedrooms, you can put them all up. Burke: Theyll come in, but youll have to have somebody as a guide. Q: Yes. Just landmarked. It was similar, only bigger and more ornate. Hes the man that built the house. They cant just say, The doors are open for anybody, just walk in! Somebody will walk in, and say, Oh, I like those chairs, pick them up, and take them, and theyll be gone. So it was fascinating. This whole corneryou could stand and see the street out there, so this whole corner was rebuilt. And it never had a kitchen. Of course, nothings there. Yes, the dining room and the kitchen was on the other two, side. I dreamed, I saw it. So she finally died. And I often wondered what happened to that brooch because I gave it to Bess. Its a part of the history that should remain. And that still is, today, one of the great places around here, the Old Bermuda Inn, and John still owns it. If you are going to stay, you better do this this and this, whatever the hell it was. Ill make you the drapes. The drapes are still up there. And thats what where all the water, for all the laundry, and all that kind of stuffnot the drinking water, the working waterwould come out of that big cistern, and would go intoand the pump and everything, its still down there, connected to that thing out there. Q: So what was it like when you had the house finished and furnished? So my sister Bess said, Well, come on, lets go to Florida. Im gonna save it, its a gorgeous house!. It was unbelievably gorgeous. Ill tell you the good stuff! [laughs] And that was it. And they said, Well, we cant handle it, George. And then I decided Id get involved again with things that are going on. Burke: Well, when it came to really heavy construction, like this whole wall being rebuilt and things, I had to hire carpenters and I had to hire plasters to plaster the ceiling. Q: And so when you were deciding what to collect, were you thinking about. And I was in the medical department, worked in the operating room. GEORGE CROAKE OBITUARY. You couldnt see the grounds through the trees and it was just covered and everything. So, I dont know. It has to stay exactly as an old plantation house. Q: No, that covers it! Cohasset crypto case: Everything court documents reveal. Burke: One was a necklace with a heart on it. Nobody wants to do that. This old? And then finally I had a man come in and talking to me about how hes bought a place on Staten Island that hes opening up a place like Saks only not as nice. Thanks very much to you. And then I shipped it all back home. Burke: Oh, God, I stood on the edge here and I watched what was going on over there. But the basement was the summer dining rooms and summer kitchen. Because Evelyn didnt like the house, his wife. Coach Robert Joseph "Bob" Burke, 74, died April 4, 2020, at home, surrounded by his loving family, in Wilson, N.C. Q: So part of why it closed was because. I dont know if it ever took off. No, it wasnt that. In fact, my mother worked there. And then, on the side of the house in the back, there was a little piece built out. You want to take down every statue thats been there for a thousand years because, No, that statue shouldnt be there. I think hes given you a great history of what started and, basically, youve talked about his life from the beginning, so, I dont know. These are those Persian carpets. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a member of the Historic House Trust. Of course, when I bought the house, that was all weeds growing up among the bricks. Because the water was in the basement for so many years, all the dampness had lifted all the floorboards and everything, and so I had to dry the house out, and replaster the walls. And my fatherwe were quite wealthy, growing up. Is there anything else that you would like to add about the house as it is now, the history, or the future of the house? It turned my stomach just to watch all of that gorgeous stuff just destroyed. Burke: But everything will stay here exactly as it is, because if its going to be a museum, people are not going to come in and look at empty walls. So she said, Bess said, Were going to have to quit, George. I said Oh, shit. And a lot of people kept their horses in the stables. And then upstairs was like a big balcony above that porch. And I had more bargains from Mrs. Murphy. So I go downstairs. So I said to her, I said Bess, the only thing Ill save your house is a bulldozer! And one day I got a call from Mrs. Seguine. I want it now. I could never get it. Tarrytown-Sleepy Hollow. But alls I know, they closed in New York and they moved out there. Q: [laughs] How did you figure out what needed to be done with the house? Burke: But what were we going into before I got into the architecture? Interviewing George Burke, and. So everything just kept going off and someone would have all of this, someone would have all of that. And I went to Hammersmith College. Burke: I went and I was stationed in England, and I loved being in England. And I looked in the thing, I said, Holy shit. On a goddamn pillared mattress sleeping? Burke: Yes. And they were slate, the roof, and by walking on the slates, they broke and they slid off, and wherever they slid off, the rain poured through because it was holes. I fixed it up. But the problem is, its so limited on Staten Island. And it was quite difficult to maintain the big house we were living in. I was in the mansion when the sisters lived there. . But that was the cistern for doing all the laundry and everything in the basement. Most of them were little things. Brother Celestine George Burke, an educator who was a member of the Brothers of the Christian Schools for 63 years, died on Thursday at Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, N.J. . And they were going to pay for everything if they owned it. It was a sweet sixteen Ill never forget. And he was so good. But I restored all that. And that was only one of them. So tell me about when you went to Europe. And each little petal and everything is done beautiful. Q: Was it Mario that suggested the life tenancy agreement? Theyre getting rid of everything! But Id go off with Murphy and wed go to these estate sales and most of the stuff thats in here was, I bought and shipped it all back. I did go around and take pictures of what was left of some of them. Yes, he helped me with the colors, and this and that, and what I should getgood orientals for the floor, which I had but they werent these. Like this chair that youre sitting in, these are Chippendale chairs in the Chinese style. You made enough money. Its down in