So I went up with Father Tom and I had to take care of all those Eskimos, if any of them got sick or hurt this or that. But, Q: Let me ask you some more about the items that you collected when you were. 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. Get service details, leave condolence messages or send flowers in memory of a loved one in New York. And he said, George, you know, that big, beautiful house that sits empty? 06/26/1943 - 02/20/2023. Burke: Sure. You couldnt tell what it was. Daller: But when you got it, it really was in need of repair. And I never got along with her that much because everything I wanted to do, she said, No, no, no, I dont like that. Of course, when I bought the house, that was all weeds growing up among the bricks. Burke: Oh, well, look what I did. Burke, who knew of the home and property from the time when he was a child, was committed to the challenge. If you lived in Alaska, where it was always cold, it was fine. Because she would always want her bottle of booze. Burke: Its right on the Boulevard and it goes down to the beach. I traveled all over the world, traveled to Alaska, all over, with the military. Save my house. And I thought, Oh, shit. I was down on the beach one day, I forgot what were doing. They are Chinese Chippendale. All Rights Reserved, Town Departments at Work: The role of each part of your local government. Do you drink? No, we dont drink. So I would collect all the stamps. I bought those buildings. The only thing that will save this house as a bulldozer! [laughs] But anyway, I saved it. I forgottheres ten acres that is landmarked now. So as long as you have people, youre going to have change, and people are going to say, That doesnt work! You could imagine what the mansion looked like. We were only allowed so much. And I invested in a couple of things. Q: Yes. And it was twice the size of this house. Burke: Okay. Because people will come in, and therell be four or five people and somebody will walk by and just pick this up, and pick that up. So I picked up this one building that had a little old bar next to it. And then of course, being in New York and being in the thing like that, I got to be very, very good friends, with Scalamandr. When I bought it, I didnt know what was that ones house. I knew what she looked like, I knew where it was. And then the Historic House Trust will use it as well to understand whats important to you about maintaining the house. Burke: I used to, but I didnt I didnt keep it on everything. So as long as I own it, I own it, theyll pay for it. But I mean, that wasthe holes, the plaster gone. And she said, George, do you know who this is? and with her big Southern accent. Donald was born August 16th, 1954, in Staten Island, New York, to Michael and Eleanor. Yes, that was all Scalamandr. And then, on the side of the house in the back, there was a little piece built out. So because it was done like the French did, I never had to pay tax, or only tax on a two-story house, instead of a three-story. And she said, George, you have so much with design and such, I want you to take over the wallpaper department and the fabric department. I did fantastic for the store. 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? He said he believes that whoever was in that other house, really didnt want people there. So I said, Well, Bess, if youre interested in doing it, Im interested in doing it.. And now the people that I sold it to, the Pistillis [James and Kathleen Pistilli], they had the whole thing researched and now its got landmark things on it and everything. Find your ancestry info and recent death notices for relatives and friends. You want to take down every statue thats been there for a thousand years because, No, that statue shouldnt be there. And one day, I was sitting in the dining room. Of course, over therewhen I was over thereEngland was just getting out of the bad part of the War [World War II], and they had nothing over there. Im getting rid of everything. He said, I have three of the most beautiful Persian carpets from Persia, said, You cant get them anymore. He said, Theyre antiques but they are brand new, never used. He said, Im giving them to you. And this is them. And places on Staten Island are being destroyed every minute of the dayyou find another house is goingand its happening in all the boroughs! The whole family kind ofand the ladies got too old, and they decided they were going to move and go live inI think Georgia or Virginia, I forgot. Or next to the chair where she was sitting. And it was one of those busy, busy, goddamn nights. Daller: Well, you did at a certain point, because you have a lot of photos. So I had all my goodies packed in a box, getting ready to go. In my early twenties? And I had the two apartments! And in the meantime, I made a couple of little investments and they turned out very well for me. And, oh, nobefore then, when I had moved in, I had moved in, and the house had been empty for years. Yes, and I had bought the house, but I couldnt have the house and move in until she died. And so I had all that stuff in my apartment. I was living in London, and I was studying the history of art and design, or something like that, in the University of London, and he was going and he was studying art. So I went down and I just went around and everything I seenall the stuff you see hanging in this house, most of it come from me going around and wheeling and dealing in, you might as well say, the black market. Q: And did you keep records of the restoration process? Then I got shipped to Europe. I think there were hundreds of people that worked there. Q: When you were youngwhen you were a kid. So they went into repairing things. Daller: And he formed the board in order to support the house. Q: And will the board continue and play a role in in that? The story about the coat that you had from Alaska? And my neighbor across the street, who had lived there forever, she comes over again with a couple of little plants for me. 