In the early 20th century, the cornice was removed.
Horace Butler moved into the 25-foot-wide mansion at 205 East Broadway around 1845. The elegant neighborhood, which was rural as recently as half a century earlier, was filled with the Federal and Greek Revival style homes of affluent families. Butler was a wealthy builder. His four-story residence reflected his financial station. Intricate iron railings descended the stoop to wrap the newels, which perched imperiously upon fluted stone drums. On either side of the entrance, free-standing fluted Ionic columns upheld a three-layered entablature and cornice.
The unusual railings crest like breaking waves at sides of the columns.
The families of Charles Hall and Henry B. Brooks briefly shared 205 East Broadway at the end of the decade. The men were both highly involved in the Mount Vernon 72 Lodge of the Odd Fellows. In 1849, Brooks was its secretary and Hall was its treasurer.
By 1851, Richard C. Valentine and his wife, Elizabeth, moved into 205 East Broadway. Born in 1810, Valentine was in the stereotype business (a type of printing process) on Gold Street. His extensive operation was reflected in his lucrative 1842 contract to print the The Holy Bibles for the American Bible Society. (The Bibles, which were distributed for free, numbered in tens of thousands annually.) An announcement in The New York Times described Valentine's firm, "one of the most complete stereotype foundries in the country."
Richard C. Valentine was also an Odd Fellows member--although unlike his predecessors in the house, his lodge was Oriental Lodge No. 68. His fraternity brothers filed into the house on March 27, 1858 for Richard's funeral. The 48-year-old had died three days earlier.
As was common for widows, Elizabeth Valentine augmented her income by taking in select boarders. An advertisement in The New York Times on September 2, 1858, read:
A Family Occupying the First-Class house, No. 205 East Broadway, offer superior accommodations to a few boarders. The house contains gas, bath, &c., and is in perfect order.
The mention of "gas" and "bath" illustrates that the house was outfitted with cutting-edge amenities. Illuminating gas for domestic use was still in its early stages and indoor plumbing was introduced in New York in 1842.
Among Elizabeth's initial boarders was John W. Gardner, a merchant. He partially filled his off time by volunteering in the Eagle Hose Company, No. 1, the firehouse of which was on Madison Street near Pike Street.
Newlyweds William J. Willis and his wife, the former Selina Harper Dimock took rooms in 1860, the year they were married. The groom was 24 years old and his bride was 22. Willis was in the produce business at 37 Pearl Street.
Sadly, on February 15, 1862, Selina died of consumption at the age of 24. The New York Times reported that her funeral would be "from the house of Mrs. E. Valentine, No. 205 East Broadway" on February 17.
William J. Willis remained in their rooms through 1863. Elizabeth Valentine's other boarders that year were George B. Pease, a clerk; and Rev. C. C. Barclay, the rector of All Saints Church at 286 Henry Street.
The following year, Eliza Cook, the widow of William Cook, established a boarding house here. She lost three young residents unexpectedly that year.
On March 23, 1863, Congress had passed the Enrollment Act--a draft lottery to swell the ranks of the Union Army. On March 18, 1865, The New York Times reported that 1,100 names had been drawn the previous day. Among those was T. H. Parker, who boarded with Eliza Cook. Two weeks later, another boarder was drafted. On April 2, the newspaper listed B. Meagher among the 310 names pulled the previous day.
Irish-born brothers Michael and James Smith shared rooms at the time. On October 1, 1865, James died here at the age of 29. Eliza Cook opened her parlor for the young man's funeral on October 3.
Around 1867, John Scott and his family moved into 205 East Broadway. A dealer of saws at 108 Hester Street, he was born in Scotland in 1817. The family also took in boarders.
Among them were an Irish, middle-aged couple, Thomas and Annie Keary. Annie died here at the age of 64 on September 24, 1869, but unlike previous occupants, her funeral was not held in the house, but at St. Theresa's Church, on Henry and Rutgers Streets.
John Scott died here at the age of 65 on June 10, 1872. His funeral was held in the parlor on June 12. His widow quickly left East Broadway. An advertisement in the New York Herald offered:
Elegant suit of furniture, 10 pieces, in brocatel, upholstered by Stewart, cost $600, in use four months; will be sold for $375 if bought in one week; owner leaves.
(The furnishings reflected the family's affluence, although the neighborhood had begun to change. The original cost of the parlor set would translate to $15,400 in 2025.)
The house began home to John H. and Ellen M. Cheevers and their child. Four years after moving in, on March 14, 1876, the 46-year-old Cheevers died. As Elizabeth Valentine had done, Ellen took in boarders. That year her boarders were Sigmund Hirschler, an underwear dealer; Joseph Landsberg, a tailor; and Louis May, a clerk. (The names of Hirschler and Landsberg reflected the influx of German immigrants in the neighborhood. By now, the Lower East Side was considered the German cultural center of America.)
On May 8, 1876, Ellen published a want-ad for a maid in The Sun, glossing over the fact that she had boarders.
Girl wanted--A smart, tidy girl, about 16 years old, to take care of a child and do general housework; the family consists of mother and child; references required. Call on Mrs. Cheevers, 205 East Broadway.
Howard and Margaret B. Crosby purchased 205 East Broadway on June 19, 1882. The couple were real estate operators and leased the house. Living here in 1885 was Nathan Hutkoff, a glass dealer and a trustee of the Eldridge Street Synagogue, which was erected that year. Among Nathan's investment properties was the nearby 199 East Broadway.
