The E. H. Purdy & Co. Building - 42-48 West 13th Street

 

Veiled in fire escapes, the interesting facade is obscured.

In 1869, four high-stooped houses occupied the plots at 42 through 48 West 13th Street.  Sixth Avenue, just steps away, became a shopping thoroughfare following the Civil War and now commerce was spilling onto the side streets--including the formerly exclusive residential 13th Street block.  Elijah H. Purdy, William Phyfe and Robert Clenighen, who composed the firm of E. H. Purdy & Co., acquired the West 13th Street houses and replaced them with a six-story factory building.

Completed in 1870, its handsome Italianate design smacked of the public schools going up around the city at the time.  Slightly projecting pavilions created five vertical sections that were visually enhanced by their openings.  Those of the projecting sections were fully arched, while the others were square-headed.  The prominent cornice rose to a peaked pediment over the central portion.

E. H. Purdy & Co. manufactured wooden moldings, mantles, picture frames and architectural ornaments.  On February 23, 1870, shortly after moving into the new factory, the firm advertised in The Sun for "Picture frame composition casters."

Real Estate Record & Guide, September 30, 1871 (copyright expired)

E. H. Purdy & Co. suffered financial problems in 1886.  Hamilton E. Searle was assigned by the courts to oversee the firm's operations.  It was most likely at this time that A. R. Searle (presumably a son) was made treasurer of the company and the title to the building was put in Fannie J. Searle's name.

As A. R. Searle pointed out in an answer to a potential client's letter on July 2, 1889, "we would say that we manufacture composition ornaments for interior decoration principally."  Architects and builders used the firm for interior detail work--from mantles and fretwork to applied swags and rosettes.

The cornice and pediment survived as late as 1941.  image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

A significant commission to do finish work on a row of high-end houses along 72nd Street near West End Avenue was nearly derailed in the summer of 1890.  On July 17, The World reported, "A strike was ordered against the E. H. Purdy Manufacturing Company, No. 46 West Thirteenth street, yesterday, on account of the employment of non-union men among the cabinet-makers and varnishers."  

Happily for the firm, the issue was resolved.  A week later, E. H. Purdy & Co. advertised for "Boys--Good stout boys wanted for sand papering."

A bicycle policeman passing by the factory shortly around 8:00 on the night on September 6, 1899 saw flames shooting from the second floor window.  The Sun reported the sight prompted him "to pedal for dear life to the nearest fire alarm box."  The article noted the building "is occupied by the E. H. Purdy Manufacturing Company, makers of cabinets and picture frames."

When fire fighters arrived, the large crowd that had filled West 13th Street "greatly hampered the work of attacking the blaze."  Two more alarms were turned in.  At one point, reported the Star-Gazzette of Elmira, New York, "A burning stairway gave way under the weight of several firemen who were precipitated to the first floor, a fall of thirty feet.  All were injured."  The inferno was finally extinguished after greatly damaging the western portion of the structure.  The following day, The New York Times placed the damages at between $40,000 and $50,000--about $1.89 million in 2024.

The financial hit seems to have been too much for the firm.  It was taken over by F. J. Newcomb Mfg. Co., which greatly expanded the business.

The Catalogue of the 14th Annual Exhibition of The Architectural League, 1899 (copyright expired)

Although it listed its business as manufacturers of "picture frames and mouldings," the firm's 104-page catalogue displayed all the details necessary for interior decoration of new homes--carved capitals, delicate neo-Classical ornamentation, an array of rosettes, and nearly limitless moldings.

Two pages from F. J. Newcomb Mfg. Co.'s 1900 catalogue.  (copyright expired)

The firm's vast operation was reflected in its workforce.  In 1901 it employed 145 men, three boys under 18 years old, and one under 16.  They worked 53 hours per week.

Frederick J. Newcomb, president of the company, died in his Westfield, New Jersey home on August 18, 1913 at the age of 66.  The firm continued on, diversifying by 1918 to include "electrical fixtures and mirrors" to its offerings.  It remained in the West 13th Street building at least through 1936.

Around 1940, The Villager moved in.  Along with publishing and printing its newspaper here, it provided meeting rooms for local groups.  On December 30, 1943, for instance, The New York Sun reported, "Dr. Roberta Ma will give an illustrated talk on 'Chinese Gardens' on Monday evening, January 3, 8 o'clock, at the meeting of the Little Gardens Club of New York City, to be held in the Villager office, 48 West 13th street."

By 1961, the National Folding Wall Corp. occupied the building.  It manufactured "folding walls for hotels, institutions, schools and commercial buildings."  Then, in 1967, 42-48 West 13th Street was renovated for residential use and given the inexplicable name "The Bakery Building."  The brick facade has been unnecessarily painted, the cornice and pediment have been lost, and fire escapes obscure the facade. 

photographs by the author

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