The 1855 Egbert L. Viele House - 8 West 28th Street

In 1855 John E. Kinnier erected two handsome brownstone-faced houses at Nos. 6 and 8 West 28th Street, between Fifth Avenue and Broadway.  At 25-feet wide and four stories tall, the high-stooped homes were intended for well-heeled buyers.

At the time Egbert Ludovicus Viele was the State Engineer of New-Jersey and would be appointed Chief Engineer of Central Park in 1856.  Born in 1825, he was graduated from West Point in 1847 and had served in the Mexican American War.  He was made engineer of Brooklyn's Prospect Park in 1860, but left the job to fight in the Civil War.  In 1863, upon his return to civilian life with the rank of general, he was made Commissioner of Parks.

Viele and his wife, the former Teresa Griffin, moved into No. 8 West 28th Street with their several children.  Like the other owners of upscale houses along the block, they filled it with expensive furnishings.  The New-York Daily Tribune later commented "General Viele traveled extensively, and possessed a valuable collection of art treasures."

General Egbert L. Viele - from the collection of the Library of Congress

Teresa had chronicled her life as the wife of an infantry soldier on the Texas frontier in her 1858 book Following the Drum.  It was republished in 1864, while the family lived here.

While her husband's name routinely appeared in print regarding public projects, Teresa busied herself with charitable works.  On November 21, 1867 the New-York Daily Tribune listed her as a member of the executive committee of The New-York Ladies' Southern Relief Association.  She kept high company within the group, whose president was Mrs. James J. Roosevelt.  Among the others on the committee were Mrs. James Stokes, Mrs. Cyrus McCormick, and Mrs. Dudley D. Field.

The Viele family had moved on in 1870 when the house was being operated as an upscale boarding house.  It was soon taken over by The Army and Navy Club.  Men's social clubs routinely were situated within exclusive residential neighborhoods.  In its 1873 edition, the Hand-Book to New York noted that the "brown-stone building, No. 8 West Twenty-eighth Street...has been elegantly fitted up as a club house.  The club now numbers over two hundred members." 

The Army and Navy Club did not last particularly long.  In 1875 The St. Nicholas Club, founded in June that year, moved in.  It, too, would not stay long.  The club moved to No. 12 East 29th Street in 1878 and the former house became home to the Sherman Club, a political group, and the Young Business Men's Association.

Architect J. B. Hamilton owned the property in 1882 when he personally designed alterations.  They included an extension into the rear yard.  The renovated space became home to Morelli's Restaurant, a popular spot for dinner meetings for several years.

The Thirteen Club routinely met at Morelli's.  The eccentric group celebrated the number 13.  On November 14, 1885, for instance, The New York Times reported that Judge McAdams had been re-elected its president here the night before.  "In thanking the company for their congratulations he referred to the fact that he should begin his thirteenth year in the civil court on January 13, 1886, and that the change by which he opened his first office at No. 13 Wall-street led him to his present distinction."

In April 1886 a group of insurance men, no doubt hoping to sway businessmen in the theatrical field to protect their properties, gave a dinner at Morelli's following a production of Evangline at Haverly's 14th Street Theatre.  They invited the composer and producer, Edward E. Rice and the male members of the cast.  The rampant sexism of the 19th century was reflected in The New York Times' comment "A rumor had been circulated to the effect that the invitation to the supper included the female members of the company, and both Manager Rice and his hosts were justly indignant thereat."  The article noted "The supper was one of Morelli's best efforts."

In May 1887 million Robert Hoe bought No. 8 at auction for $57,000--about $1.58 million today.  The New York Times described it as being "occupied by Morelli as a restaurant and by other organizations as a place of meeting as well as dining."  

Hoe was notified by Building Inspectors "that the westerly wall of the house...was not safe and should be rebuilt."  It was most likely the prospects of the necessary construction project that prompted Hoe to embark on a major remodeling.  The New York Times reported that he "decided to remodel the house, place a store underneath and bachelor apartments above."  The architectural firm of Charles Romeyne & Co. was hired to design the renovations.

Surprisingly, business went on as usual inside as the significant project commenced.  The Times explained "They began operations by shoring up the weak wall, but in doing so managed to throw the weight of the roof and heavy timbers on the opposite wall."

