The Jacob Scheer House - 323 West 108th Street

London-born Thomas Graham was both builder and architect.  In 1898, he took his 25-year-old son, William Van Wyck Graham, as his partner in an ambitious project--the erection of seven upscale rowhouses on West 108th Street between Riverside Drive and Broadway.  William was listed as the owner and builder of record, while his father was designated as the architect.

On November 4, 1899, as the row from 317 to 329 West 108th Street was taking shape, the Real Estate Record & Builders' Guide predicted that they would be "the finest and best equipped American basement residences ever offered to the public for sale in this city."  The article noted, "They are all built, finished and fitted in the most approved style of modern domestic construction, with hard woods, tiles, mosaics, sanitary plumbing, and the closest attention to the necessity of producing large, airy apartments, rich in appearance and containing all the requirements of elegance and comfort."   

323 West 108th Street is the fourth residence from the right.  Real Estate Record & Builders' Guide, November 4, 1899 (copyright expired)

Young, wealthy and with a bright future ahead, William Van Wyck Graham committed suicide on August 31, 1900.  His fiancée had broken their engagement.  William's devastated father stopped work on the West 108th Street project, which changed hands twice before the final owner, Hugh J. Gallagher, commissioned the architectural firm of Horgan & Slattery to complete the houses.  The row was completed in 1902, four years after ground was broken.

Thomas Graham had designed two massive mansions on the western end of the row, with five 17-foot wide residences to the east.  The latter group was designed in the Renaissance Revival style and among the most striking was 323 West 108th Street.  The arched entrance above a short stoop was crowned with a elaborately carved spandrel below an ornate curved hood.  The entrance alone caused the house to stand out among the row.

Clad in beige brick, the upper four stories were embellished with rich terra cotta decorations, notably in the Corinthian pilasters that flanked the paired windows of the second and third floors.

The house was initially rented.  In 1903 James Geraty signed a lease, and in 1905 Harry Newington and his wife occupied the residence.  Then, in January 1906, Jacob Sheer purchased 323 West 108th Street.

Scheer was born in 1863 in Pumpenai, Lithuania.  His wife, the former Dora Jaffe, was born in 1871 in Vilijampole, Lithuania.  When they moved into the 108th Street house, their four children--Mae, William, Frances, and George--were 10, 7, 5, and 2 years old respectively.

Jacob Sheer, original source unknown.

Upon arriving in New York City in 1888, Scheer went into the jewelry business.  Then, six years before buying 323 West 108th Street, he and Dora partnered in real estate development.  In 1907, Jacob co-founded the Scheer-Ginsberg Realty and Construction Company and was its president.

Dora Jaffe Scheer, original source unknown.

Not long after moving into the residence, the Scheers were confronted by their celebrated next door neighbor, Victor Herbert, who lived at No. 321.  Music and art was an important facet of a young lady's upbringing, and Mae Scheer played piano.  Unfortunately, her morning practicing wafted through the party wall of the two houses, upsetting the quietude necessary for Herbert to compose.  Neil Gould, in his A Theatrical Life-Victor Herbert, explains, 

The young lady was accustomed to practicing her Czerny [piano exercises] for three hours each morning--about the same time that Herbert loved to compose...The young lady's music penetrated the wall of Herbert's studio and disturbed his routine.

 

A conference between Herbert's wife, Theresa, and Dora Scheer solved the neighborly dispute.  Mae's practice hours was moved to the afternoon and Herbert's morning composing time was restored. 

Mae's engagement to I. Herbert Gordon was announced at a reception at the Hotel Majestic on October 18, 1914.  Not long after her wedding, the Scheers sold 323 West 108th Street to Mrs. Charlotte A. Haig, who rented it.  In September 1917, she signed a lease with E. N. Sinclair.

Charlotte's next tenant would upset the 1906 detente established with the Scheers and Herberts.  Dr. Fery Lulek was the founder of the Conservatory of Music.  Neil Gould writes that moving into 323 West 108th Street were "a violiniste and two pianistes as female artists were then known...eight vocalists, and, together with Mrs. Mary Turner as chaperone, and her daughter 'Miss Jean' as piano coach."  He adds, "As Victor and Theresa watched in disbelief, in they came: eight chirping sopranos, four Steinway pianos (one for each floor) and a pubescent Paganini."

