Among the first owners on this block was engineer Reginald Pelham Bolton, who purchased 638 West 158th Street in 1897 and lived there with his wife Ethelind Huyck Bolton until his death in February 1942.

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Described as the "no. 1 Citizen of Washington Heights" in his New York Times obituary, Bolton was an avocational historian, writer, archeologist, and neighborhood activist.

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Most significantly, he was an early proponent of historic preservation and served as Vice President of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society; New York's first organized preservation lobby.

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(excerpt from URRA RFE.)