On the morning of April 12, 1888 Mrs. Zarah Cranni took a small table at the rear of Morelli's, overlooking the rear garden.  Zarah was noticeably pregnant.  Her tranquil morning tea ended abruptly.  The Times reported that around 10:40 a.m. the "crashing of falling timbers startled the people in the neighborhood of Broadway and Twenty-eighth street."  Parts of the third and fourth floors collapsed "with a great crash, carrying with it four working men and piling up a great mass of debris in the yards of several houses in the rear."

Some workmen jumped from the upper stories onto adjoining buildings.  The bay window of the house next door was ripped off and the rear extension was demolished.  One workman was killed and several others injured.

As the wall first gave way, "four bricks and a large piece of stone smashed in the window" where Zarah Cranni was sipping her tea.  The New York Times reported that the bricks and glass "did not strike her.  The lady was so frightened, however, that it brought on premature delivery."

The builder, Eramus D. Garnsey and his foreman, William Campbell, were arrested at the site.

When the dust cleared construction eventually resumed and was completed without further incident.  The third and fourth floors of the renovated building were clad in beige brick and trimmed in brownstone.  A two-story storefront now replaced the parlor and English basement levels.  That space became home to the newly-formed Equitable Bank.  On December 13, 1889 The Press reported that it had "launched into operation yesterday," adding "It is handsomely fitted up."

The trustees of the new bank soon ran into problems.  Only a month later, on January 31, 1890, The New York Times ran the headline "Banks Quickly Wrecked" and reported that warrants had been issued "for the arrest of the leading participants in a foolhardy conspiracy, which not alone has closed the Sixth National Bank and the Lenox Hill Bank...but also threatens the existence of the Equitable Bank, 8 West Twenty-eighth-street."  The prediction came true and the Equitable Bank collapsed soon thereafter.

The space became home to publisher J. W. Bouton's bookstore in May 1890.  The New York Times explained that here "he has much more commodious quarters for the display of his collection of rare old books."

The Fencers' Club was located directly above Bouton's bookstore.  On January 13, 1890 The Evening Telegram described the club's "more commodious quarters."  "The new suite d'armes is decorated in bronze and yellow, and a high dado of Japanese matting.  A sword shelf runs all around the room, and the walls are decorated with cross-swords, sabres, and masks."

The members of the Fencers' Club came from the highest echelons of society.  That was evident at the afternoon reception on May 26 that year.  The New York Times said "The rooms of the Fencers' Club at 8 West Twenty-eighth Street were well filled with ladies and gentlemen" who witnessed demonstrations of fencing before enjoying a 5:00 tea.  Among those participating in the demonstrations were millionaires Perry Belmont, Amory S. Carhart and James W. Gerard.  The guests included Ward McAllister and his daughter, Alva Vanderbilt Belmont, and the daughters of tycoon Charles B. Alexander.

Intricate foliate carvings fill the spandrel panels of the upper floors.

The rest of the house contained upscale bachelor apartments.  The well-to-do residents began missing cash late in 1890.  The mystery came to an end in January 1891 when John Wallace walked into his room to find a 13-year old boy rifling through his things.  Louis Miller had already grabbed $160 in cash--equal to about $4,640 today.

Louis was the son of the building's janitor, John Miller.  On January 17 The Press explained "Louis has been in the habit of going in and out of the Twenty-eighth street house at will for some time past, and it is averred that hundreds of dollars have been stolen from the place, which is occupied by men only."   In court Wallace, perhaps feeling that the boy had learned his lesson, did not press charges.  John Miller, however, was of a different mind set.  "At the father's suggestion the boy was committed to the Juvenile Asylum."

In 1897 the former bookstore became home to the Knickerbocker Auction Rooms.  The firm would sell masterpieces of art, furniture, china and porcelain for years here.  On February 18, 1897, for instance, The Press reported on the results of the first day of the auction of the Cyrus W. Field estate.  "The collection includes paintings by Corot, Zein, and Cleveland Coxe, antique furniture, tapestries and bric-a-brac."

The items sold at the Knickerbocker Auction Rooms brought in large amounts of cash, a fact not overlooked by burglars.  On February 8, 1903 The New York Press reported on a brazen heist.  Burglars broke in through the basement, then broke through the door at the head of the stairs.  They were apparently less interested in the paintings, furs and other valuables than in cash.  "Finding nothing to suit their taste, another door was broken open to get to the second floor, and then the cracksmen attacked the safe."

