The Haworth - 239 West 103rd Street

 

photograph by Anthony Bellov

Clarence Fagan True opened his architectural practice in 1889.  He would design at least 270 rowhomes on the Upper West Side before the turn of the century, earning him the moniker "the Face of the Upper West Side." In 1898, developer Lawrence Buckley gave True a rare commission--that of designing an apartment building on 103rd Street between Broadway and West End Avenue, rather than a row of townhomes.

Completed in 1899 at a cost of $60,000 (about $2.4 million in 2026), the seven-story Haworth was faced in beige Roman brick and trimmed in limestone.  Above a short stoop, the arched entrance sat within an impressive portico with Scamozzi columns, a wide entablature decorated with Renaissance designs and a carved ornament.  

photograph by Anthony Bellov

True outlined the lower and midsection with stone quoins and place the windows within Gibbs surrounds.  The elegant stone-faced top floor sat below an overhanging roof.  Its round-arched openings were separated by paired, engaged Scammozi columns.

An advertisement on March 11, 1899 warned potential renters, "six Apartments only remaining unleased."  It described the apartments as being "fully decorated, tiled bathroom, &c., &c."  The advertisement boasted an electric elevator, electric lights, and steam heat.  It said that the Haworth offered "full attendance," meaning that the building's staff included uniformed "hall boys" would be on call to carry packages, deliver mail, and such; and an elevator operator.  Rent for the seven-room apartments was $70, or $2,800 per month today.

The tenants maintained small domestic staffs, and in 1899 help-wanted ads appeared in newspapers seeking maids, cooks and laundresses.  

Among the initial residents was William McKinley Forbes.  Born in Scotland in 1814, he arrived in America in the 1830s.  He operated a dry goods business in Brooklyn before retiring around 1879.  Sadly, the 85-year-old widower would not enjoy his new apartment for long.  On May 3, 1899, just weeks after moving in, he died here.

Another distinguished tenant at the time was Samuel Reeve.  He descended from eight generations of American Reeves, the first of whom settled in Long Island.  Born in 1807, Samuel Reeve came to New York City at the age of 15.  The New-York Tribune remarked that he "cast his first vote for John Quincy Adams for President."  Like William Forbes, he was retired and a widower.  (His late wife was Ann Amelia Caroline Remsen.)  For years he had operated a merchant tailoring establishment in the St. Nicholas Hotel.  He died in his apartment on December 22, 1903 at the age of 96 and his funeral was held in the parlor the next day.

Actor Charles Abbott (whose stage name was Charles Abbott Mace) and his wife, Margaret Julia Mitchell, known to audiences as Maggie Mitchell, were also initial residents.  Maggie first appeared on stage at the Chambers Street Theatre in the role of  Julia in The Soldier's Daughter in 1851.  She was an intimate friend of actor John Wilkes Booth.  Ironically, one of her fans was President Abraham Lincoln, who attended her performances at Ford's Theatre.  At one point, Mary Todd Lincoln and the President invited her to tea at the White House.

This portrait of Maggie Mitchell was taken in 1899, the year she moved into the Haworth.  Players of the Present, 1899 (copyright expired)

Maggie and Charles were married in 1889, while co-starring in Boston.  The San Antonio Light would remark about Maggie's personal wealth later, saying, "The stage brought not only fame, but fortune to Maggie Mitchell.  She owned apartment buildings on Manhattan Island and had a [summer] home in the theatrical colony at Long Branch."

Among the hall boys who worked in the Haworth in 1901 was Clinton Ward, who was a favorite of Maggie Mitchell.  On March 12, The Morning Telegraph reported that Ward went "to the St. Andrew Apartments, 102 West End avenue, to call on his friend, Robert Daniel, a hall boy there."  Daniel was out to lunch, and Clinton Ward, "it is alleged, borrowed his overcoat, which was hanging in the hall."  Robert Daniel notified the police and Clinton Ward was arrested for theft.  The Morning Telegraph titled its article, "Maggie Mitchell Weeps / Aged Actress Learns Her Pet Hallboy, Clinton Word [sic], Is Under Arrest."

