Commack pizzeria owner to renovate historic Smithtown mansion
New owner hopes to have property tracing its roots back to town's founder restored in a year
A Commack pizzeria owner has purchased one of Smithtown’s historic mansions in the hopes of lovingly restoring it with his own two hands.
Richard Albano, owner of Richie’s Pizza in both Commack and Deer Park, became the landowner of Ebo Hill mansion on Edgewood Road March 8. Albano began renovating the three-story house nearly a month ago, unable to wait until the sale of the property was finalized.
“I feel a lot of passion for this home,” he said. “I’m working on it every day, restoring it. My goal is to make it look as it was when it was brand new.”
Albano, of Deer Park, said he stumbled upon the nearly 175-year-old mansion once owned by descendants of Smithtown’s founder, Richard Smythe, while hunting for a larger home for himself. Upon seeing it, he reached out to prior owner, RichardLongobardi, to inquire if it was for sale. Albano said he flipped eight houses in 10 months to raise funds necessary to purchase the property, then set up a tour.
“It’s so majestic,” he said. “Walking through the house on a 20-degree day with two flashlights in hand, you would expect it to be eerie. The house still had this warm, homey feeling to it.”
Albano declined to share the final sale price he negotiated with Longobardi for the historic property.
Albano admitted that despite flipping houses, or purchasing properties and reselling for profit since 1984, he has never taken on a project of this size or magnitude before. The more than 11,000-square-foot mansion, which he heard was last inhabited in 2001, contains 16 bedrooms, two kitchens, a master ballroom, and numerous bathrooms that have many of the building’s original fixtures.
According to “Colonel Rockwell’s Scrap-book” published by the Smithtown Historical Society in 1968, the house was built around 1846. It once belonged to Obadiah Smith, a great-grandson of Richard Smythe, before eventually becoming the homestead to Ethelbert Marshall Smith, another Smythe descendent, in 1877.
Albano said as he’s started renovating he’s found items spanning back through the centuries dating as far back as Ethelbert Smith’s years of ownership. A steel beam supporting the house’s structure is clearly marked “E.M. Smith” while the main staircase still has “Smith” written on it in pencil.
“Nobody at any point in time ripped anything apart to go replace it with something new,” Albano said. “They kept the original things working. I appreciate it very much.”
Other recent discoveries include the home’s original weather vane, a pogo stick, and a stitched needlepoint piece bearing the title of the Christian hymn “Nearer, My God, to Thee” found under the floorboards in the attic. Albano said it wasn’t until he tore the boards off the windows that he found the location of the refrigerated walk-in box, which he said was believed to be the first of its kind on Long Island.
One change made to the original house that its new owner wishes to undo is its location. The house was once moved from the northeast corner of Edgewood and Landing to sit further back on the property by Smith, according to “Colonel Rockwell’s Scrap-book.” Albano said he will be hiring a moving company to lift and move the house forward, setting it on a new foundation to improve stability and create a backyard.
The new owner said there have been a few issues with people trespassing in the home as work has been underway, but said it’s been largely out of curiosity rather than malicious intent.
“Once it’s presentable, I intend to open it up to the public for a day,” he said. “It’s part of Smithtown’s history.”
Albano said he hopes to move in and take up residency as soon as possible. If everything goes smoothly, he hopes to have the mansion renovated in about a year.
