The 1904 Van Cordlandt - 1240 Park Avenue

 

photo by Deansfa

In the late 19th century, the soot-belching locomotives that ran down the middle of Park Avenue made the thoroughfare unappealing.  But with the trains converted to electricity, magnificent residences and upscale apartment buildings began appearing along the avenue.   In 1903, William F. Rohrig broke ground for a six-story apartment building, The Van Cortlandt, at the northwest corner of Park Avenue and 96th Street.  Designed by George F. Pelham, it was completed the following year at a cost of $195,000, or about $7 million in 2026.

Although The Van Cordlandt turned its shoulder to the busy avenue, its entrance on East 96th Street took the more enviable address of 1240 Park Avenue.  Pelham's tripartite Renaissance Revival design included a rusticated limestone base and an off-set entrance portico.  Its paired, polished granite Scamozzi columns upheld a substantial entablature that announced the building's name. It was crowned by a stone balustrade.

image via streeteasy.com

The brick-faced, four-story midsection was trimmed in limestone.  The Renaissance motif was carried out with arched and triangular pediments, occasional cornucopia-framed windows, and faux balconies.  Pelham emphasized horizontality at the top section with two running bandcourses.  A distinguished stone balustrade ran along the bracketed cornice.

The areaway was protected by high, wrought iron fencing.  The World's New York Apartment House Album, 1904 (copyright expired)

The Apartment Houses of the Metropolis described:

The suites are of seven, eight and nine rooms with two baths.  Parlors and libraries are finished in mahogany, whilst the dining-rooms are in unique quartered oak, with a high wainscoting and Dutch plate shelving.  The ceilings have oak beams.

There were four apartments per floor, the rents for which ranged from $1,050 to $1,400 per year--or $3,150 to $4,200 per month today.

The World's New York Apartment House Album, 1904 (copyright expired)

The Van Cordlandt filled with well-to-do residents.  Among them was Mrs. Mollie Anderson who became entangled in a debacle worthy of a silent film comedy on the afternoon of December 8, 1913.  That day the city experienced a gale with 88-mile-per-hour winds.  The following day, The New York Times reported, "Many persons were injured, much damage was done to property."  Mollie Anderson was unfortunate enough to have had ventured out.

She was walking along West End Avenue between 70th and 71st Street when, according to The New York Times, "she had occasion to open her handbag."  A gust of wind blew $50 in small bills into the air.  (The amount would translate to more than $1,600 today.)  As Mollie ran to gather up the bills, two rings--one containing five diamonds and the other a wedding ring--tumbled out of her bag "and were carried along by the wind," said the article.

Her increasingly panicked scrambling made the situation worse.  Two bank books fell out of her purse and were blown away.  Mollie's cries attracted a crowd as well as Patrolman Moskowitz.  People ran through the windstorm snatching at bills.  Mollie Anderson's struggle did not end well.  The New York Times reported, "The patrolman found only $17 of the $50 lost.  The bank books were found by a boy, but the rings, if found, were not returned."

Among the socially visible couples in The Van Cortlandt during the Depression years were Dr. William Wallace Whitelock and his wife, the former Baroness Mary von Stockhausen of Berlin.  The couple had one son, Otto von Stockhausen Whitelock.  Their country house, Tre Terrazzi, was in Pelham Manor, New York

An educator and author, Whitelock was born in Baltimore in 1870 and traced his ancestry to Sir Bulstrode Whitelock, the 17th century Governor of Windsor Castle, and to Richard Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.  Having received his Ph.D. from the University of Munich in 1893, he worked for The New York Times, interviewing celebrated figures like Thomas Hardy, H. G. Wells, George Moore, Rudyard Kipling, and Zola.  Starting in 1915, he was a contributor to the weekly humor magazine Life.  Among his several books were the  1903 The Literary Guillotine, the 1907 Foregone Verses, and a novel, When Kings Go Forth To Battle, published in 1907.

Born Baroness Mary Louise von Stockhausen in London, Mary Whitelock was educated in England, France and Germany.  She was presented at the Bavarian Court, the Austrian Court and the Court of St. James at the turn of the century, and in 1905 was given a private audience by Pope Pius X.

Admired by her beauty, she was a favorite model for prominent artists, and at one point a portrait of her by Stroese was placed on exhibition in the Crystal Palace.  Additionally, she was an accomplished singer and debuted in Paris with the Concerts Lamoureux and was later offered a contract with the Metropolitan Opera Company.

As a young woman, Mary Louise translated English works into German and French.  It was during that time that she met William Whitelock and they were married in London in 1901.

The Whitelocks' entertaining was widely followed by the society columns.  On December 31, 1937, for instance, The New York Sun reported that the couple "have returned to their residence at 1240 Park avenue, and will entertain at a reception on Sunday."  Among the guests that afternoon was Mary Dimmick Harrison, the former First Lady.  

Mary Harrison was a close friend of the Whitelocks.  The following year, on April 25, 1938, The Sun reported, "Dr. and Mrs. William Wallace Whitelock gave a dinner last night at their home, 1240 Park avenue, in honor of Mrs. Benjamin Harrison."

