Around 1827, the two-and-a-half story, brick faced house at 261 Mulberry Street was completed. Home to printer James Evans in 1829, its Federal style design included Flemish bond brickwork and tidy dormers that pierced the peaked roof.
Like James Evans, subsequent occupants of the house continued to be working class. John S. Houston, a stonecutter, lived here in 1832. He was followed by Christopher Endeman, who died here at the age of 97 on April 22, 1838.
As early as 1843, James Hart and his family moved into 261 Mulberry Street. The location directly across the street from St. Patrick's Cathedral was perfect for Hart, who was a sexton of the church. James and his wife, Eleanor, had three daughters, Mary, Margaret, and Annie E.; and a son, William T. A. Hart.
As was common, the Harts took in a boarder, normally one at a time. In 1843, for example, carpenter John Dunn boarded with the family, and in 1847, Caroline Haggerty, a widow, lived here.
By 1857, William T. A. Hart was an undertaker. Most likely through his father's influence, he became the official undertaker for the cathedral, a position he would hold for six decades.
Eleanor Hart died here on December 18, 1859. Her funeral was held in the parlor on December 20. Interestingly, her body was not interred in the cathedral graveyard across the street, but in the 11th Street Catholic Cemetery between First Avenue and Avenue A.
Such would not be the case a decade later when James Hart died at the age of 86 on April 14, 1869. His funeral was held in the cathedral and his burial was within the cathedral grounds.
Upon his father's death, William T. A. Hart added the position of sexton to his undertaking role. He grew wealthy and influential; but his career would be marked by many legal problems. On May 5, 1889, for instance, The New York Times reported that he was arrested for "interring in St. Michael's Cemetery in an ordinary coffin the body of a person who had died of a contagious disease." And on May 24, 1893, the newspaper began an article saying, "William T. A. Hart, the sexton of St. Patrick's Cathedral, was the subject of a weighty opinion handed down yesterday by Surrogate Ransom."
Since 1887, Hart had been the executor of the estate of Archibald Johnson, who "died insolvent, leaving his affairs in a tangled condition." Now, prompted by the complaints of creditors, the court's referee, Sherman W. Knevals, was "severe on Mr. Hart's management."
In the meantime, since his death, James Hart's heirs (who inherited the property equally) had been leasing their childhood home. First, however, they raised the attic floor to a full floor. Their architect added a handsome, cast metal Italianate cornice. For a few years the residence was operated as a boarding house. It was the scene of a grisly suicide on October 10, 1871.
Peter Coyle, according to the New York Herald, had "long been known in some of the best billiard saloons of the city as a 'marker.'" (A marker was a scorekeeper.) But for some time, the 60-year-old bachelor had been out of work and in poor health. The newspaper reported on October 11, "not far from nine o'clock yesterday morning he raised up in bed, and, with a razor in his possession, cut his throat, and after throwing the weapon away, fell backwards on the pillow and soon died from hemorrhage."
Before the end of the year, Hugh Moore leased the house. He assuredly knew William T. A. Hart professionally. He was the superintendent of Calvary Cemetery and was on the Board of Trustees of St. Patrick's Cathedral. He and his wife had one daughter.
It was not until the spring of 1873 that the city began paving the Mulberry Street block. On April 1, Hugh Moore looked out his window to see Patrick McHugh (described by the New York Herald as a "stalwart-looking man") pull his cart to the curb and begin loading it with granite paving stones, known as "Belgian blocks." Moore rushed off to find an officer and McHugh was arrested. He had driven off with 300 blocks, prompting the New York Herald to call his crime "a heavy larceny."
As the Harts had done, the Moores took in boarders. In 1874, Edward McGrath and Julia J. McGrath, possibly siblings, lived here. Julia was a teacher in the primary department of Grammar School No. 27, and Edward was a policeman.
On the warm Saturday afternoon of August 15 that year, the 28-year-old cop took Kitty McGuire, who lived at 75 Mott Street, to the beach on Long Island. The pair seems to have become victims of an undertow. The following day, The New York Times reported, "It appears that McGrath and the young lady went in bathing together and got beyond their depth and were drowned before aid could reach them." Their bodies had not been recovered at the time of the article.
In October 1884, the James Hart's children sold 261 Mulberry Street to George J. Kenny for $6,000 (about $192,000 in 2024 terms). He continued to lease the house to Hugh Moore until 1891, when Moore and his wife moved to 157 East 51st Street.
It was George J. Kenney who hired architect B. W. Berger in January 1897 to make alterations to what was now being described as a "three-story brick tenement." (The term meant that multiple families lived here.) It was most likely at this time that the heavy stone enframement was placed around the delicate Federal doorway and cast metal lintels--absurdly out of proportion with the windows--were installed.
Mulberry Street was as much playground as thoroughfare in 1941 when this photo was taken. The 1890's fire escape was demanded by the tenement laws. image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.
The family of John A. O'Brien moved into the renovated house. O'Brien was highly involved with Old St. Patrick's Cathedral (the new cathedral uptown was dedicated in 1879) and headed its charity department. In its annual report for 1897, the State Department of Charities said that 62 "persons without homes [were] afforded general relief during the year" by the institution.
The O'Briens left 261 Mulberry Street in 1902 when the families of Theodore Palumbo and Robert C. McNally moved in. Both men worked worked for the city. Theodore and Eliza Polumbo had at least two daughters, Mary and Theresa. Living with Robert and Mary McNally was Robert's widowed mother, Catherine. She died here on November 30, 1903 at the age of 76.
In 1909, Robert McNally was appointed to fill the position of attendance officer of the New York City Schools. His promotion came with a $900 salary--about $31,000 today.
There would be two more funerals in the Mulberry Street house. Mary T. McNally died on December 9, 1910, and Mary Polumbo's funeral was held here on March 13, 1917. (Interestingly, Theresa Polumbo was listed as an attorney by then.)
The house was sold in April 1938. It was operated as a rooming house for decades before being converted to apartments--one per floor--in 1960. It was most likely at this time that the somewhat clunky enframement that attempts to mimic a Federal example was fabricated around the elegant surviving doorway.
photographs by the author
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