Past and Present

At present the John Green House (JGH) is recognizable by its dramatic location at the foot of Nyack's Main street and its beautiful red sandstone brick. The house is going through a variety of architectural and structural restorations. Happily, 2023 saw the successful restoration of the North Wall and more. The following features illustrate the present versus the past in a series of "slide to reveal" images. Grab and slide the white slider to compare past and present on each image.

Use the slider below to see how the 2024 restored North wall (and near completion of West wall restoration) makes a vibrant and tangible difference.

Use the slider on the image below to see how the state of the house in 2022 (pre-North Wall restoration, incl. wall supports which were also removed) differs from the house's idealized condition in the 19th century (as captured in Beverley Bozarth's painting). As rehabilitation and restoration plans proceed, it becomes likely that the house will once again have this pleasing appearance.

Slide the bar below to see how today's JGH differs from its condition in roughly the 1980's when its outer walls had a layer of stucco. The stucco, in turn, covered up some concrete patchwork on the original sandstone walls. Notice anything about the front (North) door in this era?

The final slider "comparison" takes a look at the dramatic unfinished painting by the prominent American artist (and Nyack resident) Edward Hopper, understood to have been painted in roughly 1900, depicting what appears to be the John Green House in the background of a Hudson River scene. We can't be entirely sure, though.. What do you think? The distinctive roof and sandstone walls of the JGH can clearly be made out. Hopper would often go down Second Avenue to the riverfront to row a boat, sketch, or watch the industrial and shipping activities happening at that time. This really could be a view of the JGH. Use the slider to the right to reveal an image of the present-day JGH composited roughly where Hopper depicts it in the painting (of course the perspective is not perfect due to artistic license taken by Hopper and the difficulty of staging such a photograph today).

*Edward Hopper "Sailboat with a House on the Nearby Shore" via the Whitney Museum of Modern Art Hopper Collection