Also socially visible were Colonel George Chase Lewis and his wife, the former Louise Manning.  The couple had two daughters, Flora Louise and Virginia.  On December 29, 1938, The New York Times reported that the Lewises "gave a tea dance yesterday at the Officers Club on Governors Island.  The event served as a coming-out party for Miss Virginia J. Lewis."  The article mentioned, "Her sister, Miss Flora Louise Lewis, made her debut in the same setting several seasons ago."

At the time of her debut, Virginia Lewis was a freshman at Bryn Mawr College.  Possibly inspired by her father's military career, as war spread across Europe, she turned her attention to America's defense.  On June 27, 1940, The New York Times reported on the swearing in "of three volunteers into the first New York rifle squad of the America First Assembly of Women."  Among the volunteers was Virginia Lewis.  She and the other two girls had trained for six months.

A fascinating resident at the time was Caroline Sanders Truax, the widow of former New York State Supreme Court Justice Charles H. Truax, who died in 1910.  Caroline was one of the first women admitted to the New York State bar.  Born in Cincinnati, she was a graduate of the New York University Law School.  She practiced law briefly, turning her attention to conditions in what was then termed insane asylums.  The New York Times remarked that she "did much to better the conditions of inmates, making a study of American, English and Oriental asylums."

Like Mary Louise Whitelock, Caroline Sanders was a beauty in her youth.  She married Charles Truax in 1896 and on a tour of Europe (possibly their honeymoon), they visited the studio of French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme.  It resulted in Caroline's posing for the artist.  The portrait, with Caroline depicted as Sappho, a Grecian poet, was well received and when it arrived in America, was exhibited several times.

Gérôme's portrait of Caroline Sanders Traux hung in the Van Cordlandt apartment.  from the collection of Bowdoin University.

In the meantime, the Whitelocks continued to host glittering dinner parties and receptions.  On May 2, 1938, The New York Post reported on their dinner party in honor of composer Aurelio Giorni.  There were 22 "distinguished" guests, including pianist George Copeland.  This dinner party would stand out.

During a gathering in the apartment earlier that year, Copeland boasted that "his long residence in Spain and his experience with Spanish herbs and spices qualified him to rank among the best spaghetti cooks in New York."  The New York Post reported, "Mrs. Whitelock immediately challenged his contention on the ground that her many years of residence in Italy gave her a claim to the title."  

And so, this dinner party included a contest.  Copeland prepared his spaghetti and Mary Louise hers.  The article explained:

The spaghetti was brought in by two white-capped chefs, bearing two silver platters, one containing Mr. Copeland's effort, and the other Mrs. Whitelock's.  Each guest member of the jury received a portion from each slaver, and was required to determine which he or she preferred.  They were given through the salad and desert courses to record their votes.

The article concluded, "needless to say the hostess saw to it that Mr. Copeland won."

In 1939, Dr. William Wallace Whitelock was struck "by a drunken vagrant on the street," according to The New York Times.  He never fully recovered from his injuries and the following year, on January 28, 1940, died in the couple's Van Corlandt apartment at the age of 70.  

The New York Times reported on June 26, 1949, "Mrs. William Wallace Whitelock, the former Baroness Mary Louise von Stockhausen, who was a prominent figure in early twentieth century literary, artistic and musical circles, died on Friday at Tre Terrazzi...after an illness of several months."

An intricate marble mosaic "carpet" floor, a stone fireplace, Caen stone walls, and a beamed ceiling gave the Van Cordlandt's lobby a refined air.  image via streeteasy.com

Living here in the early 1960s were William L. Brett and his wife.  Born in Przemysl, Poland in 1913, he was a naturalized American.  The European representative of the George E. Failing Company (a division of the Westinghouse Air Brake Company), he made routine business trips to Poland.

On February 9, 1962, he checked out of his Warsaw hotel to make a trip to Katowice, Poland.  After she heard nothing from him for a week, Mrs. Brett contacted the United States Embassy.  What they discovered was alarming.  The New York Times reported that he "has been held in [a] Warsaw jail for nearly three weeks on a charge of an illegal currency transaction."  It is unclear what the infraction was, but consul A. Gregory Nowakoski Jr., who visited him in the prison, said he "appeared to be in good health."

Among the Bretts' neighbors in the building were George A. Rosette, a former journalist and advertising executive, and his composer wife, the former Marion Savage.  After becoming a reporter for The Baltimore Sun in 1912, George opened an advertising agency the following year.  In 1925 the couple moved to New York and he began writing a column in The New York Daily Mirror, "Muse in Manhattan."  In 1940 he established the Rosette Advertising Agency and in 1946 began producing phonograph records as president of Corona Records, Inc.  The New York Times noted that Marion's songs were recorded by Corona Records.

Unfortunately, the distinguished rooftop balustrade has been removed.  But other than zig-zagging fire escapes that detract from George F. Pelham's design and the need for a gentle cleaning, The Van Cortlandt looks very much as it did in 1904 when it opened.