Last of Historic Manor Inn Comes Down

by Judy Silberstein

(September 14, 2005) It was shortly after 10:30 am on Wednesday, September 14 when the huge, yellow excavator from T.M.I. Wrecking hoisted itself up a dirt bank behind 7 Propect Avenue to begin demolition on the last section of the old Manor Inn. Opened in 1893 as the Belvedere, the inn closed in 2003 after almost 50 years of being owned and operated by three generations of the Nyberg family. Last year, the midsection of the inn was demolished, and the adjoining portion on the corner of Magnolia Avenue was remodeled into a single-family home for the Mullaneys, who purchased the property with the aim of preserving much of the historic facade.

On Wednesday morning, the wing at the corner of Cedar and Propect Avenues was already sagging, with many windows shattered and doors askew, a result of the previous night's fire drill. The Larchmont and Town of Mamaroneck firefighters had been invited in for a training excercise. (Demolition of the Manor Inn Begins with a Fire Drill)

"It's a bittersweet moment - my goodness - when I was two years old, I was running through those hallways," said Chrissy Nyberg Bolton, the last operator of the inn. She was watching the demolition from atop the new home her husband, Michael Bolton, is in charge of constructing on the lot that was split off from the Manor Inn property when the building was sold. "All of the heartache that went into selling this property is gone," she said referring to the many years it took to find a new role for the inn that was acceptable to both the Nybergs and the community. (See, for example, No Demolition Permit Yet: All Parties Continue Pursuing Solutions for Manor Inn and Manor Inn (Finally) Sold)

"There goes the living room," she said, as the excavator bit into the back of the building like a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

"There goes our bedroom - that blue wall," said Michael Bolton. "There's Meghan's bedroom," said the Mullaneys, who were watching the demolition of their temporary shelter for the last year. It was only a few weeks ago that they'd moved over to their renovated home.

"It is kind of a bittersweet thing to see a house that's been part of the history of the community come down, " concurred Alix Laager, who with husband Rudy Laager and their three children will be moving into the new home at 34 Magnolia when it's ready. "But it gives us an opportunity to bring something new to the neighborhood," she added.

"After all the 'tsuris' in the beginning, this is coming to a happy ending," said Fred Petrosino, who used to live next-door to the Manor Inn and will now be next to the Laagers.

Family, friends and neighbors of the previous and current owners watched the last section of the Manor Inn come down.

The front of the Manor Inn, with the reception desk still inside, is the last to tumble.
(Front photos by Frank Cox)