The following year, on May 18, 1886, Louis and Rachel Hirschfield signed a lease for three years at $1,080 (equivalent of $11,800 per year today).
A tradition of physicians in the house began in 1888 with Dr. M. Capse. By the early 1890s, Dr. Nicholaus Sachs ran his medical office here, and converted the basement to his pharmacy. Sachs had received his medical degree in the University of Jena in 1881. He advertised his office hours as "8 to 10, 5 to 7, Sunday 8 to 11."
An advertisement appeared in The Evening World on October 13, 1874 that read:
Drug Clerk, registered, speaking English & German; best references. Dr. Sachs, 205 E. Broadway.
Early in the morning of January 10, 1902, a policeman captured one of two burglars as they fled from Sachs's pharmacy. The New York Times reported, "he gave his name as Edward Potts, but the police say he is John Griffin." His confederate, Dennis Driscoll, was apprehended January 25. The newspaper said the pair had stolen "$53 in United States postage stamps." (The pricey postage would translate to about $1,940 today.)
The last function within the Sachs household at 205 East Broadway was held in 1902. On October 26, the New York Herald reported, "Dr. and Mrs. Nicholaus Sachs...announce the engagement of their daughter Eugenie to Dr. Moritz Wulfson Dreyer, of Brooklyn. At home Sunday evening, November 2, 205 East Broadway. No cards."
The next year, Dr. Sachs moved to 216 Henry Street and his former office was occupied by Dr. Zelik Sharfin. He was quickly replaced by Dr. I. S. Hirsch.
One of the most terrifying medical threats at the turn of the last century was tuberculosis. On August 15, 1904, the New York Globe and Commercial Advertiser reported on Hirsch's warnings in an article the newspaper titled, "Vendors of Germs." The young physician had studied pushcart vendors and concluded that "men suffering from tuberculosis are vendors of impure soda water and ices to multitudes of children on the east side."
Hirsch explained how the disease was readily communicated to the vendors' customers. "Just think of a man who was constantly hawking and spitting, making these drinks and handing them out to children whose constitutions are already weakened by their unsanitary lives at home!"
The doctor lobbied for regulating vendors, similar to the sanitation laws in place with taverns and restaurants. "It was by high license that the brothels, with all their filth, were rooted out of this neighborhood. A better class of people run the saloons now, and the places are much neater. Such a plan as this ought to work in the case of push carts and soda fountains."
Howard Crosby sold 205 East Broadway in January 1913 to Dr. Joseph C. Scal. While the physician lived and worked in the upper floor, the basement level was converted to a synagogue by 1917, Adath Israel.
On May 30, 1918, the New-York Tribune titled an article, "300 N. Y. Jews Sail as Legionairies to Fight in Palestine." The article explained that the British government had enlisted volunteers to "join the British Army in a campaign to restore the Holy Land." The article reported, "Yesterday noon, after being feted lavishly at their headquarters, 205 East Broadway, they marched through the East Side on their way to the British recruiting mission on Forty-second Street. Their only music was the cheers of the thousands massed along the streets, showering them with comfort kits, flowers, tobacco and candy." Isaac Marcus, described by the New-York Tribune as "an aged Hebrew patriarch," sent off his son, David, to the fray and "adjured him not to return until Palestine was restored to the Jews."
In the summer of 1924, Rabbi P. Goldberg of Adath Israel traveled to the Midwest. At 6:30 on the night of June 1, he left St. Louis on a Wabash passenger train headed to Detroit, Michigan. In a horrible accident, a freight train crashed into the passenger train. The Kingston Daily Freeman reported, "The passenger coaches were telescoped by the crash into the freight and many passengers scalded." Among the eight fatalities was Rabbi Goldberg.
A tailor shop occupied the basement level in 1941. image from the NYC Records & Information Services.
By the middle of the Depression years, 205 East Broadway was home to the Maschel El Doll Aid to the Poor Society. In 1938, with the Nazi Party in power in Germany, the charity organization initiated a fund raising "for Jews in Germany," according to The New York Sun. Abraham Slutzkin, however, recognized an opportunity for himself.
On December 3, Reuben Lazarus arrived at the society office, telling secretary Emma Seiden that he wanted to donate five dollars, "because of his sympathy for the Jews in Germany." Unfortunately, he only had a $17 check, made out to him from H. Papidus. Emma accepted the endorsed check and promised she would have the $12 cash change by Tuesday.
Reuben Lazarus was, in fact, Abraham Slutzkin. When he returned on Tuesday evening, he never suspected that Emma had had enough time to discover his check was worthless. Slutzkin followed Emma Seiden into the office to get his money. The New York Sun reported that the shrewd secretary "locked Slutzkin in her office and telephoned for police." The detectives who arrested him said "they had other similar complains against him."
At some point around this time, the cornice was removed from the building. By the last half of the century, there were five apartments in the former house. On May 24, 1969, the resident of the top floor held a "Spring Bazaar and Potluck Dinner" for the benefit of the Daily World and E. S. Forum, according to the announcement in the Daily World.
While no historic details survive within the former house, the exterior needs little imagination to envision as it did when wealthy occupants climbed the stoop 175 years ago.
photographs by the author
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