In 1891, James Livingston broke ground for a row of upscale rowhouses on West 87th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. Designed by Thom & Wilson in the Renaissance Revival style, they were completed the following year. Among them was 53 West 87th Street. Like the others, it was four stories tall above an English basement and faced in brownstone. A dog-legged box stoop rose to the rusticated parlor level. A rounded bay crowned by a stone balustrade dominated the second floor.
Livingston retained possession of the house for years, finally selling it to Cornelius and Clarissa Outwater Doremus in March 1898 for $38,000 (about $1.4 million in 2026). Born in 1842 and 1843, respectively, the couple had three children, Fred S., Myra, and Cornelia Adelaide (who went by her middle name).
Doremus was president of the Germania Life Insurance Company, described by The Sun as "one of the largest insurance companies in New York."
Cornelius Doremus, Empire State Notables, 1914 (copyright expired)
Because Cornelia Adelaide had already been debuted in 1896, her name appeared next to her mother's when The New York Times reported on January 5, "Mrs. Cornelius Doremus and Miss Cornelia Doremus of 53 West Eighty-seventh Street have announced the first and third Wednesdays as their days for receiving."
That winter social season would be the last for the Doremus family in the house. That year they sold it to Charles and Kate Anna Glatz. The couple had two daughters, Elise Pauline and Henrietta Caroline. (Henrietta had married Joseph Schauweker in 1893 and they lived in Cleveland.)
Charles Glatz was born in Switzerland on June 29, 1836. He was the founder and principal of the C. Glatz & Co., which manufactured watch cases, and he was highly involved in real estate operations.
Charles Glatz (original source unknown)
The Glatzes' new home was the scene of Elise's wedding to Harry Canfield on April 20, 1897. The newlyweds moved to Brooklyn where their only child, Catherine Flavia, was born.
In 1904, Charles Glatz was taxed "as the possessor of personal property to the amount of $10,000," as reported by The New York Times. Glatz protested, swearing "that all of his securities were in railroad stocks and bonds, which are exempt, as they pay taxes in other ways," explained the newspaper. The assessment was canceled.
The following year, the assessors, recalling the incident, did not charge Glatz any property tax. On February 25, 1905, The New York Times reported, "President O'Donnell of the Tax Board is suffering from a severe nervous shock. Something happened in his department yesterday the like of which he never dreamed of even in his rosiest moments." Charles Glatz had stopped by the office to explain that he had disposed of some of his railroad stock "and now had $20,000 worth of personal property which should be taxed," said the article. Glatz's commendable honesty cost him $300 in taxes--about $11,300 today.
Like many wealthy New Yorkers, the Glatzes sometimes spent their summer season in Europe. That necessitated the closing of their townhouse and laying off the staff. In such cases, employers would often attempt to help servants find positions. On February 2, 1905, for instance, Kate Anna advertised, "A lady closing her home wishes to place a competent waitress to assist chamberwork; some time in her employ." And an ad that appeared in the New-York Tribune on April 25, 1909 read, "A gentleman going abroad wishes a situation for his coachman, who has served him faithfully several years."
Harry Canfield died in 1909 at the age of 41 and Elise moved back to 53 West 87th Street, bringing along her daughter, Catherine.
Charles Glatz died in the West 87th Street house at the age of 83 on August 16, 1919. His funeral was held in the drawing room on August 18.
Kate Anna received Charles's estate, "estimated at more than $100,000," as reported by The New York Times. (The common practice of releasing "more than" figures in reporting on estates cloaked the totals and protected the heirs' privacy. Even at that, the $100,000 figure would translate to nearly $2 million today.) Upon Kate Anna's death, the estate would be divided equally between Henrietta and Elise, explained the article.
On November 17, 1920, Elise announced Catherine Flavia Canfield's engagement to Leighton Elliott, who lived in Toronto. In reporting the engagement, The New York Times noted, "During the war Mr. Elliott served as a First Lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Field Artillery." The couple was married in the Hotel Gotham on June 11, 1921.
Kate Anna Glatz died in the West 87th Street house on February 17, 1922 at the age of 80. As had been the case with her husband, her funeral was held in the drawing room two days later.
Henrietta and Elise sold the house nine months later to real estate operator Frederick Brown. In reporting the transaction on November 7, 1922, the New-York Tribune mentioned, "The building contains fourteen rooms and two baths."
image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.
Brown resold 53 West 87th Street three months later for $45,000 (about $850,000 today). The New York Times reported on February 8, 1923 that the house "will be altered into a five-story apartment house with four rooms and two baths on each floor." The unnamed buyer, however, apparently changed his mind. On June 19, the newspaper reported that James Bocalos had purchased it "for occupancy."
The Kusche family occupied 53 West 87th Street at midcentury. In 1955, at a time when some teenagers were seen as delinquents, the teens on the West 87th Street block turned to neighborhood improvement. On December 4, 1955, The New York Times reported, "Eleven youngsters on West Eighty-seventh Street became gardeners yesterday morning, when seventeen London plane trees were planted on their block." The article said the teenagers wore "shiny, new green and yellow buttons signifying their membership on the junior committee of the Eighty-seventh Street park Block Association."
"The tree planting is the first project of the two-month-old block group," said the article. "By spring, the association hopes to have planted teen more trees." Willie Kusche was the junior committee chairman. He explained that each tree would be assigned to a "patrol member" who was responsible for its care.
A renovation completed in 1970 resulted in two apartments per floor. That configuration lasted until a remodeling in 1999-2000 returned 53 West 87th Street to a single family home.
It became home to Tony Award winning actress Judith Ivey and her husband. Born in 1951, Ivey won the Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Play twice--for her 1981 role in Steaming, and her 1984 performance in Hurlyburly. She was nominated for Best Actress in a Play for Park Your Car in Harvard Yard in 1992. Her first film appearance was the female lead role in the 1984 The Lonely Guy. She would go on to appear in numerous films, including Brighton Beach Memoirs, Compromising Positions, and Women Talking.
In 2011, a year before Ivey would be nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Play for the 2012 revival of The Heiress, Ivey sold 53 West 87th Street.
Other than replacement windows, little has changed externally to the vintage house over its 135 years.
photographs by the author
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