photograph by Ted Leather
Born in Ohio on November 19, 1826, Augustus Kountze worked in his father's grocery store as a young man. With greater aspirations, he traveled west in 1854--first to Iowa and then to Omaha, Nebraska in 1855. Starting in real estate, he branched out to banking and railroads. On June 14, 1859, he married Catharine Ruth. Their romance almost assuredly had been conducted by letters for the past five years, since Catharine, too, was an Ohio native.
By 1861 Kountze was influential and wealthy. He owned the Omaha Horse Railway Company, was treasurer of the Nebraska Territory, and of the State of Nebraska from 1861 through 1869. By the time he and Catharine moved to New York City in 1872, he had amassed significant land holdings throughout the Midwest and West.
In Manhattan, Augustus Kountze and his brothers, Charles, Herman and Luther, established the Kountze Brothers Bank, of which Augustus was the senior member. He was, as well, president of the Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway Company, and a principal of the Omaha and Northwestern Railroad.
Augustus Kountze, from the collection of The Stephen H. Hart Research Center
Augustus and Catharine established their home at 21 West 48th Street, just west of Fifth Avenue. Then, in 1889, they purchased the 35-foot-wide brownstone mansion at 238 Madison Avenue. Four-stories tall above an English basement, its stoop rose to a columned portico. The mansion's neo-Grec design included beefy lintels with incised decorations. Paired corbels supported the cornice.
Before moving in, the Kountzes made substantial interior renovations. As the work progressed, Catharine visited the showrooms of Pottier & Stymus, one of New York City's most celebrated cabinetmakers, which outfitted the mansion with suites of elegant furniture. Tax records placed the value of the furnishings at $23,691.80, or about $865,000 in 2026 terms. The Kountzes filled the mansion with valuable paintings, sculptures and "bric-a-brac." The same tax documents valued the "paintings &c." even higher than the custom-made furniture, at $24,200.
The Kountzes' residence sat within one of the most fashionable sections of the city. Taking up the northern half of the block was the massive Theodore A. Havemeyer house, and diagonally to the east at 231 Madison Avenue was the William E. Dodge mansion.
Iron fencing and a pair of carriage gates separate the Theodore A. Havemeyer property (right) from the three mansions to the south. The Kountze residence is the middle house, just right of the lamppost. from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York.
Katherine Ruth Smith, the daughter of Catharine's sister, had lived with the Kountzes since 1860, when she was six years old. The New York Times later remarked, "Although she was never legally adopted, she was regarded as their daughter."
The family moved into their renovated mansion in time for Katherine's 1892 wedding. As the date neared, Augustus became ill, The New York Sun saying he "has not been a thoroughly well man for several weeks past." Nevertheless, Katharine was married to Karl Walther Neuhoff "in the Louis XVI room" of the Kountze mansion on April 7, 1892.
The New York Herald called it the "prettiest of the spring weddings thus far," adding, "The large front drawing room was decorated with Marguerites, lilies, azaleas, hydrangeas, and purple orchids." Those orchids may have inspired Catharine Kountze's outfit. "Mrs. Kountze, in a gown of purple velvet, trimmed with passementerie and white lace, held the bridal bouquet of lilies of the valley," said the article.
The reception was brief--lasting from 4:30 until 6:00--but it was too much for Augustus Kountze. Six days later, on April 13, The Sun reported that he "was taken with a chill on Thursday night at the wedding reception of his wife's niece, Miss Katharine Ruth Smith, which was held at his house. That night he was carried to his bed, to which he has been confined every since."
Kountze lingered for three weeks before dying "of a complication of disorders," as worded by the New York Herald, on April 30, 1892. The funeral was held in the Madison Avenue mansion on May 4. The delay made it possible for some mourners to reach New York City. Among those attending the funeral, for instance, was Colorado Senator Henry M. Teller.
Interestingly, the deed to 238 Madison Avenue was not in Catharine's name, as was common among affluent couples, but in her husband's. Augustus's will declared that Catharine was given "for life" the use of the residence, "furniture, &c., paintings, &c."