The Knickerbocker Auction Rooms safe was directly in front of the second floor show window.  Undaunted, the burglars drilled a hole in the safe's door, broke open the first, and finally the second heavy doors then examined the contents.  They lit a gas jet in a rear room, then "placed chairs around the table, and settled down to a slow and careful selection of the different articles of value."  The crooks made off with cash, checks and "other valuable papers," and $2,000 worth of solid silverware.  The heist topped $60,000 in today's money.

The occupants of the apartments continued to be well-to-do.  In 1894 Modesto Salizano, consul general of Ecuador lived here; and at the turn of the architect Stanford White and Joseph Stanford split the rent on an apartment.  Neither of the men lived here, but used the rooms for entertainment. 

The Buffalo Courier described Joseph Stanford on June 27, 1906 as "a dilettante in the arts, who is as well known in the exclusive society of Paris and London as he is to the '400' of New York and Newport."  The article noted that the "sumptuous apartment that embraces the entire top floor of No. 8 West Twenty-eighth Street, was jointly used by both."

Stanford White - from the collection of the Library of Congress

The reason that the two wealthy men desired a private get-away was explained by the newspaper.  "Both Stanford and Stanford White gave dinners and other entertainments in this superbly furnished suite of rooms, which were talked about in whispers in the clubs and boudoirs of society.  Their guests were young girls of surpassing beauty and charm of person, but socially obscure.  At times one or two other boon men companions of the hosts were also bidden to join in the unique festivities."

The article said the girls, who "were not old enough to be called young women," were "supplied with unlimited quantities of champagne."  It was most likely the prominence of the men that precluded police intervention.  "Meanwhile, the wine-inspired songs and cries of the guests of Stanford and Stanford White would reach the ears of the policemen and detectives on the street without, who were waiting, waiting for other conclusive evidence to raid the place."

The Knickerbocker Auction Rooms was followed by Jack Slazenger's sporting goods store, which remained in the building until 1914.  In 1920 the Robert Hoe estate sold the building to a newly-formed company headed by C. Solomon, S. Sackheim and D. Greenbaum.  The District Republican Club leased rooms as its headquarters at the time and would remain throughout the 1930's.

Another renovation completed in 1945 resulted in a store on the ground floor, a "gelatine mixing and packing" plant on the second, and showrooms and offices on the third and fourth floors.  One of the spaces was home to Israel House in the 1950's, where "miscellaneous handicrafts and art goods, foodstuffs, jewelry, leather and metal goods" made in Israel were exhibited.

The neighborhood which would become known as Nomad greatly declined in the second half of the 20th century and No. 8 showed noticeable signs of neglect.  But the renaissance of the area brought change and on December 15, 2015 The New York Times food critic Florence Fabricant reported that Daniel Humm and Will Guidara, owners of Eleven Madison Park restaurant, planned to open Made Nice, at No. 8.  They described the restaurant as a "fast-casual spot."

During the 2020 protests the storefront was boarded up.

The restaurant opened in the summer of 2016.  A mural by Shepard Fairey decorates a wall.  Despite its significant abuse, No. 8 West 28th Street retains much of its appearance following Charles Romeyn's 1888 renovation.

photographs by the author

The 1899 Flemish Renaissance Stable at No. 168 E. 73rd Street

photo by Alice Lum

On January 24, 1899 Frank C. Stellmeyer sold his three-story stable that stood at No. 168 East 73^rd Street.   Although the block would continue to be lined with carriage houses, the neighborhood had noticeably changed since Stellmeyer’s building had gone up.

By now the Upper East Side had filled with the comfortable homes of Manhattan’s upper class and 73^rd Street between 3^rd Avenue and Lexington was a “stable block.”   The private carriage houses reflected the wealth and status of their owners, and esteemed architects like Richard Morris Hunt were commissioned to design handsome homes for horses.

William Baylis purchased Stellmeyer’s stable and immediately had it razed.  The banker and tax expert commissioned Charles W. Romeyn to design a more impressive replacement.  And that he did.