This time a ceasefire was harder to accomplish.  On March 31, 1920, The New York Times titled an article, "Victor Herbert Asks Relief From Music."  The Herberts sued, charging their neighbors with "disorderly conduct."  Mary Turner testified,
 

We are sorry if we annoy the Herberts, but what can we do?  We have moved the pianos.  We do not practice all the pianos at one time, as Mrs. Herbert said.  No doubt the Herberts do not enjoy the music.  It is quite likely they do not appreciate our music.  Thank heaven, it isn't the kind of music Mr. Herbert writes.  We play classical music!

The Herberts lost the suit, but their nemesis next door was soon gone, anyway.  Charlotte Haig sold the house in April 1920 to the Ahl Co., Inc.  The sale initiated a series of rapid-fire turnovers, ending with the purchase by the New York City Society of the Methodist-Episcopal Church for $38,500 in 1921.  (The price would translate to about $675,000 in 2026.)  

The house became home to the Japanese Methodist Church, its affiliated groups, and to Japanese tenants.  The 1922 report of the New York City Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church said, "As a social, intellectual and spiritual center and rendezvous for the Japanese community in New York City this property presents an ideal equipment and places our Church in a position to fully entertain the large responsibility we have for the Japanese."

The 1923 Directory of Social Agencies described the Japanese Church and Educational Institute (Mii Kyokai), as being "for Japanese young men."  The tenants living here were varied.  Some routinely advertised for work as butlers.  In contrast, architect Hisashi Tanaka, lived here in 1928.  Born in Tokyo in 1899, he had a degree in Architectural Engineering, and a Master's in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from the University of Illinois.  Muralist Sakari Sukuki lived here in 1934 when he was employed by the Public Works Arts Project.  Born in Iwate, Japan in 1899, he attended the California School of Fine Arts.

Sakari Suzuki painting on a mural for the Willard Park Hospital in New York City for the Works Project Administrations.  from the collection of the Archives of American Art.

On May 17, 1928, The Christian Advocate reported,

Sunday, April 29, the birthday of the Emperor of Japan, was appropriately made the occasion of an interesting service at the Japanese Methodist Episcopal Church, 323 West 108th Street...Beautiful American and Japanese silk flags were presented to the church.

The American flag was presented by Mr. and Mrs. John A. Shedd.  "Mr. Schedd, in presenting the American flag, challenged the well-known words of Kipling: 'East is East and West is West / And never the twain shall meet'," said the article.

Kipling's sentiment seemed to come true on December 7, 1941 when the Empire of Japan attacked the United States Naval Base in Pearl Harbor.  Four months later, on April 18, 1942, The Japanese Methodist Church and Institute and its affiliate groups, The Young People's Federation of New York and The Tozai Club of New York, signed a declaration that began, "We affirm our loyalty to this country and faith in its ideals."

image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

The Japanese Methodist Church and Institute weathered the war.  The rampant anti-Japanese sentiment in America, however, did not end with peace.  On November 29, 1946, The New York Times reported on Rev. Alfred S. Akamatsu's sermon the previous day.  He, "declared that our nation had not yet attained the goals of 'cultural and racial democracy,'" said the article, which added, "Declaring that a 'fearful racial tension' exists in America today, Mr. Akamatsu said 'God calls upon us not only to assist other peoples but to show the way to truly democratic living."

In 1953 the Japanese Methodist Church and Institute merged with the Japanese Christian Mission and the Japanese Christian Association.  No. 323 West 108th Street became headquarters of the United Church of Christ Japanese-American.  The New York Times, on August 19, 1963, explained that it "is a federation of Christians of Japanese descent and it comprises most Protestant denominations."

In 1967, the group renovated a three-story commercial building on lower Seventh Avenue as its "first adequate home," as worded by The New York Times on April 30.  Four years later, 323 West 108th Street was acquired by the Bloomingdale School of Music, a non-profit institution.  On October 22, 1972, The Times reported, "The Bloomingdale House of Music...now in its ninth year of operation, has finally been able to move into its own building at 323 West 108th Street.

The school continues to occupy the former Scheer mansion.  Working with public schools, it offers weekly music lessons to 500.  It also holds concerts in the facility.

Other than its modern, industrial grade security gates, the Scheer house remains remarkably intact.

photographs by the author.