Barons of Broadway #34
In this episode of Barons of Broadway, we return to 18 Castle Heights as it undergoes a remarkable transformation from a simple Federal style building into a grand Gilded Age Queen Anne Victorian residence. Nyack dentist Harvey Gilchrest and his wife, Evelina Tallman, commissioned this distinctive design from renowned Nyack architect Horace Greeley Knapp. Over the next eighty-eight years, three generations of Nyack dentists occupied this home. For a period of five or six years, three generations of Gilchrests practiced dentistry together in a Nyack office. Here is the story of the house’s transformation and the legacy of three generations of beloved Nyack dentists.
Transition from Leonard to Tallman to Gilchrest
In our last episode, we explored the life of Moses Leonard, who built the two-story brick building at 18 Castle Heights. In 1871, Leonard left Nyack to return to Brooklyn, selling his residence to John G. Tallman. After Tallman’s death in 1878, the house passed to his daughter, Evelina Tallman, who had married Harvey Gilchrest six years earlier. The Gilchrests then took possession of the house.
The House at 18 East Castle Heights Avenue
As previously noted, Moses Leonard constructed a two-story Federal-style brick house around 1855. The home, situated on a knoll, offered commanding views of the Hudson River. When John G. Tallman purchased the house in 1871, he was already making his mark in Nyack as the first local manufacturer of organs, including one installed at Grace Episcopal Church. He also operated the old Sturtevant piano factory at Third Avenue and Broadway.
After inheriting the house, Evelina Tallman and Harvey Gilchrest decided in 1888 to modernize it. They hired Horace Greeley Knapp, who had recently designed the stunning Queen Anne Victorian at 309 North Broadway for James Bennet. Then at the height of his architectural prowess, Knapp incorporated Queen Anne details into the existing structure and added a third floor plus a tower. In addition, he included numerous other details, such as porches, a wine-glass balcony, dormers, and a porte-cochere. Construction was carried out by M.W. and H. DeBaun, Nyack’s most renowned builders of the Gilded Age.
Though the exterior was transformed, the interior retained a comparatively austere style. According to the Historical Society of the Nyacks’ 2017 Great Nyack House Tour booklet, later owners completed what the Gilchrests had started, further opening the interior and decorating it to match the grand exterior. The porte-cochere on the western front was eventually removed.
Starting around 1970, Joe Christopher, the longtime owner of Nyack’s premier antiques store, acquired the house. Now, let’s take a closer look at the Gilchrest family, who inhabited the home for nearly nine decades.
Harvey Charles Gilchrest (1850–1932)
The Gilchrests, an old Nyack family, had roots in the village dating back to at least the early 19th century. Harvey’s parents, Charles C. Gilchrest and Eleanor (Ellen) Appleby, married in 1835. Charles worked as a ship carpenter, likely at the Van Houten boatyard in Upper Nyack.
Harvey attended Upper Nyack’s first school, which he described as “a little brown schoolhouse up the road to the Christian Herald Home.” Later, he studied at Lee’s private school, located on land that later became the Liberty Street School. His teachers, Mrs. Ransom and Mrs. Barker, kept students until dark if they were slow to finish their lessons.
When Harvey was 14, his father died, prompting him to leave school to support his mother. He took a job at Smith Tallman’s farm for $3 a week. His interest in steamboats grew, influenced by Smith Tallman’s brother, who captained the Metamora, a steamboat traveling from Poughkeepsie to New York City via Nyack. Harvey’s office would later feature paintings of the Metamora and the Armenia, another early steamboat. He may have acquired one of these paintings for $2.50 at an auction of works by local naval artist Julian O. Davidson.
Harvey apprenticed under his uncle, Dr. George Wright, whose dental office stood at the southwest corner of Main and Broadway. After a one-year apprenticeship, he attended the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery, graduating in 1871 at age 21.
Harvey Gilchrest and Photography
At some point, Dr. Gilchrest took up photography. Nyack photographer Lewis Stockmeyer collected several glass plate negatives, and the Stockmeyer family made several prints from these negatives, later gifting them to the Historical Society of the Nyacks. The detail in each print is astounding.
The photographs include Nyack streetscapes, such as one of the Harrison & Dalley department store on Main Street (later Woolworths). Two rare Gilded Age interior shots depict the Glynn shoe store and the Gilchrest dental office, giving us a strong sense of the Gilded Age shopping and dental experience.
