In 1891 architect-developer Thomas Van Brunt designed an ambitious row of 32 stone-faced homes on the north side of West 136th Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues (today's Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and Frederick Douglass Boulevards, respectively). Among them was 233 West 136th Street which, like its neighbors, rose three stories above an English basement.
The Queen Anne design of the 16-foot-wide residence was highly influenced by Romanesque Revival. Bullet-shaped newels introduced the high ten-step stone stoop. Delicate carvings at the parlor level depicted swirling flowers and stylized potted plants. Stained glass filled the transom of the parlor window. The second and third floors took on a Romanesque personality with rounded columns that flanked the projecting bay, rough cut stone lintels at the second floor and arched eyebrows at the third. The bay culminated in a dramatic pyramidal roof supported by a waffle-paneled entablature.
The keystone of the parlor window includes a charming potted plant. Decorative carved panels at the sides straddle the lines of the homes on either side.
An advertisement on October 10, 1897 warned potential buyers that 233 West 136th Street was one of "only three left of the whole block," and touted its hard wood interiors. It described the house as "Modern in every way." Eight months later another ad pointed out "block strictly private." Restricted blocks prohibited the incursion of businesses, thereby ensuring homeowners a quiet and private environment.
The house became home to Adelbert Hiram Steele. He and his wife, the former Nellie M. Mahaffey, had two sons and a daughter. Born in Meadville, Pennsylvania in 1845, Adelbert graduated from Meadville College and the Iron City College. Originally a clerk in a general store, he became an expert telegraph operator. That led to a job as a clerk in the Meadville Bank. In 1864 he enlisted in the Union Army. Following the war his career continued to rise. He became president of a bank in Tidioute, Pennsylvania, and then president of the Pittsburgh, Chenango and Erie Railroad.
Steele relocated his family to New York around 1887. By the time they moved to 233 West 136th Street, he had served as Deputy Commissioner of Public Works, was prominent in Republican politics, and was the receiver for the Gold Creek and Nevada Mining Company.
On September 19, 1902 Steele attended the unveiling of the General Slocum memorial at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. While there, he caught what the New-York Tribune described as "a severe cold." He was still suffering a month later, but nevertheless spoke at a political meeting on 125th Street on October 14. It was an ill-advised exertion and the following day he became ill and was confined to his bed.
Adelbert Hiram Steele died on October 22. In reporting his death, the New-York Tribune gave him a rather back-handed compliment. "Although peculiar in some of his ways and ideas in both business and politics, his fairness and honesty won him the respect of all who knew him."
The West 136th Street house next became home to the Peter McDowell family. Like all the residents of the block, they maintained a domestic staff. An advertisement in the New York Herald on October 26, 1907 read, "Wanted--Girl for general housework; three in family; reference."
The third member of the family mentioned in the ad was William R. McDowell. He died on June 19, 1917 and his funeral was held in the parlor of 233 West 136th Street two evenings later. The following year, in February 1918, Peter McDowell leased the home of Mary S. Donnelly at 412 West 149th Street and sold the 136th Street house to James A. Watson.
Watson's residency would be relatively short. He sold the property to James A. Reid in October 1921.
Born in North Carolina, Reid was currently relocating his family to New York from Boston. At the time the neighborhood was in the midst of what would be called the Harlem Renaissance, as it morphed into the center of Manhattan's Black community, arts and culture. James and Julia Bowe Reid would quickly become respected members of the Harlem district. By 1928 James was president of the Men's Guild of St. Martin's Church. At some point Julia's widowed mother, Ella Bowe, came to live with the couple.
The Reids often had houseguests, many of them highly visible. Living with them in November 1923 was poet Langston Hughes. In his 1986 biography The Life of Langston Hughes, Arnold Rampersad writes, "Fresh from Africa, Langston glowed now in a special light; also, the August Crisis had devoted an entire page to his poems, including 'My People,' 'Three Poems of Harlem,' and the dazzling 'Jazzonia.'"
233 West 136th Street is behind the tree in this photo of the 1891 row.
On August 25, 1928, The New York Age reported, "Robert J. Buckner of Topeka, Kan., stopped in New York a few days ago enroute to England. While in New York he was guest of Mrs. James A. Reed [sic] of 233 West 136th street. Mr. Buckner will also visit South America before returning to the United States."
The following year, on October 5, 1929, the newspaper reported on the arrival in New York of J. H. Morford, noting "for almost 25 years [he] has been a teacher and independent missionary in Lagos, Nigeria, West Africa." The article continued, "Mr. Morford brought with him his native wife, who is a beautiful and charming woman, and the largest collection of native African art in brass, ivory, wood-carving and leather-work that it has been this reporter's privilege to see."
Morford was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and his wife was educated in Leeds, England before returning to Nigeria to teach in the government schools. The newspaper wrote, "They plan a lecture tour of Negro schools and colleges throughout the South. While in New York, they are the guests of Mr. and Mrs. James A. Reid."
During the summer of 1929 the Reids opened their home to young women. On August 3 The New York Age reported, "Young ladies spending the summer in New York, either working, studying or playing, and stopping with Mr. and Mrs. James Reid, 233 West 136th street, joined together as hostesses at one of the prettiest of the many gay summer parties which have been given." The article noted that the Reid house "was attractively and appropriately arranged for the occasion."
Julia Bowe Reid died in 1936. As was common, the title of the 136th Street house was in her name. Her will left it to James, with the condition, "that he permit my beloved mother, Ella Bowe, to reside therein for and during the remainder of her natural life." There were other strings attached to James's inheritance. Upon his death the house was to pass to Julia's granddaughter, Joan Bird.
James lived on in the house into the 1940s, at least. It has escaped being converted to apartments, and although the brownstone front has been painted, it is greatly intact, including the stained glass and the original interior shutters at the parlor floor.
photograph by the author
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