Real estate developer Samuel O. Wright completed three brownstone fronted houses at 146-150 West 130th Street in 1883. The identical homes were three stories tall above English basements and 18-feet wide. Designed by Cleverdon & Putzel, their ambitious neo-Grec design included architrave window surrounds, the lower portions of which were incised to suggest fluting, and bold bracketed cornices. The stoop and areaway were guarded by beefy cast iron railings and newels crowned with commanding finials. The engaged Tuscan columns that flanked the double-doored entrance upheld a forceful entablature and molded cornice. Here the architects dipped into the Queen Anne style with a row of playful sunburst designs.
In July 1882, while construction was ongoing, James Bogert purchased 146 West 130th Street for $14,500 (about $446,000 in 2024 terms). He advertised it for sale on January 16, 1890 for $16,500. It was purchased by Robert O'Neill Ford and his wife, the former Sophie Eliza Darling.
Ford was born in Pennsylvania in 1840. He joined the U. S. Marine Corps at the onset of the Civil War and on April 1, 1862 was appointed a second lieutenant. President Abraham Lincoln and Gideon Wells, the Secretary of the Navy, signed his commission.
Robert O'Neill Ford gave this photograph of himself in uniform to Sophie while they were still courting. On the back is inscribed "R.O.N.F. for S.E." from the collection of The Henry Ford.
Sophie Eliza Darling was born in New York City in 1843, the daughter of William Augustus and Eliza M. Lee Darling. Her wealthy father was the president of a railroad and the Appraiser of the Port, a highly sought-after and well-paying commission. Only months after the end of the war, on November 8, 1865, she and Robert were married. They had three children, O'Neil Ford, born in 1867; Clarence Darling, who arrived the following year; and Robert Edwin, who was born in 1874.
On March 4, 1893, three years after moving into the 130th Street house, Sophie died at the age of 50. The New-York Tribune announced, "Funeral services will be held at her late residence, 146 West 130th-st., on Tuesday, March 7th, at 4 p.m."
The house was sold one year later almost to the day, on March 6, 1894, for the equivalent of $676,000 today. It became home to another Civil War veteran, Major James Clark Abrams, and his wife, the former Sarah Caroline Russell. James and Sarah were married on October 4, 1871 and had four children, Robert Russell, Harold B., Marion, and James Clark.
Born in Hudson, New York in 1841, Abrams enlisted in the Seventh Regiment on October 8, 1860. It was the preferred regiment for the sons of millionaires, earning it the nickname "The Silk Stocking Regiment." He served throughout the Civil War. The New York Times later recalled, "He often spoke of the Baltimore riots, in which the first blood of the war of the rebellion was shed, and also saw service during the draft riots and during the Orange troubles." (The "Orange troubles" referred to the Orange Riots in Manhattan in 1870 and 1871, a bloody conflict between Protestant and Catholic Irish immigrants.)
Abrams remained active in the Seventh Regiment and on May 22, 1893 he was promoted to major. Around the same time, he was invited to the White House where President Grover Cleveland awarded him a diamond cross. In stark contrast to his military presence, in civilian life Abrams was a dentist.
In 1900, laborers upstate agitated for higher pay and better work conditions. Their protests turned to riots and they threatened to blow up the the Croton Dam. The Seventh Regiment was deployed there in April. Abrams, now 60 years old, caught what The New York Times described as "a severe cold." He never recovered and nearly a year later, on March 10, 1901, he died. The Baltimore Sun called him, "one of the best known officers of the National Guard of the State," The New York Times adding that "for the past forty years [he] had been a prominent figure in National Guard circles."
Following Abrams's death, Sarah's brother Robert Russell, moved into the house.
On March 10, 1906, Sarah announced the engagement of Marion to Harold Thorndale Birnie. The wedding was held in the drawing room on March 27. The New York Herald reported, "Following the ceremony, which will be witnessed by relatives and intimate friends, there will be a reception."
There would be two more Abrams funerals in the house. Robert Russell died on January 9, 1909, and Sarah Caroline Abrams died on July 12, 1916.
The Abrams children leased 146 West 130th Street to Cornelia M. Andrews. She was the widow of John R. Andrews, a member of the jewelry firm Tiffany & Co. In the fall of 1918, Cornelia visited her cousin, Mrs. Wilfred J. Funk, in Montclair, New Jersey, were she died on November 10.
When the estate of Sarah Caroline Abrams sold 146 West 130th Street in February 1922, the demographics of the neighborhood had greatly changed. Harlem, whose only black presence had been domestic staff at the turn of the century, was now the epicenter of Manhattan's black community. The Real Estate Record & Builders' Guide mentioned that the new owner of the Abrams house had purchased it "for investment."
Like most of the homes along the block, 146 West 130th Street was operated as unofficial apartments. It played an important part in black culture when, according to the 1991 Literary New York, A History and Guide, LeRoi Jones founded the Black Arts Repertory Theatre School in the house around 1965.
A major figure in black culture, LeRoi Jones was a poet, dramatist, and author. He changed his name to Amiri Baraka in 1965 following the assassination of Malcolm X. Known as BARTS, the Black Arts Repertory Theatre School was the first of its kind. According to historian Rachel Horowitz, "The FBI were present at initial meetings and classroom discussions, including educational lectures on African-American history." Although the school remained opened here for only about a year, it prompted the establishment of similar institutions throughout the country.
A renovation completed in 2006 resulted in a duplex apartment in the basement and parlor floor, and one apartment each on the upper floors.
photographs by the author
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