Two two-story frame houses with brick fronts were constructed on the south side of Fourth Street near Sixth Avenue a generation before the potters' field to the east would be transformed into fashionable Washington Square. By the 1840s, the fashionable brick- and brownstone-faced homes that had spilled west along Fourth Street stood in stark contrast with the humble houses.
The eastern of the pair, 192 Fourth Street (renumbered 148 West 4th Street in 1863), was home in the 1840s to Dr. Edward Vanderpool. It was purchased by William E. Berrien in 1851. He and John Keyser operated a construction business known as Keyser & Berrien.
The house was converted for the firm's offices, and the smaller building in the rear yard became its carpentry shop. Three years after completing the renovations, Keyser & Berrien was the victim of treachery. On June 5, 1854, The New York Times reported, "On Saturday morning, about 4 o'clock, a fire occurred in a carpenter's shop, in the rear of 192 Fourth-street, in the occupation of Messrs. Keyser & Berrian [sic]. The building was filled with light lumber, which burned with great fierceness." Damage to the stock (which was entirely lost) and to the building was $5,000 (about $187,000 in 2024). The article said, "The fire is supposed to be the work of an incendiary."
Keyser & Berrien replaced the rear building with a four-story brick structure. The carpentry shop occupied the lower level and rooms were rented upstairs. The tenants were often carpenters, suggesting they were employees.
By 1863, William Berrien was operating the business alone. Highly successful, he lived in a high-stooped brownstone on West 47th Street and invested heavily in real estate.
In the summer of 1863, Berrien discovered his gold watch and silver snuffbox, which had been sitting on his desk in the office, were missing. Shortly afterward, police arrested Henry Randin, "a French lad 14 years of age," as reported by The New York Times. Berrien valued the two items at $140, more than $3,500 today. Randin had the watch in his pocket when arrested.
The teen explained that he had received the watch and box from a boy named Hart. The article said, "but the story was not believed, and Justice Quackenbush committed the accused for trial in default of $500 bail." William Berrien got his watch back, but the silver snuffbox seems to have been sold already.
Around 1875, William Mitchell purchased the property. The front building became one of the offices of the John Rockett & Co. coal business (the other was on South Fifth Avenue), and the lower floors of the rear building were rented to Utter & Lefferts, builders, operated by Thomas Utter and James B. Lefferts. The following year, John Hackett took over the John Rockett & Co. coal business.
William Mitchell transferred title to the property to his son John M. Mitchell on October 30, 1880 as "a gift." John Hackett closed the coal office in February 1894. The following year, builder F. H. Wakeham, who had occupied the rear building as branch office, left.
Real Estate Record & Guide, July 6, 1895 (copyright expired)
Builder Charles H. Van Aken signed a lease for both buildings. On June 6, 1896, the Record & Guide reported that John M. Mitchell was spending $2,000 on renovations for Van Aken, who doubled as the contractor and architect.
In 1898, A History of Real Estate remarked that "sound judgment and wide experience" was necessary for the contractor who did repair work. Calling him a mason builder, the article said, "Mr. C. H. Van Aken, of No. 148 West 4th street, while not devoting his attention wholly to repairing and overhauling, is one of the most successful and reliable contractors in that line of work in the city."
Like William Berrien, success in the building trade made Van Aken well-to-do. By 1912, he was a trustee in the West Side Savings Bank. He had incorporated with William S. McCotter and Joseph N. Ely to form the McCotter Construction & Improvement Company, which operated from this address.
In the meantime, the architectural firm of John H. McCullough & Sons had its offices here as early as 1906, possibly in the second floor of the front building. Working with their father were Willis I. and Thomas J. McCullough, along with architect John H. Ellingsgard.
On February 12, 1906, Willis I. McCullough was on a streetcar when Frank Preston, "better known as 'Peggy' Bingeman," according to the New York Herald, plucked a diamond stud from his shirt. The New York Times said, "in spite of his youthfulness [he] is known half way across this continent as one of the cleverest pickpockets."
Preston was captured and on March 10 The New York Times reported that Preston, "broke a record yesterday by being tried twice in the same day of two offenses, convicted and sentenced on both." According to the New York Herald, he had been sentenced not only for this theft, but for "sealing a diamond pin from Louis Pulvermacher" on a Madison Avenue car on October 20. Before announcing the sentences, Judge McMahon said, "New York is overrun with pickpockets. Inspector McLaughlin of the Detective Bureau has asked the aid of the Judges of this court in suppressing them, and he shall have it."
The article closed saying, "He will not have a chance to break the law again for four years and three months."
John H. McCullough's Sons would operate from the address through 1921.
By 1917, Charles H. Van Aken had purchased the property from Mitchell. Possibly seeing the success of his neighbors on either side--The Pepper Pot nightclub and restaurant, and The Mad Hatter tearoom--Van Aken transformed part of the rear building to The Samovar, which offered "luncheon, tea, dinner, special dishes."
Official metropolitan Guide, May 4, 1919 (copyright expired)
The success of The Samovar prompted Van Aken to expand. In 1922 he did made more renovations to the rear building, creating a "restaurant with dancing" on the first floor, and offices on the second through fourth. The front building where he had run his construction offices for decades became The Leprachaun restaurant.
Patrons in The Samovar, apparently around Halloween. photograph by Jessie Tarbox Beals, from the collection of the New-York Historical Society.
It was most likely Prohibition that brought and end to The Samovar. But in 1947, owners Anthony and Margaret Cimenti, who lived on Carmine Street, made renovations, returning the ground floor of the rear building to a "restaurant and cabaret." It was a short-lived venture, however, and in 1953 the first and second floors of that building became art studios, with one apartment each on the third and fourth.
The entrance to the rear (marked Dancing Diner) between 148 and 150 W. 4th can be seen in this 1941 tax photograph. image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.
In the 1970s, what The Villager described as a "gypsy reader parlor" operated from the front building. After "complaints from local residents and reports of illegal occupancy," the occupants were forced out. The storefront became The French Peasant. On November 16, 1978, The Villager wrote, "If you like French Cuisine but not French restaurant prices, you should check out The French Peasant...This quaint, tiny (seats about 30), unpretentious eatery features a homey, candle-lit upstairs dining-room and is the kind of romantic setting for which the French are famous."
The rear building can be seen in this 1932 photograph in the collection of the New York Public Library.
Around 1999, Le Frite Kot opened in the space. By then, the passageway to the rear building had been filled in for over two decades. More recently, Vol De Nuit, a "Belgian Beer Bar," moved into the building. A refacing of the facade created a presence so bland that the little building with the big history is easily overlooked.
many thanks to reader Jason Kessler for suggesting this post
photographs by the author
LaptrinhX.com has no authorization to reuse the content of this blog
No comments:
Post a Comment