The 1890 Julius and Henrietta Steinfelder House - 1215 Park Avenue

 

On June 29, 1889 The Real Estate Record & Builders' Guide reported that architects Flemer & Koehler had filed plans for eight stone-fronted homes on Park Avenue, wrapping around the northeast corner of 94th Street.  The project would cost developer Edward T. Smith $112,000 to erect; or about $492,500 per house in 2026 terms.

Almost immediately, J. A. Henry Flemer and his partner, V. Hugo Koehler, would be at work filling the northern half of the block.  Completed in 1890, their blend of historical styles seamlessly melded with the earlier homes.  Flemer & Koehler reached deep into their grab bag of styles in designing No. 1215, just south of East 95th Street.

The basement and parlor floors were faced in undressed brownstone, typical of the Romanesque Revival style.  And yet, the carved panels of the stoop newels and those under the windows and above the entrance drew inspiration from the Italian Renaissance.  The brick pilasters with terra cotta Corinthian capitals that flanked the second floor windows, too, were Renaissance Revival in style, but the pretty foliate terra cotta bandcourse above them was Queen Anne.  The fully-arched openings of the third floor, with their molded, terra cotta lintels and prominent keystones, harkened to the earlier Italianate style.  The architects' judicious choices created a handsome hybrid.

The two-story rounded bay provided a sleeping porch to the third floor.  from the collection of the New York Public Library

On May 8, 1883, the New York Herald reported that realtor Julius Friend had sold "the three-story and basement dwelling, No. 1,215 Park avenue, 20 x 69, to Samuel Steinfelder."  (It was certainly not a coincidence that Julius Friend and his family, who were close friends with the Steinfelders, lived around the corner at 135 East 95th Street.)

Samuel Steinfelder was a "wealthy silk and ribbon importer," as described by The World.  His wife, Henrietta, was a former school teacher, described as "a fine-looking woman of middle age."  The couple had five daughters, Rita J., Rosalie H., Ruth A., Hattie E., and Maude S.  The newspaper added, "The family are wealthy, well connected and move in the highest Hebrew social circles in the city."

It was not long after the family moved in that tensions--and eventually a rift--grew between the Steinfelders and the Friends.  Hattie Steinfelder "seemed to take a fancy to young Mrs. [Carrie Kohn] Friend," explained The Sun on March 24, 1894, "and she spent much of her time at the Friends' house."  According to Carrie Friend, Hattie would confide about "her troubles at home."  Henrietta Steinfelder thought that her private family politics was none of Carrie's business.  The World explained at the same time, "According to Mrs. Steinfelder she became tired of having her maternal authority interfered with by an outsider and the result was a quarrel between the two ladies in September, since which time they have not spoken."

Henrietta Steinfelder and Carrie Friend may have stopped speaking to one another, but Hattie continued her close friendship.  On March 15, 1894, Hattie and her mother had "a spat," as described by Henrietta.  Hattie rushed out and around the corner to the Friends' house to vent her problems.  At around 10:00 that night, Julius Friend walked her home.  Samuel Steinfelder was waiting at the door, fuming.

"Steinfelder got excited and said things to Friend," reported The Sun.  Among those "things" was the accusation that Friend was engaging in "lover tricks on the street" with Hattie.  The next day Hattie, "departed from her home at 1,215 Park avenue...without leaving word where she might be found."  Not surprisingly, she sought refuge with the Friends.

In the meantime, Julius Friend reported Steinfelder's slanderous comment to police.  The former chums faced one another in a courtroom on March 20.  "Justice Welde dismissed the case and told Friend that he had no right to keep the girl away from her family."  Julius Friend went straight home and told Hattie "he could harbor her no longer."  That was the last anyone saw of the 18-year-old.  At least for a while.

On March 24, The World began an article saying

A self-willed, high-tempered girl, a jealous and exasperated mother, an irate father and a scornful neighbor's wife, with a husband nursing his wounded pride, are the actors in this domestic, serio-comic squabble that has disrupted the social relations between the Steinfelder and Friend families.

Hattie, said the article was, "bright, intelligent, well educated, attractive, but possessed of an all-powerful desire to have her own way in everything."  Four days later, Hattie's hideout was revealed.  She had sought refuge in the home of her aunt, a Mrs. Hahn, at 230 East 49th Street.  Reading of the tempest in the newspapers, Mrs. Hahn sent a message to the Steinfelders.  On March 24, 1894, The Sun reported, "Her aunt will send her home to-day, whether she wants to go or not."

