Around 1824, Nathanial Paine erected three Federal-style houses at 166 to 170 Spring Street. (They would be renumbered 186 to 190 Spring Street in 1848.) Three-and-a-half stories tall, the peaked roofs of each had a single dormer.
In 1827, slavery was abolished in New York. The area that centered around Minetta Lane, about four blocks to the north of Spring Street, became Manhattan's first black enclave (later known as Little Africa). Interestingly, in 1827, Thomas Duncan and Francis Hamilton, both listed as "colored," occupied the western house of Paine's row.
Because of the rapid turnovers in the residents over the coming years, it appears that 190 Spring Street was being rented. Living here in 1830 were the families of Charles M. Davis, who did not list a profession; and John Nicholas, a mason. Sharing the house with Maria Kerns, the widow of Joseph Kerns, in 1836 were John Bentley, a tailor; and Jacob Moore, a saddler.
Apparently operating as a boarding house in 1845, it must have been tight quarters for the families of tailor Henry Platte; Adam Harlish, a cabinetmarker; Herman Benedix, a "segarmaker;" and bootmaker Paul Brehm.
Paul Brehm still occupied the 16-foot-wide house when it was sold at auction on February 8, 1851 for $4,300 (about $177,000 in 2025). It was purchased by another bootmaker, Philip Muller, who moved his family into the upper floors and opened his shop on the ground floor.
Philip and Eva Muller took in five boarders in 1851, two of whom likely worked for Muller. Joseph Dirlmier and Joseph Tilmare were both shoemakers. The other men, William Burger, Philip Finkmauer, and George Sehilling were all cabinetmakers.
On June 29, 1862, The New York Times headlined an article, "A Fire In Spring-Street," and reported that at 2:00 that morning, while the occupants of 190 Spring Street were asleep, a fire broke out in the shoe store, "owned and occupied on the first floor by Mr. Miller [sic]." Fortunately, the fire was confined to the shop and, additionally, Muller was "fully insured" for the $700 damages (nearly $22,000 today).
While he and his wife continued to own and live here, it appears that Philip retired around 1876. That year Henry Otto operated his tailor shop in the ground floor space. In the basement was a "beer saloon" run by Jacob Hensle. The configuration would cause problems in 1878. Every year since 1876, Otto leased his shop to the city as a polling place. (In 1876, for instance, he received $35 for the day's use.)
On December 21, 1878, the New-York Tribune reported, "Captain McDonnell, of the Eighth Police Precinct, was again before the Board of Police yesterday, in regard to his alleged fault in selecting polling places for the last election at Nos. 190 and 205 Spring-st. where it is alleged that liquor was sold." In questioning, "Captain McDonnell admitted that No. 190 Spring-st, had a beer saloon in the basement under the polling-room."
Henry Otto's tailor shop was replaced in 1879 by Claude M. Boland's business, whose family lived upstairs with the Mullers. His self-applauding listing in the city directory that year read:
Boland, Charles M. machinist, engineer, inventor and manufacturer of over-stitching sewing-machines for furs, gloves, &c., patented April 23d, 1878, 190 Spring st.
Interestingly, on October 3, 1890, Philip and Eva Muller transferred title to 190 Spring Street to Jacob Weindorf as a "gift," according to the Record & Guide. In return, Weindorf gave the couple a "life lease" on the property, assuring they would have a home.
In the meantime, tenants who shared the upper floors with the Mullers continued to come and go. Two young Italian immigrants, cousins Michael and Nicolo Pierro lived here in 1890. The pair would be pulled into a dramatic, and finally fatal, incident that year.
Nicolo Pierro seduced a young woman, Pasquelina Robertielio, who lived at 156 Mott Street. The "ruination" of a young Italian woman in the 1890s was a serious situation. Nicolo "refused to have anything more to do with her," according to court testimony later.
Michael accompanied Nicolo to Pasquelina's house in January 1891 where he tried to make peacemaker between the pair. Michael later recalled, "At the close of the conversation Pasquelina said, "All right. But if Nicolo doesn't marry me I will kill him."
Things became even more dire when Pasquelina found out she was pregnant. The wedding was set for March 1, 1891, but Pierro did not show up. Then the would-be bride discovered that he intended to sail to Italy the following day. Pasquelina waited outside 190 Spring Street all night. Finally, Nicolo stepped out of the door. The Evening World reported, "Crazed by the thought that she was about to become a mother and driven to desperation by her lover's duplicity, she pulled down the pistol he had given her and shot him down."
Nicolo managed to stumble back to his room. In court on May 20, Michael Pierro testified that his cousin, "told him that Pasquelina had shot him." He died a few minutes later.
In August 1907, real estate operators Lowenfeld & Prager purchased the vintage house. The following year they sold it to Guiseppe Sabbatino. After decades of several families sharing the upper floors, 190 Spring Street was finally a single-family home. Sabbatino was described by The Sun as "a wealthy real estate man."
