Born in 1851, Herman Christian Strobel was one of three sons born to Philip and Caroline Strobel. The year after his birth, his German-born father Philip opened a "table making" business. As the sons reach adulthood, each was brought into the firm, which became Philip Strobel & Sons, Inc. By 1897, when Herman Strobel purchased the newly built house at 262 West 91st Street, he was the senior partner of the firm (now a leading maker of "dining room, café and restaurant furniture") and had accumulated a sizable personal fortune.
Strobel and his wife, the former Caroline Becker, had three sons, George Philip, Edward Emil, and Frank Charles. The boys were twelve, seven and two years old respectively when their parents purchased the new residence.
The family's house was one of seven erected in 1896-97 by James Frame. Designed by Alexander M. Welch, the Renaissance Revival style homes were configured in three distinct sections--two pairs flanking a trio. The Strobel house, the easternmost of the central section, was three stories tall above the English basement. Stone wing walls, one of which gracefully swept to the side, guarded the stoop. The basement and parlor levels were faced in planar stone, while the upper two were clad in yellow Roman brick. A three-sided limestone oriel distinguished the second floor, and the third boasted a handsome triple arcade with fluted columns.
Herman Christian Strobel, original source unknown.
It is unclear what Strobel paid for the house, but his $20,000 mortgage, equal to about $758,000 in 2024, gives a clue. The family also maintained a summer home in Edgemere, Long Island.
At least one of Herman's sons chose not to go into the family business. On November 28, 1907, The Motor World reported that George and two partners, George W. Garland, Jr., and Albert L. Martin, had incorporated the Marion-Overland Automobile Co.
In 1909, Philip Strobel & Sons patented this dining table that morphed into a card table. The Grand Rapids Furniture Record, June 1912 (copyright expired)
Caroline, who was known familiarly as Carrie, entertained often, although not lavishly. Typical of her social page mentions was the one-line article in The New York Times on February 21, 1909. "Cards are out for a bridge and euchre party to be given on Thursday by Mrs. H. C. Strobel, 262 West Ninety-first Street."
It was common within well-to-do families for the title for domestic property to be put in the wife's name. The practice insured her of some financial stability in the case of the husband's death. Herman Strobel had not done that in 1897, but he corrected the situation in July 1911 by transferring title to 262 West 91st Street to Carrie.
On December 31, 1912, Herman's brother Otto withdrew from Philip Strobel & Sons "by mutual consent," according to the notice in The New York Times a month later. Herman remained senior partner and he and his remaining brother, George, continued the firm under the same name.
Herman Strobel died at the Edgemere house eight months later, on August 18, 1913, at the age of 62. He left $10,000 to each of his sons (about $315,000 today). Because Edward and Frank were still minors, their inheritance was placed in trust until they reached 25. The New York Herald reported, "Mrs. Carrie Strobel, widow, who lives with her sons at No. 262 West Ninety-first street, receives the residue."
Carrie involved herself in charitable causes, like the Little Mothers Aid Association. In 1920, her attention focused on the upcoming wedding of Frank. His engagement to Mildred M. Rock was announced on January 11.
image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.
The couple was married in the Crystal Room of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on October 6 that year. George was his brother's best man and Edward was one of the ushers. The newlyweds would not live far from Carrie. The New-York Tribune noted, "After their wedding trip Mr. and Mrs. Strobel will live at 215 West Ninety-first Street."
After being home to the Strobels for three decades, 262 West 91st Street was sold in August 1926 to the 4195 Broadway Corporation. The house was unofficially converted to apartments. Among the tenants in 1935 was Joseph DeVilasis, who described his profession as "mechanical dentistry."
In 1943, Siegmund Weissmann, a musician, lived here, as did Louis Mendez, a Spanish-born restaurant worker.
A renovation completed in 1964 resulted in a duplex apartment in the basement and parlor levels, two apartments each on the second and third floors, and one on the new fourth floor, unseen from the street. In the 1970s, the duplex was home to Group Laboratories, a group therapy organization.
photographs by the author
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