The family of Daniel Thompson Pierce Jr. lived here as early as 1904.  Born in Washington, D. C. in 1875, Pierce earned his law degree in 1894 but turned to journalism.  The next year he became editor of Public Opinion and contributed articles on political and social subjects to various newspapers and magazines.  Pierce married Hadassah Hamilton Hellen, known as Dessie, in 1896.  They had a daughter, Hellen Hadassah, born in 1897.  A son, Daniel Pierce III, would be born here in 1907.

Another resident with an impressive pedigree was Smith Thompson.  And lawyer and agent for the Mutual Life Insurance Company, he was born in 1857.  His maternal great-grandfather was Daniel D. Tompkins, a United States Supreme Court Justice, Vice President of the United States under James Monroe, and Governor of New York.  Thompson's paternal grandfather, also named Smith Thompson, was James Monroe's Secretary of the Navy from 1819 to 1823, and, like his father-in-law, was a United States Supreme Court Justice.

The Haworth continued to attract respected figures, like Harvey Mark Thomas, founder of the Thomas Publishing Company and editor of Industry Equipment News; Deputy Assistant District Attorney Edwin Benedict McGuire, here as early as 1926; and retired attorney William Lewis Barnes.

Barnes was born in 1842 and was a widower.  In the spring of 1926, he went to a mountain resort at Wernersville, Pennsylvania.  The 84-year-old became ill in the early part of May.  About two weeks later, on May 25, other visitors got a gruesome shock.  The New York Times reported, "His body was found hanging by other guests, apparently only a few hours after death."

At the fifth floor were Gibbs surrounds, which drew from 18th century English prototypes.  They coexisted with Renaissance inspired detailing at the sixth.  photograph by Anthony Bellov

Even during the Depression years, residents of 239 West 103rd Street were affluent, like the Francis S. McDonnell family, who owned at least one automobile and a 35-foot motor cruiser, the Alice Bee.  

Son John McDonnell was driving through Dobbs Ferry on May 27, 1929, when he ran out of gas.  He and his passenger broke two locks and disconnected the gas line on the village's steam roller and started siphoning gas.  And then Patrolman Edward Doyle showed up.  The Yonkers New York Statesman said that "the desire to get just a few cents worth to carry his car to New York cost John McDonnell...$25 in a fine."  McDonnell left his car as security until he could acquire the money.

On August 21, 1934, Francis S. McDonnell took a party of eight men up the Hudson River on the Alice Bee.  They sailed to past Yonkers and were on the way back when Thomas Keane "lost his balance and fell overboard," as reported by The New York Times.  George McDonnell and another passenger, George Amey, dived in after him.  The article said, "They got him back aboard the boat unconscious."  Unfortunately, the 35-year-old married father of two died on the dock.

image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

Significant change came to 239 West 103rd Street in 1940 when it was converted to a single-room-occupancy hotel.  Where once well-heeled residents enjoyed seven-room suites, there were now 13 furnished rooms per floor.

Living here early in 1944 was Irving N. Kaufman.  Not wanting to pay for his long-distance telephone calls, the 25-year-old identified himself to the operator as E. J. Conroy, "head of the FBI here."  He insisted "that he was entitled to make a long-distance call without payment," reported The New York Times on February 21.  She turned the call over to her supervisor.  Kaufman threatened to have him arrested for a "violation of the Federal communications ruling," if his call was not put through charge-free.  Kaufman never made his telephone call.  Instead, he was arrested on charges of impersonating an FBI agent.

photograph by Anthony Bellov

In January 1960, Minnie Smith, the owner of 239 West 103rd Street, incurred "heavy fines" by the State Rent Administration, which described her as a "neglectful landlord."  Two months later, on March 25, The New York Times reported that numerous violations had resulted in "lengthy litigation" and the eviction of all tenants.  The City Housing Authority seized the building with plans "to repair the rooming house and reconvert the interiors to apartments for families."  Work was completed in 1963 as part of the Douglass Houses project.  There are now four apartments per floor in the building.

many thanks to historian Anthony Bellov for suggesting this post