The following year, on March 7, 1908, the Record & Guide reported that Sabbatino had contracted architect Max Muller to "improve" 190 Spring Street. It is unclear exactly what the renovations entailed.
The Sabbatino's son, Nicholas was a musician by 1913. He was apparently, as well, an obnoxious predator. Around 6:00 on the evening of December 23 that year, Patrolman Koelbe noticed Sabbatino hanging around the corner of Spring and Sullivan Streets. Koelbe said later that Sabbatino was "carrying an umbrella and watching young girls leave a factory." One after another, Sabbatino propositioned the girls, who were reportedly between 15 and 16 years old.
According to The Sun, Koelbe recounted, "I walked over and asked him where he lived and he said he lived in Spring street. I said to him: 'If you don't go away from here, I'll lock you up.'"
The smug musician replied, "Lock me up." He was well aware he had nothing to fear even if he were arrested. At the time, he had been apprehended at least six times, convicted, and in each instance his sentence was suspended.
Koelbe walked away, but "kept his eyes on the young man and afterward did lock him up," said The Sun. This time, however, Sabbatino's fate would be far different. Convicted again, Sabbatino's sentencing was scheduled for February 26, 1914. He faced Judge Wadhams in General Sessions, who The Sun said, "approves of heavy fines and long terms for mashers."
Wadhams declared, "The streets of our city can only be maintained as safe places in which girls and women can go to and from their work by the punishment of those who interfere and annoy them while on the streets." He sentenced Nicholas Sabbatino, "to five months on Blackwell's Island for annoying young girls on their way home from work."
Appropriately, given the long history of Muller's shop here, M. Cuzzi's Shoe Repairing occupied the store in 1941. While the Sabbatinos still owned the building and lived here, a sign next to the residential entrance notes "ROOMS." via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.
The Sabbatino family lived here at least through 1941. By 1950, the upper floors were converted to apartments. It became a center of the folk music scene.
Paul Clayton moved in around 1957. Born in 1931, Clayton was instrumental in reviving folk music in the 1950s and 1960s. Shortly afterward, Roger Abrahams took an apartment. While living here, he recorded with Dave Van Ronk. In his Bob Dylan's New York, A Historic Guide, Dick Weissman described 190 Spring Street as:
...an apartment building where a few folk singers and fans lived. On Sunday evenings there were regular jam sessions. The different apartments were basically divided into different music factions. There was the bluegrass apartment, the ballad apartment, and so forth. Future folklorist Roger Abrahams, professional folk singer Paul Clayton, and Village folk singer Gina Glaser were often in attendance.
The atmosphere at the time was captured in Robert Cantell's When We Were Good, The Folk Revival:
Roger Abrahams recalls the Sunday evening sings in Paul Clayton's apartment at 190 Spring Street; Pete Seeger, Dave Van Ronk, Theo Bikel, Bob Gibson, and Odetta made regular visits there. Clayton had been collecting songs in the mountains above Charlottesville, bringing them to his Village companions with the bloom still on them.
A renovation completed in 1964 resulted in a two-family home. An advertisement in The Villager on December 17 described the "Unique Upper Duplex" as, "two story, living room, fireplace, skylights, gourmet kitchen, dining area, bedroom, bath, beamed ceiling, paneled balcony." The listed rent was $325, just over $3,000 per month by today's conversion.
It was during that alteration that the facade was substantially remodeled, the lintels removed and the dormer enlarged.
In the turbulent political and social 1960s, James C. Hormel was in Washington D.C. and a founder of The New Party. He later described it as "the perfect environment for my own rebellion." In his autobiography, Fit to Serve, Hormel says,
Within the span of three years, from 1965 to 1968, everything in my life changed. I went from being a model husband and father to a divorcé; from a Republican to a very left-wing Democrat; and from a timid person to someone on the verge of taking charge of his life.
Part of that change was Hormel's acknowledgement of his homosexuality. When Nixon won the presidency in 1968, Hormel writes, "I had to face the reality that The New Party was over." He continues:
I went back to New York and moved into a skinny townhouse at 190 Spring Street in Soho, which was still like any other Italian neighborhood in the city, with grandmothers keeping watch from their windows and laundry strung out to dry.
Hormel not only moved into the lower triplex in 190 Spring Street, he purchased the building. He remained here until 1972 when, while he was out of town, an electrical fire broke out, heavily damaging the building. Later that year Hormel sold the property and moved to Hawaii. (From 1999 to 2001, Hormel served as United States Ambassador to Luxembourg, the first openly gay man to represent the country as an ambassador.)
!90 Spring street and the house to its left were originally identical, part of Nathaniel Paine's group.
The venerable house with an astounding history still contains two residences.
photographs by the author
No comments:
Post a Comment