Published on May 1, 2026 | Staten Island Advance | Written by Carol Ann Benanti
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — It’s been a long time since St. Paul’s Avenue was a two-way street paved with cobblestones, says Marjorie Hack, interim chair of Sundog Theatre’s board of directors.
It’s been a long time since residents of the Stapleton community gave the byway a nickname — Mud Lane — because, a century or more ago, heavy rains would slick the street with mud that washed down from the hillsides above, she also shared.
“And it’s been a long time since the community’s hills were home to many master brewers who gained fame and fortune turning out hundreds of thousands of barrels of beer each year, less than a mile away,” she went on to explain. “Evidence of that time still abounds, though.“
So on Sunday, May 31, one of the most iconic of these touchstones — the Bechtel House, located at 387 St. Paul’s Ave., will open its front door to visitors for an afternoon of music, beer, wine, light fare, and a guided tour.
Dr. Ted Brown, the home’s owner, has graciously agreed to allow a limited number of guests inside to take a look at the grand side of life that could be found on 19th-century Staten Island’s North Shore.
The event, which runs from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., is being organized by Sundog Theatre to benefit its arts in education programming as well as its popular theatrical performances.
The cost to visit is $100 per person, with just 100 tickets available.
The event is sponsored by Empire State Bank, and qualifies for the Diamond Matching Grant program.
‘Poster child’ of historic houses
Called the “poster child” of Staten Island’s historic houses, 387 St. Paul’s is a 4,180-square-foot Queen Ann-style “cottage,” complete with stained glass windows, an eye-catching turreted corner tower, gabled roofs and several recessed porches that seem to pop from every angle.
It was built in 1887 for beer baron George Bechtel as a wedding gift for his daughter, Anna Bechtel Weiderer, whose husband, Leonard Weiderer, owned a glass factory in Stapleton. (George Bechtel’s own Greek Revival home fronted Van Duzer Street. It was located on a lot that extended to the rear of 387, allowing Bechtel to create a family enclave with merged gardens.
Bechtel’s father founded Bechtel Brewery in Stapleton in 1853; George operated the brewery from 1870 to 1889 when he died, and the business passed to his wife, Eva.)
Sadly, the young Wiederers lived in the home only a few years; Leonard died in 1891 and Anna returned to Germany, remarried, and died there in 1899 at the age of just 31.
The exquisite dwelling at 387 St. Paul’s Ave. is part of the Stapleton Heights Historic District and is a designated New York City landmark. The home’s architect was Hugo Kafka Sr., who immigrated to the U.S. from Prague.
