W. H. Hoffman's 1870 577 Hudson Street

Henry Romer's coal yard sat at 577 Hudson Street at the end of the Civil War.  On January 11, 1869, George Stevens and a companion entered Romer's office and asked about the price of stove coal.  Concerned about its quality, Stevens asked to examine the coal and Romer took him into the yard.  A moment later Romer heard his office door slam.  He discovered that Stevens's friend had stolen $50 and fled.  The New York Times reported, "Stevens seemed then to have no further need of the coal, and left."  Romers chased Stevens, who was arrested.  The other man escaped.

Romer's coal yard would not survive much longer.  One year later, in February 1870, architect W. H. Hoffman filed plans for two "3 story brick tenements" for H. P. Holzderber at 577 and 579 Hudson Street.  Completed that year, the buildings were faced in brick above storefronts.  Modest, block-like brackets upheld their cornices.

Holzderber leased the store at No. 577 to Phillip Gross, a tailor, while the upper two floors were shared by Charles Hellerman, a clerk; and Ogden H. Tyler, who ran a saloon at 89 Hudson Street.

In 1873, Celestine S. Smith began operating the upper floors as a boarding house.  The widow of William H. Smith, her adult son, William F., who was a ticket agent, also lived here.  Celestine's boarders that year were real estate agent C. D. Moore; and Edward A. Nelson, a candy maker.

The multi-talented Mrs. E. Munroe Hill took over the operation in 1875.  Her advertisement in the New York Herald on May 2 read:

577 Hudson Street, near Eleventh street--Mrs. E. Munroe Hill, electrician and nurse: Board for lady.

Living with Mrs. Hill and her boarders were her daughter and son-in-law, Sarah J. and Jacob Herman.  

By then, William N. Lewis ran a bakery in the ground floor.  He decided to give up the business in the spring of 1875.  His ad in The Sun offered "a bakery for sale," calling it, "a first-rate chance for a young couple."

When, apparently, no one responded to his ad, Lewis reinvented his business.  He converted the former bakery to an "eatinghouse."  On May 27, 1875, he advertised in the same newspaper:  "A Woman cook in an oyster and dining saloon; must be neat and willing.  Apply at 577 Hudson st."

A tragedy occurred here later that year.  Sarah J. Herman died at the age of 28 on December 17.  The notice of her death in the New York Herald noted, "The funeral will take place from the residence of her mother, 577 Hudson street, on Sunday, December 19."

Two months earlier, on October 2, 1875, boarder Henry Menager "left his room at Mrs. Hill's, at 577 Hudson-st.," as reported by the New-York Tribune, "to start for Gallipolis, Ohio, on a visit to his relatives."  Menager was a tea merchant at Church and Vesey Streets.  Concerns were first raised early in January when Mrs. Hill received a letter from his Ohio relatives asking about him.  On January 11, the New-York Tribune reported, "It is said that Mr. Menager carried a large sum of money with him and that he always wore considerable jewelry, which would attract the attention of thieves."

Fearing that he had been robbed and murdered, friends and relatives initiated a search.  Inquiries were made at each town along on the train's route to Gallipolis, "but nothing has been learned that would give any clew to the missing man," said the New-York Tribune.  The newspaper gave a detailed description of Menager, and noted that "he was doing a good business and that his books have been found to be correct."

Then, a possible explanation of Menager's disappearance came to light.  The United States Tea Company filed suit against him for a $1,875 loan it had given Menager.  The loan was due  on October 7, 1875--five days after the tea merchant left town.

On January 27, 1876, the Gallipolis Journal published a one-line article:  "Mr. Henry Menager, whose mysterious disappearance from New York City we noticed a few weeks since has turned up at Selma, Alabama, all right."  Three months later, the Ohio newspaper followed up with an equally succinct article:  "Mr. Henry Menager is in the city."  It does not appear that Menager ever returned to his rooms at Mrs. Hill's.

In the meantime, William N. Lewis's restaurant was successful.  He advertised for, "A woman to wash dishes and assist in kitchen of restaurant," in 1876.  The business was taken over by Samuel S. Davis in 1879.  Living upstairs by then were John Felter and Henry K. Williams.

Upon the death of H. P. Holzderber around 1877, his sons Philip J. and John P. Holzderber had inherited 577 and 579 Hudson Street in equal shares.  They sold 577 Hudson Street to George W. and Josephine L. Sherman on May 18, 1880 for $10,000 (about $317,000 in 2025 terms).

Basil Stearn, who operated a cigar store, boarded here in 1882.  Suspiciously, he ceased restocking his shop.  So by the time a fire broke out at 11:00 on December 21 that year, the New-York Tribune noted, "Stearn's stock had been sold out gradually until many of the cigar boxes were empty."  The newspaper said that the stock was insured for $700, however, "the value of the cigars in the store at the time of the fire was not large."

Stearn was arrested that night "on suspicion of having set fire to his cigar store," as reported by the New-York Tribune.  However, on December 24, the New York Herald reported that he "was discharged yesterday by Justice Ford, as there was no evidence against him."  Stearn did not get away totally free.  The New-York Tribune reported that he paid "a fine of $10 for having a revolver in his possession."

John Felter was still living here when he died on February 22, 1883.  His funeral was held in his rooms on February 24.

By then, the former restaurant space was home to a crockery store.  William F. White leased the building in 1891 and took over the operation of the crockery and hardware store and the renting of the upstairs room.  Before moving in, he had the show windows updated at a cost of $50--about $1,780 today.

White had a country place, as well.  He placed an advertisement in the New York Herald on March 27, 1904 that would certainly raise eyebrows today:  "Country Board for girl, six to eight; $1 week.  W. White, 577 Hudson st."

William F. White finally purchased the building in October 1910.  He would continue to operate the hardware store through the 1920s.

The building was renovated in 1929.  Now, on each floor above the store of John Migladsky, "John the Shoe Man," were two apartments.

In 1941 the Village Restaurant occupied the ground floor.  The building's once identical twin at 579 still survived.  image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

The Depression years saw a restaurant in the commercial space, and by the last quarter of the 20th century, a bar occupied the ground floor here.  

In the early 1980s, the AIDS epidemic began.  Health officials initiated preventative steps, closing down bathhouses where indiscriminate gay sex was performed.  On February 28, 1981, The Villager reported, "Bathhouses, though, are not the only violators" and said that among the locations of which locals had complained was 577 Hudson Street.

The space quickly became Abingdon Square, a jazz bar.  It was replaced by Village West, which would be a destination for jazz music for years.  Today the Hudson Hound, an Irish-style pub occupies the space.  Above the oft-altered storefront, W. H. Hoffman's 1870 facade remains unchanged.

photographs by the author