Adapted from correspondence from Carol Clarke, Archivist, Bryant Library Local History Collection, March 2021.

The building currently standing at 14 Tower Place was constructed sometime after 1916 as the private home of movie theater owner Emil T. Rinas and his wife, Nellie. A nineteenth century structure that previously stood on the site was rented by the Roslyn Board of Education to house a separate educational annex for Black children, commonly known as the "Colored School." Written and oral recollections of former residents who attended the annex before it closed around 1916, as well as a reference to a statement made by Emil Rinas' daughter Rita that "their house was not the old school" corroborate this information.

It is not improbable that the foundation and/or parts of the old structure may have been incorporated into the new house since utilizing existing building materials seems to have been a common practice of builders of the time.

Although both buildings share the same site, the existing building is a totally different structure than the one that housed the educational annex. In fact, there is evidence in the Bryant Libary collections that shows that classes for Black children were conducted at locations other than the Tower Place site at times during the nineteenth century.

The building is currently being used as office space.