Tottenville, beautifully done. I took forty-four big trees down in the front field just so you could clear the front and see the house. What the hell is this? All of a sudden, she went, Youre in my house, and get out! Holy Christ. Remember him? Yes. Lets keep fighting it, because there was no way to fight. But anyway, she said, No, Im not going in. And with the money that I made from there, I put it right back in the building. Q: And you said that you restored the garden there too? So I run downstairs. I put the post on it up under the floor where the newer posts in the staircase was upstairs, and then, when I took the jack away, it sat on the post. And I said, Well, the smell is still there. And I said to her, Whatever happened to the old girl? And she said, Well, years ago, when she died, she said, she was laid out in the front parlor in the coffin, and it was nothing but lilacs. And a lot of it got given away, got lost. Daller: From Michael and Jennifer, your nephew. There was nine of us in the whole family. Burke: Yes. Yes. And Diane said, Oh, Marian has it.. So that was the reason we chose to do a White Party. Burke: Oh, I loved her. Burke: Of course, I come from a big house. Do you drink? No, we dont drink. So I would collect all the stamps. Email or phone: Password: . Q: Your collection of the items that you bought from Mrs. Murphy. He says, Hes my good friend, and so on, We live on Staten Island. And I got to know a tremendous amount of people that way. Staten Island, Richmond County, NY Genealogy Site - Staten Island Recent Obituaries My big old Victorian house is saved, and thats still there. Thats why I did what I did, because I figured that if anything ever happens to me, all of this, now, will have to stay as it is. And that was, Mrs.these mirrors came from that house, they were in the parlor in that houseWhat the hell was her name? The roof was shot because the old guy that was caretaker here, he used to walk around on the roof and watch all the boats in the harbor. So then I said, well, what the hell am I gonna do? I think I got the two of them for five bucks or something like that. Daller: I mean, that big wrap-around porch that went all the way around the house. Daller: No, that still has to be discussed. And we were sitting in the kitchen in the basement and he was going on the Ouija board and I said, What does it say, what does it say? And Eric is sitting there and hes talking, and hes sounding like a lady, and hes saying, Youre in my house, and I dont want you. So I said, whew! Put a candle right in the middle of that floor and go take a walk. [laughs] He called it the one-candle house. And when they werent in the house, they would go and buy them at the stores, and there was always lilacs in the house. And with that money, I restored most of the house. Oh god, that was a gorgeous mansion. Wed go down through the junk yards and whatnot. So its a shame. Constantly. Create an obituary. So he came out. I probably gave it to Bess. If you want to come in a business with me, John, lets make into a beautiful restaurant. So he said, Okay, Ive never owned a restaurant, but Id be willing to try it, George. So I said, Well, John, youre gonna have to put a lot of money in it because you have all the money, as being who you are. Burke: Yes, she held the mortgage on it. I think so. And then, it wasI guess that was in the spring, then later on, I dont know what I was doing. And I took that room and made it into the dining room. Take a walk. I said, No, no, Im gonna save this house. He said, Oh! So they went into repairing things. And as I said, for a thing of whiskey or a bottle of wine, theyd give you anything, because none of them have had it for years and years. And my brother Bill and my brother Ed decided to go into an automobile repair shop. Prince Edward Island. So I had all my goodies packed in a box, getting ready to go. What is a shame is some of the mansionsthe really, really ornate mansions that were torn down. Who Where Receive obituaries Yenula Hennaka February 24, 2023 But the story that was cuteremember the lady in England, the antique dealer, that used to bring her bottles all the time? So they. I said, Well, the only one I know that talked like that is Bess Seguine. She said, Well, this is me. I said, What is it, Bess? She said, I want you to come and save my house. I said, Are you kidding, Bess? I said, as a kid growing up, we were always down on the beach, looking back up at this big white house that looked like a big Southern mansion. Burke: She has it. I should really do something to save it. And it just was luck that I had just sold a real estate deal and made a lot of money. So we brought that point up a few times. Daller: We lived several places. Staten Island, Richmond County, NY Genealogy Site - Staten Island Recent Obituaries There isnt a room he doesnt go into. Where were you stationed and what was it like? So I come home dead tired. Valley Stream. And he was stationed here, in St. George, and he would come home and wed live in the house. He was the top interior designer in New York. Help NYPAP document and celebrate NYCs preservation movement. Q: Can you tell me about moving the collections here, out of storage and out of your sisters houses into this house? And he was the one that took me around and showed me where to get the good fabric. Q: [Laughs] Yes. And she used to drink all the whiskey like crazy. Thats what I was. And then one of my brothers had just gotten out of the military. Come here, Marge. I said, What? They said, Sell this goddamn place. And the house was really, needed shapebut thank God it was built as well is it was built, otherwise it would have fallen down. So when I got it, of course, the old kitchen was inI had knocked it down because it was all falling apart. His family was like aristocratic. Oh, God, it was gorgeous. So I made sure it was filled in with dirt the rest of the way, so I wouldnt have that water getting in the basement. Staten Island, Brooklyn, New York, Kings, Long Island, and New Jersey (718) 966-7800 They couldnt. The story about the coat that you had from Alaska? Mom, you own the house, you own at least part of it, or half of it. By Carol Ann Benanti | benanti@siadvance.com STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- It's designated one of Staten Island's signature society events of the year, a. George Burke. Daller: That was the house that had ghosts. And it did all the dental workany kind of dental work and everything was manufactured there. 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