The 1896 Association of the Bar - 38-42 West 44th Street

 

photograph by Epigenius

As the exclusivity of Fifth Avenue spilled down the side streets in the second half of the 19th century, that was not the case for West 44th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.  Instead, it developed into what was called a "stable block"--lined with private carriage houses, livery and streetcar stables.  Change came in the last decade, as gentlemen's clubs and one exclusive school, the Berkeley School for Boys, transformed the block.

In 1875, five years after its founding, the Bar Association of New York erected its building at 5-7 West 29th Street.  Two decades later, the association addressed its increased membership that overtaxed the old building and the migration of clubs northward.  On May 4, 1895, the Record & Guide reported that the Bar Association of New York had purchased the Sixth Avenue Railroad Company's "three-story brick dwelling with three-story brick car stables" at 38 to 42 West 44th Street.  The significant price, $203,550, would translate to a startling $7.6 million in 2025.

Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz's rendering.  Munsey's Magazine, October 1899 (copyright expired)

Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz, son of influential architect Leopold Eidlitz, was given the commission for the design of the new headquarters.  His training in Germany is reflected in his Classic Eclectic-style design, called by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, "severe."  The limestone facade is clearly defined by dentiled intermediate cornices, the second floor of which is embellished with an ornamental frieze.  Double-height, paired Corinthian pilasters divide the third and fourth floors into three bays.

The American Architect & Building News, July 2, 1898 (copyright expired)

The narrower elevation on West 43rd Street was no less impressive, with engaged, fluted Ionic columns dominating the upper section.

The 43rd Street elevation, seen here in 1900.  from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York.

As the structure neared completion, on September 20, 1896, The New York Times praised, "One of the most interesting and successful works of recent architecture is the new building of the Bar Association, in West Forty-fourth Street.  That it is so is due to the liberality and intelligence of the association, as well as to the skill of its architect, Mr. Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz."

The building was opened on the evening of October 8, 1896.  The New York Times reported, "The building, beautiful and impressive in its Ionic simplicity, was admired by all."  The journalist described the interiors as being decorated in "the most modern manner," detailing:

Its wood, mosaic, and marble floors are in the latest styles, its hangings are rich and heavy, its carpets are the finest from the looms, its library is renowned for its completeness, and its accommodations for its members are all that could be desired.

While the interiors smacked of an exclusive social club, this was a working venue.  The New York Times remarked, "It does not need a kitchen and a dining room...It needed a place which could be resorted to at all times for purposes of study and research and a place in which the members could all 'assemble and meet together' on occasions."

The entrance as seen in 1896. photo by Wurts Bros. from Munsey's Magazine, October 1899 (copyright expired)

...and as it appears today.  photo by Pattonnh, December 10, 2010

Most important to the members were the 90-foot-long library--which contained 50,000 volumes--the top floor "trial room," and the meeting hall, which had seating for 1,500.  "Desks, tables, and all the paraphernalia that are necessary to aid lawyers in finding conclusive precedents and Judges in deciding argued cases abound--with an abundance of attendants to do the searchers' bidding," said The Times.

The building of the Association of the Bar was the scene of weighty hearings and discussions.  On February 1, 1870, Samuel J. Tilden had explained the need of the association, saying in part, "If the bar is to be merely an institution that seeks to win cases and to win them by back-door access to the judiciary, then it is not only degraded, but it is corrupt."  Tilden stressed its importance to reform the Constitution, the judiciary and make "the administration of justice made pure and honorable."

The Meeting Hall (top) and the Reception Hall.  photos by Pattonhn.

In August 1909, a committee appointed by President William Howard Taft met here "to consider methods of strengthening the Sherman Anti-Trust law," as reported by The Evening Post.  (President Taft's brother, Henry Waters Taft, incidentally, would be president of the Association of the Bar of City of New York from 1923 to 1925.)

Important hearings took place here in 1934 as part of an investigation of Nazi operations in America.  On June 29, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that Congressman Samuel Dickstein had charged, "that the Henry Street Settlement was assisting members of a lower East Side Communist organization," saying it "grew out of an investigation he made recently into Communist activities in connection with the Congressional committee probe into Nazi propaganda in the United States."  The article said, the congressman would resume his "one man hearings of Nazi subversion" at the Bar Association Building.

The Trial Room as it appeared in 1925.  photograph by Wurts Bros. from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York.

Four months later, on October 19, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported, 

German Ambassador Hans Luther is serving as an agent of the Nazi Party in the United States, charged Congressman John W. McCormack, chairman of the Congressional Committee investigating subversive and un-American activities, in a statement preceding a closed session of the Committee at the Bar Association building, 42 West Forty-fourth street yesterday.

On February 3, 1970, in reporting on the upcoming centennial of the organization, The New York Times remarked, "Since its founding by 200 lawyers to fight corruption in the courts in the days when Boss Tweed controlled Tammany Hall, the city bar association has attracted many of the most distinguished lawyers in the country."  The article said those attorneys had drafted Federal legislation, advised on the appointments of judges, and appeared at hearings and symposiums.  Among the speakers at the centennial here were Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, Governor Nelson Rockefeller and Mayor John Lindsay.

The passionate stances of some members of the Association of the Bar occasionally went beyond hearings and discussions.  On May 14, 1970, for instance, Francis T. P. Plimpton, president of the Association, announced that more than 1,000 New York city lawyers would walk off the job to go to Washington to urge "immediate withdrawal from Indochina." 

And on March 26, 1971, The New York Times reported, "A group of women lawyers and law students took over an open meeting of the Bar of the City of New York last night in what one demonstrator called 'a lawyerlike way' to denounce the association for 'male chauvinist' attitudes."

The well-publicized Knapp Commission hearings took place here starting on October 18, 1971.  They followed a year-long investigation in corruption within the New York City Police Department.

After the attacks on the World Trade Towers on September 11, 2001, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York offered its offices "to firms affected by the attack," as reported by The New York Times on September 13.  A spokesperson, Andrew Martin, explained, "There's not a whole lot we can do, but our building is the biggest asset we have."

photograph by ajay_suresh

Known today the New York City Bar, the association continues to occupy its 1896 headquarters.  In designating the edifice an individual New York City landmark, the Landmarks Preservation Commission deemed it, "a fine building with dignity and strength in its imposing façade, worthy of the distinguished legal body that uses it."