Completed within the year, in was a neo-Flemish Renaissance eye-catcher.  At a time when many Manhattan buildings—especially across Central Park on the Upper West Side—were being designed in the neo-Flemish style, Romeyn gave a nod to the city’s Dutch roots with a stepped gable and other Flemish Renaissance touches:  keyed window enframements, voussoirs and quoins among them.

The gray Roman brick was accented by stark white terra cotta decoration.  A steep Spanish-tiled mansard roof behind the elaborate gable was flanked by tall Flemish Renaissance-inspired chimneys.

photo by Alice Lum

Baylis’s team of horses and his various vehicles were housed on the ground level, behind the large central double doors.  In the floors above lived the grooms and the family’s coachmen.

The Baylis family used the carriage house for two decades, as automobiles slowly replaced horse-drawn vehicles on the streets of New York.   Then on December 19, 1919 The New York Tribune noted that “Adelaide Baylis has sold the three-story stable” at No. 168 East 73^rd Street.  The buyer was Charles Russell Lowell Putnam.

Putnam was a respected pediatric surgeon with an impressive colonial pedigree.   His mother’s uncle was the poet James Russell Lowell.  Putnam received his lengthy name in honor of his Civil War hero uncle, Charles Russell Lowell, Jr., who, although fatally injured, continued to lead a cavalry charge at Cedar Creek, Virginia in 1864.  .

Dr. Putnam and his wife were admired in the community for their compassion for foundling babies.   The Sun reported that for years the couple searched “the children’s hospitals for little boys and girls with bodies so thin and weak that the hospital physicians had little hope that they would grow to be healthy children.   Mrs. Putnam took a number of these puny infants to her home and her husband, who is a specialist in children’s diseases and attending physician in the babies’ ward at the Post-Graduate Hospital, gave them professional attention and even engaged a nurse for them.”

When nearly all prospective adoptive parents insisted that the babies would be returned if they proved sickly, the Putnams sought out those babies who were most in need of medical attention.  “In the case of the Putnam foster children,” said The Sun, “they were taken because they were sickly.”   By the time the Putnams purchased Baylis’s carriage house, they had already adopted five children which the newspaper termed “puny and weak.”

Dr. Putnam kept the building for only two years, selling it in 1922 to George Grant Mason.  Mason lived in the magnificent mansion at No. 854 Fifth Avenue built by R. Livingston Beeckmen in 1905.  Mason hired architect B. Bancroft to convert the carriage house to a private garage and single family dwelling.

Twenty-three years later Mason sold No. 168 to a realty company which, in turn, sold it a year later in 1946 to financier William Armistead Moale Burden.

In 2007 William Baylis’s private carriage house was converted to a luxurious single-family residence.  Once home to horses and coachmen, the residence now boasted six bedrooms, an elevator, six bathrooms, a terrace and outdoor basketball court.  The home sold in 2012 for $15 million.

Charles Romeyn’s distinctive Flemish Renaissance carriage house remains wonderfully intact.  It sits on a block of equally-handsome private stables.  Many of these are now residences like No. 168, creating an especially charming urban enclave.

The American Express Stables -- No. 157 Hudson Street

The restored Hubert Street facade.  Built as two stories, it was the original structure in 1866 -- photo by Alice Lum

Prior to the Civil War St. John’s Park was one of the most exclusive residential neighborhoods of Manhattan. Along with the fine brick Federal-style residences that lined the square was the majestic 1807 Georgian-style St. John’s Chapel.

But in 1867 Trinity Church sold the park to the Hudson River Railroad for $1 million. The railroad built a freight depot and the elegant neighborhood was no more. Rapidly the homes were replaced with warehouses and small factories that took advantage of the proximity to the railroad.

At the same time, private express mail companies like Adams Express, Wells Fargo and American Express were rapidly growing. Founded in 1850 in Albany, American Express established its headquarters in Manhattan at Jay and Hudson Streets and essentially enjoyed a monopoly on the shipment of express goods in the state for two decades.

Even before the freight depot was built, American Express erected at two-story stable at Nos. 4 to 8 Hubert Street in 1866, designed by architects Ritch & Griffiths. The stark brick building did not pretend to be anything other than a utilitarian building with little ornamentation.

