Developers Alexander Walker and Judson Lawson hired architect Martin V. B. Ferdon in 1893 to design a row of five houses on the south side of West 91st Street between West End Avenue and Riverside Drive. Ferndon was responsible for scores of Upper West Side homes, the majority of them in the Renaissance Revival style. These would follow suit. The row was designed in an off-balanced A-B-C-B-D arrangement.
No. 310 West 91st Street was one of the B models. Above its single-doored entrance, a swan's neck pediment was filled with carved garlands of roses. A hefty bracket between the parlor windows upheld a two-story bowed oriel.
In 1894 Walker & Judson advertised,
Two left--304 and 310 West 91st st., Riverside Drive; elegant three story basement and cellar dwellings; bay windows; three story extensions; two tiled bathrooms, gas grates, and all the latest improvements; inspection invited; price low; send for circular.
Daniel Judson Holden and his wife, the former Katherine Veghte Knox, purchased 310 West 91st Street for $24,500 on April 19, 1894. The price would translate to about $772,000 in 2024.
Daniel Judson Holden was born in New York City on January 15, 1844. He was educated at Yale University and received his law degree at Columbia Law School. When the family moved into 310 West 91st Street, he was a member of the law firm of Coudert Brothers.
Holden married Katherine (known familiarly as Kate) on September 1, 1885. Their first child, Daniel Jr., had died at the age of one on February 6, 1888. Their second, Edith, was seven when the family purchased the house.
Holden's club memberships reflected his social and professional standing. He was a member of the University and the City Club, the Down Town Association, the Society of Medical Jurisprudence and the Sons of the Revolution.
Attorney Paul Fuller called Holden, "A deeply religious man, in whom religion was an essence and not a garment." He had joined the Brick Presbyterian Church at the age of 14, and served as a church trustee for three decades and as a ruling Elder from 1886 to 1897. When the family moved to the Upper West Side, Holden became a ruling Elder of the Fourth Presbyterian Church down the block, at the corner of West End Avenue.
Well-to-do families left town during the summer months, normally taking their most valued servants--like valets and ladies' maids--with them. The less important servants were often let go, to be replaced in the fall. On May 22, 1902, Katherine placed an advertisement in hopes of finding jobs for two employees. "A lady leaving town wishes to place her two maids as waitress and chambermaid; they are German Protestants, and can be highly recommended."
Daniel Holden died in the 91st Street house at the age of 59 on June 23, 1903. Katherine and Edith immediately moved out, initially leasing 310 West 91st Street to Herbert D. Lacey. In July 1908, William M. Richards signed a lease, and in 1910 Sara A. Palmer moved in.
The unmarried Sara Palmer was highly visible in society. On January 22, 1911, for instance, The New York Times reported that she "will give the third of her series of large receptions on Tuesday, March 14, from 3 until 6." She was chairman of the New York State Federation of Women's Clubs.
In August 1914, Katherine Holden offered the house for sale. The advertisement described a "modern three story high stoop with bath extension...Plumbing and woodwork in good condition. This block is one of the best in the 90's." The listed price was $32,000, or about $720,000 today.
image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.
No. 310 West 91st Street was home to Pauline B. Fox in 1919, and by the early Depression Years was owned by Adelaide Drummond. Adelaide died here on January 17, 1936, and the house was inherited by her daughter, Louise Adams. She retained ownership until July 1939, when she sold it to Herman Hippe, who lived in Astoria, Queens.
The house was converted to apartments in 1970--a duplex in the basement and parlor floors, two apartments on the second, and one on the third. In 2009, it was returned to a single family residence.
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