The 1890 Adam and Matilda Keller House - 342 West 122nd Street

 

In 1889, Developers Joseph W. and A. Alonzo Teets completed the construction of eleven handsome brownstone-fronted rowhouses along the north side of West 122nd Street between Morningside and Manhattan Avenues.  Apparently pleased with the project, that year A. Alonzo Teets brought back the architect, J. A. Webster, to design a similar row of ten houses on the opposite side of the street.

This time E. H. Hammond was listed as working with Webster on the designs.  Filed in May 1889, the plans listed the construction cost of the three-story, 16-foot wide homes at $11,000 each, or about $387,000 in 2025.  Near matches to the earlier residences, they were a successful blend of Romanesque Revival, neo-Grec, and Queen Anne styles.  And, just as was the case with those across the street, while the eight middle homes were essentially identical, the two end residences stood out.  

Instead of the heavy entrance brackets and cornices of the interior homes, the architects gave these doorways dramatic hood-like arches upheld by small paired colonettes.  The tympana were filled with elaborate Renaissance inspired carvings, including a glaring face.  To further set the end homes apart, in stark contrast to those beefy cast iron railings and stoop newels, these were given whimsical, airy Queen Anne railings with sunbursts and squiggles.

The interior doors with carved panels can be seen through the well-weathered outer doors.

The developer originally leased 342 West 122nd Street to the family of retired merchant Adolph Mohle.  Living with him and his wife was his teenaged son, Paul, from Adolph's first marriage.  On September 17, 1891, the 18-year-old stole and pawned $500 worth of jewelry from his stepmother.  (The figure would translate to nearly $18,000 in 2025.)  A year later, The Press said, "The fear of arrest kept young Mohle away from his father's home ever since."  But his angry father had not stopped searching.  On September 12, 1892, Paul Mohle, now 19 years old, was captured.  The Press reported, "Mr. Mohle intends to have him committed to a reformatory."

Later that year, A. Alonzo Teets sold 342 West 122nd Street to Adam and Matilda Spoha Keller.  Born in 1840, Keller had served with the Seventh Regiment during the Civil War.  He was president of the Keller Manufacturing Company, makers of jewelry.  He and Matilda had two sons, Adam Jr. and Frank; and three daughters, Emma, Estelle and Agnes Marguerite.

The parlor was the scene of Emma's wedding to Dr. Augustine Charles McGuire on June 21, 1899.  The newlyweds would move to Pelham Manor where McGuire would make a significant mark in the medical community.

Estelle, who was Emma's maid of honor, was studying at Normal College at the time.  She received her teaching license in 1901.

The whimsical stoop railings of 342 stood in stark contrast to the muscular iron railings of the other houses along the row.

Although six adult Kellers shared 342 West 122nd Street, the family took in two boarders in 1901.  G. A. Taber was an 1894 graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and worked with the Rapid Transit Commission.  He married Edna May Dearborn on October 25, 1900.  The Technology Review reported in January 1901, Mr. and Mrs. Taber will reside at 342 West 122d Street, New York.

A second wedding took place in the parlor on June 1, 1911.  Agnes Marguerite was married to Edgar Nelson Sidman that evening.  Agnes quickly slipped into the routine of society women.  Eight months later, on February 4, 1912, The New York Times reported, "Mrs. Edgar Nelson Sidman has returned from a four months' trip abroad, and is at the Sherman Square Hotel."

Adam Keller died "suddenly" in the house on the night of January 10, 1915 at the age of 75.  (The term often suggested a heart attack or stroke.)  His funeral was held in the house two days later.

Mathilda sold 342 West 122nd Street in April 1919.  It became home to Jay C. Walton, a commissioner of deeds, and his wife.  Highly involved in politics, Walton had run for Congress under the Independent League ticket in 1910.  His wife was also active and in 1921 was a member of the New York City Federation of Women's Clubs, which sought to advance civic improvements, educational interests and philanthropic work.  She was, as well, a member of the Beethoven Society.

image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services

By the Depression years, 342 West 122nd Street was operated as a rooming house.  Musician Pancho Diggs listed his address here in the 1940 American Federation of Musicians Directory as "c/o I. Smith."  Pancho Diggs and His Orchestra were described in a 1938 advertisement  as "a local sensation."

Pancho Diggs and His Orchestra participated in the Grand Opening of the Jersey Savoy Ballroom in 1938.

Also rooming in the house that year was Selina Johnston, whose name was listed in the Government's roll of Communist Party voters.

Today, 342 West 122nd Street, little changed on the exterior, is a two-family home.  

photographs by the author