The Towers of Atlantic Highlands: Inside the Strauss Mansion

High on a hillside overlooking Sandy Hook Bay, with a silhouette that commands the Atlantic Highlands skyline, stands a Queen Anne masterpiece known as the Strauss Mansion. With its steep gables, wrap-around porches, and a pair of distinctive towers, the house is a majestic reminder of the Gilded Age, when New York’s elite built “summer cottages” to catch the cooling sea breezes of the Jersey Shore.

Today, the 21-room mansion serves as the headquarters of the Atlantic Highlands Historical Society, surviving a brushes with the wrecking ball to become a portal into 19th-century opulence.

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The “49ers” and the Import King

In 1893, Adolph Strauss, a wealthy German-born importer of “notions”—small luxury items like harmonicas and needles—commissioned architect Solomon H. Cohen to design a summer retreat. Strauss was part of a close-knit group of New York businessmen living on 49th Street in Manhattan. Known as the “49ers,” these families flocked to Atlantic Highlands, transforming the sleepy Methodist camp meeting ground into a prestigious bayside resort.

To reach their mansions, these wealthy residents would take a steamboat from New York City, docking at a long pier that extended deep into the bay, where carriages awaited to whisk them up the winding, concentric streets to their hillside estates.

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Anatomy of “The Towers”

The Strauss Mansion earned the nickname “The Towers” due to its asymmetrical design, featuring one rounded tower and one six-sided tower on its western corners.

• The Exterior: The house is a texture-lover’s dream, clad in intricate patterns of fish-scale and pointed cedar shingles. Its two-story wrap-around porch was designed for one purpose: to offer panoramic views of the New York City skyline and the Atlantic Ocean.
• The Entryway: Visitors are greeted by a Dutch door topped with a stained-glass transom featuring Adolph Strauss’s initials (A.S.). Inside, the foyer is a showcase of Gilded Age wealth, featuring chestnut paneling, a grand mahogany staircase, and parquet floors of black walnut and golden oak.
• The Servant’s Life: While the Strauss family enjoyed the formal parlors and breezy bedrooms, a small staff (including servants Rosa Suchanita and Beatrice Snee) worked in the shadows, navigating the butler’s pantry and the third-floor servant quarters to keep the 21-room estate running smoothly.

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A Near-Death Experience and Resurrection

Following the death of Adolph Strauss in 1905, the mansion passed through a series of owners. By the 1970s, the “cottage” had been carved into apartments and eventually fell into such deplorable condition that it was condemned.

In 1981, the Atlantic Highlands Historical Society stepped in, purchasing the crumbling structure for $26,000. Their restoration journey was an uphill battle:

• The Stolen Windows: The previous owner had stripped the mansion of its original stained glass. The Society successfully tracked them down and repurchased them for $1,500.
• The Shingle Reveal: When volunteers stripped away ugly asbestos siding, they were thrilled to find the original 1893 cedar fish-scale shingles perfectly preserved underneath.
• A National Treasure: In 2012, the mansion was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places.

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If You Visit

The Strauss Mansion is more than just a house; it is a museum filled with local maritime history, vintage clothing, and period-correct Victorian rooms.

• Location: 27 Prospect Circle, Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716.
• The Tower Room: If you are feeling adventurous, climb the small staircase to the third-floor rounded tower for the best view in the house.
• Stained Glass: Look for the amber glow cast by the five original stained-glass windows in the foyer.
• Paranormal Tours: Like many Victorian homes with a long history, the Strauss Mansion is a favorite spot for ghost hunters and offers “lantern tours” during the autumn months.

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For More Information:

• Atlantic Highlands Historical Society (www.atlantichighlands-history.org)