Clear Comfort - The Second Floor

The Second Floor

Interior of Müllers' bedroom. Austen House. n.d. Photo courtesy of the Staten Island Historical Society.

The second floor was added as the house was expanded in the 18th and 19th centuries, but it was John Austen's alterations that made the second floor habitable. He raised the roof at the top of the main staircase to create a hallway; he added a diamond-paned skylight in the peak of the hallway and a skylight in the attic, both of which can be opened to provide ventilation.

Corner of south bedroom. Second floor of Austen house. n.d. Photo courtesy of the Staten Island Historical Society.

The south bedroom belonged to Alice's grandparents and then, after 1917, to Gertrude Tate. With three exposures and dormer windows on two sides, this room is extremely light and airy. A second bedroom adjoins a third at the north end of the house. These bedrooms were variously occupied by Uncle Peter, until his marriage in 1878, and by Aunt Minn and Uncle Oswald. Following John Austen's death in 1894, Oswald Muller became Clear Comfort's owner of record, and he and his wife became permanent residents, occupying both north bedrooms.

The "Quarter Deck" with porcelain ware and Oriental lanterns. n.d. Photo courtesy of the Staten Island Historical Society.

To create an expanded, semi-autonomous apartment for themselves, the Mullers enclosed the porch over the room that extended to the north of Alice's bedroom. This became their sitting room. They decorated it with Orientalia and nautical items and called it the "Quarter-Deck" because of its view of the Narrows and the harbor. To provide a private entry, the Mullers built an exterior staircase and closed off the staircase that had previously accessed the north bedrooms from Alice's bedroom below.

Back of Austen House. Exterior of the Mullers' apartment. n.d., after 1900. Photo courtesy of the Staten Island Historical Society.

At the turn of the century a large dormer was built on the west end of the northernmost bedroom to accommodate a bathroom. The Muller bathroom had specially built shelves on which Aunt Minn displayed her collection of bathroom-humor figurines. This collection was called the "Potter Family" after Aunt Minn's dear friend Bishop Potter, the Episcopal Bishop of New York.

Over the dining room and kitchen wing, and reached only by the kitchen staircase, were two additional bedrooms used by the servants. Over the east bedroom John Austen had installed a cupola to provide extra ventilation.

Museum Note: The second floor is used as a caretakers' residence, office, and storage space and is not open to the public.