The newly-completed Hudson River Railway depot sat approximately one block away, directly across from the house at No. 157 Hudson Street. The owner of the house was quick to react, along with other wealthy residents. The commodious residence—25 feet wide—sat on a lot that extended 109 feet back, in the middle of the block between Hubert and Laight Streets. The homeowner sold the property on April 20, 1870 for $24,750 in cash, which The New York Times deemed “very cheap at the price.”

While American Express was operating its stable from Hubert Street, the United States Army established a cavalry rendezvous local recruiting office around the corner at No. 157 Hudson Street in the 1880s.

Although funds transfers and long-distance finance had already become an important part of the firm’s operations—the American Express Travelers Cheque was copyrighted in 1891—American Express recognized the need to enlarge the Hubert Street facility in 1898. Architect Edward Hale Kimball was commissioned to extend the stable through the entire block along Collier Street to Laight Street.

The original, Hubert Street entrance in 1937 long after Kimball's renovations--photo NYPL Collection

It was most likely at this time that the entire structure was increased to three stories. Kimball updated the original façade, melding it with the addition by matching the keyed window surrounds and introducing a mixture of Romanesque Revival and Renaissance Revival styles; both highly popular at the time.

The American Express bulldog appears in terra cotta relief on both the Laight and Hubert Street facades -- photo by Alice Lum

On both the Laight Street and Hubert Street sides, Kimball added a robust terra cotta bulldog logo in a rondel under a shallow stepped parapet. The renovations were completed a year later, in 1899.

Only three years later, in 1902, the building was enlarged again. Architect Charles Romeyn widened the Laight Street side. He also added a long, narrow extension through the middle of the block to No. 157 Hudson Street where the Cavalry had been headquartered, creating a T-shaped structure.

The enlarged stables stretched the length of the Collier Street block -- photo by Alice Lum

The days of horses and drays for the American Express Company were numbered, however. In 1913 the parcel post system was established, wielding a significant blow to the express companies. By 1918 American Express was gone and a railroad freight firm, the American Railway Express Company, was using the building.

The building was renovated again in 1946 when architect Henry G. Harrington remodeled it for use as the factory of the First Machinery Corporation, manufacturers of plastic and rubber products. Harrington also remodeled the Hudson Street façade by adding stone pilasters and arches framing the entrances.

Harrington's addition at No. 157 Hudson forming the base of the T-shaped building (seen far right) stands next to two derelict Federal homes, still remarkably intact in 1922.  Their marble arches and lintels, even their elegant entranceways and iron railings are still in place.

First Machinery Corporation ran its factory here through the 1950s.

The narrow Hudson Street facade shows the 1946 changes, prior to the 2006 renovation -- photo NYPL Collection

As TriBeca experienced a renaissance, the old American Express stables saw change. Where horses and then machinery were once housed, No. 157 Hudson was now a hot night spot. Three different nightclubs—Headley, Vinyl and Area—were here. In 1997, despite more than one shooting at Vinyl, the club’s owner Nick DiTomasso said “…they’re just dancing. It’s all about dancing.”

When Peter Moore purchased the building in 2004, it needed serious reviving -- photo ny.curbed.com

The sometimes eyebrow-raising activities came to a halt when developer Peter Moore bought the building in 2004 for $18 million. Working with architect Kevin Kennon he brought the deteriorating structure back to life.

The Laight Street side in 2006 as construction begins -- photo by Skye H. McFarlane for Downtown Express

After struggling for awhile with the Landmarks Preservation Commission over a proposed three-story rooftop addition, Moore settled for a compromise of a two-story addition invisible from the street. The resulting multifamily structure had 17 unique loft apartments averaging 3,000 square feet each.

Architect Kevin Kennon's model shows the rooftop addition, engineered to be invisible from the street -- photo worldarchitecturenews.com

One apartment went a bit further. Called “Marble House,” the 9,200 square foot triplex had an entrance on Collister Street to the rear, four bedrooms, five baths, a kitchen sink “quarried from one 2-ton piece of Carrara marble,” a below-ground swimming pool and a price tag of $24.5 million in 2009. (In 2011 most apartments were going for a more affordable $3 million or so.)

photo by Alice Lum

Nearly a century and a half after the original stable was built, it serves as a fine example of reuse of an historic property.