The 1884 Abraham and Mary Garside House - 112 West 71st Street

 

In 1883, developer George W. Hamilton hired the architectural firm of Thom & Wilson to design a row of five four-story-and-basement houses on the south side of West 71st Street between Columbus Avenue and Broadway.  Completed the following year, the firm designed two Renaissance Revival style models in an A-B-A-B-A configuration.  (Hamilton was apparently well-pleased with the result, and the year the homes were completed he hired Thom & Wilson to design an abutting row of five more homes.)

The center house, 112 West 71st Street, like the two other A models, featured a high stoop guarded by stone railings and beefy carved newels.  An impressive, projecting cornice above the entranceway was supported by engaged columns and hefty neo-Grec inspired brackets.  The upper floor windows wore prominent molded lintels, their brackets resting on molded bandcourses.  The design terminated in an ambitious pressed metal cornice.

William M. Stout, a partner in Stout & Noonan, and his family briefly lived here.  He sold the house in December 1887 to Abraham Garside and his wife Mary for $36,000 (about $1.14 million in 2024 terms).

Living with Abraham and Mary were their adult sons, Artha (whose name, understandably, was sometimes erroneously spelled "Arthur"), Herbert, and John; and John's wife, the former Emilie Seward Herbell.  All three young men were directors in the firm founded by their father, A. Garside & Sons, which manufactured women's shoes.

Abraham Garside was known for his fast vehicles.  The Harlem River Speedway, which ran from West 155^th Street to Dyckman Avenue, was begun in 1893.  Intended for well-to-do "roadites," it was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, and "slow vehicles" were prohibited.  Garside was a regular participant in the official and unofficial races.

On June 23, 1897, Mary A. Garside died.  Her funeral was held in the parlor three days later.  In her place, Emilie Garside took over the management of the household.  By now, she was highly involved in real estate operations, as well.  It was one of the few businesses in which a woman could thrive in the 19th century.

Artha was married to Jane McGonegal in the Bloomingdale Reformed Church on October 26, 1898.  Herbert served as his best man.  The reception was held in the West 71st Street house.  The New-York Tribune noted, "After their honeymoon trip, Mr. and Mrs. Garside will make their home at No. 112 West Seventy-first-st."

On January 23, 1899, The Evening Telegram reported on the "Sunday cavalcade" of the day before, saying, "dusty avenues and drives do not dismay the roadite, merchant, clerk or damsel."  It appears that a few of the drivers thought Abraham Garside had cheated.  The article explained that he "drove his favorite roadster, Leroy, and got in Central Park ahead of several others who started from Central Bridge at the same time he did, and the several others are trying to ascertain how it was done, as all certify he did not pass them on the road, to which Mr. Garside replied he 'had a flier.'"

Two weeks later, the engagement of Minna Marie Hunken to Herbert Garside was announced.  The New-York Tribune said, "The marriage will be celebrated at the home of the bridegroom's father, A. Garside, No. 112 West Seventy-first-st. on Wednesday, March 15."  The newspaper noted, "When Mr. Garside and his bride return from the South they will take possession of their new home in West One-hundred-and-fourth-st."

When Abraham Garside died on March 15, 1905, it was not his business successes that were remembered in his obituary.  The Morning Telegraph wrote, "Abraham Garside, who for years drove a pair of fair bay trotters on the Speedway, died Thursday, aged sixty-nine years.  He always had driven fast road pairs, and belonged to the old-school of roadites who went the length of the road once they started in to speed their horses, and did not believe in the featherweight vehicles of to-day."

Emilie Garside was left essentially alone in the house now.  John had died, and Artha and Jane had moved upstate.  She quickly refilled the house, however.  Her unmarried sister, Mary E. Herbell moved in with her, as did her brother William H. Herbell, and her married sister Minnie E. and her husband Dr. Jay Hayden Radley.  Also living in the house by 1906 was a boarder, attorney Theodore Frederic Sanxay.

Born in Iowa City in 1843, Sanxay came from an old American family.  An 1864 graduate of Princeton University, he would never marry, and would live with the Garside-Herbell families for decades.