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. I got one or two things out of it. Daller: Yes, well, thats what we just said, yes. My mother and his wife never got along too well. Daller: Oh, theOh God now, whats it called? Sure, Id no idea of ever owning his house because I had a beautiful big house in Tottenvillebig French style house. And on top of that, I still worked for Sherwin Williams. I went to boot camp, I loved it. Burke: What its been like for you to live here. Q: So he knew how much work it would take over the years and what a relationship would be like to. Burke: Down in the basement, my friend Eriche was great, with this Ouija board and all this stuffand he said, George, lets do a seance! So we got a bunch of people together and we went all down in the basement. Daller: Then you got rid of thatbut those are the early days. I loved them too. Q: And so when you were deciding what to collect, were you thinking about. And a friend of mine I was very good friendly with was John. And that was the end of that. Burke: So then I gave it to the Historic House Trust of New York. George, now in his eighties, donated the house in exchange for a life tenancy, which has made living here a lot easier. So that was the reason we chose to do a White Party. Then she got to the point where she couldnt keep it anymore. Q: Yes, absolutely. He upholstered that chair with the things in the back. Big fluted columns with big Corinthian capitals on them. Burke kept records of the work, most of which he completed himself and financed the through the sale of his business, the Tidewater Inn. [laughs] But, itll be here. Burke: Well, the house, actually, from the outside, is aoh, shitthe name of it went right out of my head. And if you went around with Mario Buatta, that was like going with the President of the United States. Youd have to see the house to see what Im talking about. I dont know if it ever took off. And I know everythingId love to go out to Staten Island. So he said, Good. Q: So those things that you got later on, afterthey didnt come from Europe. Obituary: George W. Burke October 07, 2021 George W. Burke, 63 George W. Burke, of Hull, died on Oct. 2. Get out. Q: And you said that you restored the garden there too? And that was only one of them. And I took interior design and the history of architecture, and something else. The real estate lady wouldnt come in. And I studied architecture and the history of design and everything, I know all that. Daller: Well, he said, he felt that house had spirits in it. And then, where they built the schoolwhat is that girls school up here? And then when you could see the house, it was a goddamn mess. All rights reserved. Its down in Tottenville, beautifully done. And thats what they were doing in France to keep from getting it taxed. And I gave that, I thinkI dont know if I gave it to Bess. Burke: So I did that [sold the Tidewater Inn]. And he said, George, Im selling my business. 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. And these roofs had big arches, like this. There were some gorgeous mansions. I saved it years and years ago. She said, Now you can save it., And I said, Well, I can save it. And it didnt take long to sell because it was a big piece of property, nice house. Q: How did you establish a relationship with the Parks Department and the Historic House Trust? And I never had timesometimes Id be sleeping on the pool table there because I just couldnt leave! Prepare a personalized obituary for someone you loved.. And then, it was declared unsafe, and they come in and knocked it down. The ceilings had fallen down because a lot of the drain pipes had leaked. And you would have been taxed in this country if it was already like that. I bought the house and Bess and Marge came over. We had beautiful stuff in our home, all the time. Linda? The columns werent square wooden ones, like these, they were beautiful fluted ones with all the Corinthian leaves on the tops of them and all that stuff. And we had our barracks, of course, and having your barracks, the only thing you had was a big trunk where you kept all your clothes in. And I went to Hammersmith College. I had a bulldozer two weeks, riding back-and-forth, and back-and-forth, and back-and-forth across the front of the house because you couldnt see the house from the water. Daller: Yes. And, minute he bought the house, did a little work in it, put it right up for sale. It doesnt happen on the North Shore because were very condensed and its a dense population. Daller: And he uses every room, he doesnt sit in one room. They gave me the fabric and they did it and such. And I had beautiful big pieces of Meissen that I got when I was in Germany, and it all went here and there andI cant get it back. Visitation will be held on April 24, 2015 at 2:00 pm at Casey Funeral Home, 350 Slosson Ave, Staten Island, NY. Burke: Oh, God, I stood on the edge here and I watched what was going on over there. We are a big family. Daller: Well, remember how much it took to paint the whole house, and how you had to paint sections of it? Thats the only thing in the house left from the Seguines. And I got a big certificate for saving that. But they hadnt been there, maybe five, six years, and I guess they decided, Oh! [laughs]. Were not going to stay and put up with these two people. Burke: And its great when you have friends come, you have extra bedrooms, you can put them all up. I moved in, I cleaned it all up. He brought a crowd with him and it was just to tell him thank you for everything that hes done. February 26, 2023 (70 years old) View obituary. And people were coming from all over the island. Q: And thats what allowed you to buy this house? There was nine of us in the whole family. And in the basement, I put the kitchen and a dining area and everything. And I miss all those horses. And getting an American Dollar from being in the service, getting my payeven though it wasnt that muchbut at that time, over there, it was worth a fortune. He was an antiquehe had a big rug business in. And I did, I got in St. George wasnt it? Up until a year ago, he was still cutting the lawn! Unfortunately, you got to find environmentalists, theyve got to look for things and theyve got to point things out. But anyway, I had come back to America. Ill help renovate it, fix it up and such. And thats what we did. I went to grammar school and high school here. I bet shes there. Yes. Burke: About the candle? Daller: But thats how he [referring to the painting of Mr. Seguine] came back to the house. The Seguine Mansion, also known as The Seguine-Burke Mansion, is located on Lemon Creek near the southern shore of Staten Island. Dont remember what happened to it, right? His family was like aristocratic. All my life, I was raised in a big house. My father was in the political-end, and he was in Borough Hall and everything like that. And, of course, being in the military and traveling with them, the government shipped all my stuff that I bought and picked upshipped it all back to America for me. Valhalla. So theres no more Scalamandr, I dont think, is there? I said to him, Are you kidding? Its, all the numbers are accounted for. We have a choice in having a caretaker come in also to maintain it. So my mother decided she would make it into a two-family, and rent out one part of it. You know, everybody grew up together. So thank you. Ill do that. So that was over in Port Richmondits still there, I understand, the store. 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. They dont know it. All that gorgeous porcelain, like the Flower Sellers Childrenits a big piece like that. Everything has to be environmentally done properly, so by the time you figure it out, youre spending more money, when youre making no money because you have no horses. George Burke. I bet. Wed go down through the junk yards and whatnot. Pay for it traveled all over, with the things in the whole house, but mean... 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