I am writing to request assistance in preserving the North Bronx childhood home of Adelina Patti, the most famous 19th century singer. Modern day diva Patti Lupone is her great-grand niece. Adelina Patti was the first diva, and was able to overcome sexism of the era. Adelina was a progressive Victorian woman who lived with a man before marriage, which was very rare at the time, and she was discriminated against as a result. She is one of the first Victorian women to help us get out of corsets.

Adelina was an immigrant to New York, and a social justice advocate. She treated her staff like family, which was unheard of at the time. She provided her staff with medical leave and pensions. While in New York, Adelina suffered discrimination because her family was Italian and her parents were opera singers. Her father, Salvatore Patti, struggled financially after his Astor Place Opera House went bankrupt after the infamous Astor Place Riot. Her parents used her money as a child prodigy to build the Wakefield home (which is now in the Bronx). It was the first brick house in the area, built in 1855.