Katharine and Karl Neuhoff remained in the mansion with Catharine. A mysterious burglary took place on December 11, 1904. The New York Times said the family was a dinner and the servants occupied when "a sneak thief" somehow entered the house. Catharine told police that valuable articles were left behind, prompting police to surmise (ungrammatically) that the burglar "hurriedly took only what he thought he could realize a smug sum on and fled before the family left the dining table." The items stolen, said the article, "included a mink collar and muff, a silver smelling bottle, two rare porcelain boxes and one gold bonbon box, a gold-framed lorgnette, a gold chain, and a chain of gun metal." The value would translate to about $37,300 today.
The Kountze mansion continued to be the setting of polite entertainments. On January 23, 1914, Catherine hosted a dinner, and on March 25, 1915, The New York Times reported, "Mrs. Karl W. Neuhoff of 238 Madison Avenue gave a luncheon yesterday, followed by a matinée party."
Considering the conflict raging in Europe, one event in the house was especially newsworthy. On March 29, 1916, the New York Herald reported that Karl Neuhoff "gave a small dinner at his home, 238 Madison avenue, last evening in honor of Count Johann von Bernstorff, the German Ambassador." Among the other 12 guests were Dr. Heinreich F. Albert, the fiscal agent of Germany, and Captain Ewald Hecker, head of the German Red Cross. The article mentioned, "After the dinner the members of the party went to the Metropolitan Opera House to witness a German production of a Shakespearian play."
The year prior to that function, the Havemeyer mansion was demolished to be replaced by a 16-story business building. With the once exclusive Murray Hill neighborhood being invaded by commerce, in April 1917 Augustus Kountze's estate placed 238 Madison Avenue on the market. The changes to the neighborhood was reflected in the realtor's advertisement. It said in part, "Can be used for business or profitably altered for business on lower floors with apartments above."
Catharine Kountze and the Neuhoffs moved into the Plaza Hotel where Catharine died the following year on April 28, 1918. The new owner leased the Madison Avenue mansion to the National Emergency Relief Society. The house would be used as the society's headquarters and for use by "soldiers or sailors," according to The Evening World.
This photograph taken around 1928 shows the business building on the site of the Havemeyer mansion. The National Emergency Relief Society had not altered the former Kountze house, two doors to the south. from the collection of the New York Public Library.
The society welcomed servicemen stopping in Manhattan on their way to or from the war. On November 28, 1919, for instance, The Sun announced a dance "for men in uniform" to be held here that evening. The National Emergency Relief Society remained a few years following the end of the war. On January 2, 1920, it held one of its final servicemen's dances.
In 1922, F. A. Lawlor operated his gallery here, selling "paintings, porcelains, bronzes, furniture, ship models." The parlor floor was home to the National Democratic Club. It would remain at least through 1928.
A significant remodeling by architect J. A. Berlinger in 1937 resulted in a multipurpose building. The stoop was removed, two commercial spaces were installed at street level, and the upper floors converted to 14 apartments. The neo-Grec details, including the cornice, were removed.
In 1940, the Stew Bar moved into one of the store spaces. It was supplanted in the mid-1950s by Giambelli, an Italian restaurant. The New York Times food critic John Canaday wrote on January 3, 1957, "'Eating well' at Giambelli means consuming food that ranges from above average to excellent in an atmosphere that is unfailingly delightful."
And, apparently, the restaurant was delightful. It survived for decades, until Madison Bistro, a "restaurant Francais," opened here in June 1990.
As early as 2005, the Candy Club, a frozen dessert shop, occupied the space next door to Madison Bistro. Just before closing up at around 10:00 on the night of August 23 that year, the proprietor was on the telephone with his wife. Suddenly, a "man dressed in dark jeans, a long white shirt and a white hat" entered and shot the owner twice in the chest, as reported by the Staten Island Advance. The victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital in critical condition.
Madison Bistro remained through 2024, by which time the Rico Bagel shop had moved into the other space. Margaux replaced Madison Bistro.
photo via loopnet.com
In the meantime, the brownstone facade of 238 Madison Avenue has been painted. Squeezed between 20th century commercial buildings, it is the last remnant of the refined period when this Murray Hill block was home to some of Manhattan's wealthiest citizens.
many thanks to reader Ted Leather for suggesting this post
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