Mary E. Herbell died in the house on December 13, 1907.  Her funeral was held here three days later.

In the meantime, Emilie Garside was indefatigable in her real estate dealings, focusing greatly on tenement buildings in the Lower East Side.  In 1909, she purchased two such buildings on Essex Street from Arthur C. and Emily G. Rollwagen.  It is unclear whether the Rollwagens were boarding with Emilie in the 71st Street house before or after the transaction, but either way, it soon became an uncomfortable coexistence.

On December 18, 1909, The New York Times reported, "Arthur C. Rollwagen, living at 112 West Seventy-first Street, who describes himself as 'a gentleman never engaged in any business,' has filed a petition in bankruptcy."  Rollwagen had not only duped Emilie, from whom he had borrowed $4,100, but her sister Minnie Radley, who loaned him $800, and her brother William, who lost $525.  Emilie Garside was a shrewd businesswoman, however, and it appears she had taken precautions.  The article said, "His life is insured for $1,000, taken out by Emily S. Garside, and she is the beneficiary."

Minnie's husband, Dr. Jay Hayden Radley, graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Chicago in 1889.  A specialist in rectal diseases and spinal adjustment, he was the author of Fresh Air, A Great Necessity.  He regularly contributed articles to publications like the Medical Record and the Pacific Medical Journal.

Dr. Jay H. Radley, Leaders of the Twentieth Century, 1918 (copyright expired)

Unlike many physicians, Radley did not run his practice from the house, but from an office at 38 Hudson Street.  On January 8, 1915, the New Brunswick Daily Times said, "the place is extensively fitted up as a laboratory, where the doctor makes a remedy to stop the use of intoxicating liquors."  The newspaper was reporting on an incident that no doubt enraged the doctor and humiliated his family.  He had been arrested "on a charge of practicing without a license."  (This despite his several medical degrees and untarnished reputation.)

William H. Herbell died on September 4, 1920.  His funeral on September 7 would be the last held in the house. 

After having lived with the Garside-Herbell families for almost two decades, Theodore F. Sanxay died on March 25, 1925.  His body was sent to Iowa City, Iowa where his funeral and burial were conducted.

The Iowa City Press-Citizen said, "His methodical and systematic habits and customs were remarkable, almost unique."  Indeed, the attorney's will said "he had observed a low standard of ethics among men of high repute, among politicians and even among governments. He was convinced that civilization could not make great progress without a higher standard of ethics."  Among his bequests was a $20,000 gift to Princeton University "to found a fellowship of practical ethics."  He posthumously explained:

I am moved in this matter by the revelation of ethical principles prevailing among men of high repute.  In the conduct of great business, by the readiness of men to be satisfied in the standards of conduct in political matters that would be condemned as dishonest if done in private matters, and by the readiness of governments in pursuit of their own ends to commit acts which would be deemed dishonest if done by private individuals in the pursuit of private ends. 

The Garside house was sold in January 1929 to the Vinz Realty Company, Inc.  The firm operated it as a rooming house.  Among the tenants here in 1944 was John F. Loughlin.  The 43-year-old engaged in nefarious activities that resulted in his death that year.  The New York Sun reported on November 6, that Loughlin, "who was said to have been discovered peeping into a window of St. Luke's Hospital Nurses Home from the roof of an adjoining apartment building, was shot and fatally wounded as he ran from a police officer in pajamas when the latter went to the roof to investigate a noise he heard while retiring early yesterday." 

When Loughlin ran from patrolman Joseph E. Pribil, the officer fired four times.  "One bullet struck Loughlin in the abdomen, but he ran down six flights of stairs and around the corner before collapsing," said the article.

In 1968, the rooming house was operated by a Mrs. Lawson, who accepted only male tenants.  She advertised in the New York Irish American Advocate that year, "Room with bath.  Cooking.  Also single.  Gentlemen only."  (The "single" referred to the fact that the room did not have a private bathroom.)

A renovation completed in 1977 resulted in a total of 10 apartments in the building.

photographs by the author

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