Service to the Community
Despite practicing dentistry for 67 years, Harvey found time to serve his community. He was elected mayor of Upper Nyack for one term and served for many years as village justice. During World War I, he acted as a director of Rockland County and was a lifetime member of Upper Nyack’s Empire Hook and Ladder Fire Company.
In 1885, Harvey became a trustee of the new Upper Nyack School on School Street, alongside fellow Barons of Broadway Garret Sarvent and J.P. Voris. An avid reader, he found time for books even after being struck by a car while pushing a child to safety on Broadway.
The Gilchrest’s Dental Offices
Harvey began his practice immediately after graduation, initially working above DeGraff Pharmacy in the Moeller Block on South Broadway between Main and Burd Street. For many years, he partnered with C.D. Smith, a past president of the Nyack YMCA. When Smith passed away in 1895—the same year Harvey’s son John graduated from dental school—John joined his father’s practice.
The office later moved to 86 Main Street, above Blauvelt Pharmacy (now Koblin’s Pharmacy). Gilchrest’s photograph from the 1890s shows the office’s Victorian décor, with a dental chair and drill tucked into a corner. The office narrowly escaped destruction in 1915 when a fire consumed the neighboring Harrison & Dalley department store (later the Woolworth building). Firefighters saved the office, though the rear section sustained severe damage.
In 1927, the practice relocated to 37 South Broadway above the YMCA. For about six years, three generations of Gilchrests worked there together.
The Second and Third Generations of Gilchrest Dentists
John Tallman Gilchrest attended Rockland College, located on Sickle Avenue near Oak Hill Cemetery, and later graduated from the Packard School of Business in 1892 with a degree in accounting. Finding little interest in the field, he pursued dentistry at the New York College of Dentistry, graduating in 1895. He married Eula Blauvelt that same year.
Like his father, John was deeply involved in the community. As president of the Upper Nyack Board of Education for 24 years, he resisted efforts to consolidate the school district with the Nyack School District. During his tenure, the district agreed to acquire the house of Hugh Maxwell, one of the first Barons of Broadway. At the time of the purchase, Pierre Bernard, founder of the Clarkstown Country Club, owned the property.
He also served as president of the Empire Hook and Ladder Fire Company and held a 26-year position on the Clarkstown Board.
Details from the porches of 18 Castle Heights Avenue.
His son, John Gerald (Gerald), continued the dental tradition after graduating from Nyack High School in 1920. He served in the U.S. Navy for three years in the Pacific during World War II. The final year of the war he served aboard the Shelby. An accomplished craftsman, he spent his free time making jewelry, a hobby he learned while in the Navy.
Later, his hobby shifted to restoring cane chairs, a process he learned from Joseph Auer, one of Nyack’s first postmen. He also collected stamps, coins, and minerals. A generous man, he often donated his restored cane chairs to benefit sales for Nyack Hospital and the YMCA. Like his grandfather, he served as mayor of Upper Nyack. He passed away in 1968, marking the end of the Gilchrest family’s tenure at 18 Castle Heights Avenue.
The Gilchrest Legacy
The Gilchrests left behind a remarkable legacy, not only in dentistry but also as civic leaders and historians. Their preserved photographs provide invaluable glimpses into Nyack’s Gilded Age, while their contributions to education, public service, and historic preservation remain a vital part of the town’s history. Thanks to preservation-minded owners, the architectural masterpiece they once called home still stands as a testament to their influence and Knapp’s extraordinary craftsmanship.
Mike Hays lived in the Nyacks for 38-years. He worked for McGraw-Hill Education in New York City for many years. Hays serves as President of the Historical Society of the Nyacks, Vice-President of the Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center, and Upper Nyack Historian. . Married to Bernie Richey, he enjoys cycling and winters in Florida. You can follow him on Instagram as UpperNyackMike.
Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by Sun River Health and Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty. Sun River Health is a network of 43 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) providing primary, dental, pediatric, OB-GYN, and behavioral health care to over 245,000 patients annually. Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty is the lower Hudson Valley’s Leader in Luxury. Located in the charming Hudson River village of Nyack, approximately 22 miles from New York City. Our agents are passionate about listing and selling extraordinary properties in the Lower Hudson Valley, including Rockland and Orange Counties, New York.