Like other well-to-do New Yorkers, the Steinfelders spent time away from the city during the summer months.  On July 19, 1898, for instance, the Oswego, New York The Daily Record reported:

Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Steinfelder and daughters Misses Rita and Rosalie, of 1,215 Park avenue, New York, are at the Ahwaga House, guests of George and Adolph Newman for a few days.  They are to depart to Sheldrake on Cayuga lake for a stay before returning to their home.

(It is, perhaps, notable that Hattie was not mentioned.)

In 1902, Samuel Steinfelder was appointed to the School Board and by the following year, Rosalie was teaching at Public School 171 on East 103rd Street.

On the night of November 12, 1911, Henrietta walked into a drugstore at 375 Lenox Avenue.  She suddenly collapsed on the floor, stricken with a stroke.  The 63-year-old died before help could arrive.

The following year, on November 5, 1912, The New York Times reported that Steinfelder had sold 1215 Park Avenue.  His realtor, Douglas L. Elliman, was coy about the sale, saying "The buyer is an investor."  In fact, the buyer was Douglas L. Elliman.

Interestingly, the now-retired Steinfelder continued to live in the house, apparently renting it from Elliman.  He died here four months later, on March 25, 1913, at the age of 67.

Elliman next leased the house to Marcus and Maria Neustaedter.  Born in 1871 in Galicia, Austria, Neustaedter arrived in New York City in 1888 and graduated from Bellevue Hospital Medical College in 1896.  Ten years later he earned his Ph.D. from New York University.  When the family moved in, Neustaedter was teaching neurology at Bellevue Hospital Medical College.  He and Maria had four children, Shadoin, Hannah, Theodore Maier, and Leonard.  

Dr. Neustaedter's expertise was called upon in 1921 when a Russian boy was slated to be deported as "an imbecile."  Having survived the Russian pograms, Moische Shulman's father, a musician, escaped Russia with his eldest son in 1913.  Seven years later, the rest of the family (including Moische) left the World War I-ravaged country.  The New York Times reported that on September 21, 1920, "Mrs. Shulman, after much difficulty, came here with four children."  

But now, a year later, the Special Board of Inquiry of the Immigration Bureau singled out 10-year-old Moische as an imbecile and ordered him deported back to Russia.  The deportation would, of course, necessitate the breaking up of the Shulman family.  The New York Times reported, "If the boy is compelled to return to Russia, it was said that his mother would go with him."  At a hearing on August 27, 1921, Moische's father said that if the Immigration Bureau's stand was upheld, "he would appeal to the President."

Dr. Marcus Neustaedter took the stand in the boy's defense.  He said he was "neither feeble-minded nor an imbecile."  He pointed out that the "boy's studies in mathematics baffled his imagination" and that he had "mastered English and that one teacher had given him a rating of 100 per cent."  Neustaedter urged "it must be remembered that the boy and his mother had been in the war area of dark Russia."  He told the judge, "I think it would be a crime to separate this child from his parents, since he will be potentially a self-supporting member of the community."  The boy was allowed to remain.

The Neustaedter family remained at 1215 Park Avenue through 1923.  The following year, Elliman sold the house to Dr. Eugene Floyd Dubois and his wife, the former Rebeckah Rutter.  Dubois was born on Staten Island in 1882 and was educated at the Milton Academy, at Harvard College, and at the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons.  He and Rebeckah were married in 1910 and they had two sons, Eugene and Arthur, and a daughter, Rebeckah.

Dr. Eugene Floyd Dubois specialized "in the mechanisms and diseases of the metabolism," according to the International Rasmus Mailing-Hansen Society.  image from the society's collection

When the family moved in, Dubois was associate professor of the Cornell University Medical College and medical director of the Russell Sage Institute of Pathology.  He was, as well, a director of the Medical Division of Bellevue Hospital.

In 1928, Park Avenue was widened and it was most likely at this time that the stoop was removed from 1215 Park Avenue and the entrance lowered below grade.

image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

Rebeckah was educated in the exclusive Chapin School, the Milton Academy and Vassar College.  On December 4, 1937, The New York Sun reported, "Dr. and Mrs. Eugene Floyd DuBois of 1215 Park avenue, have a reception today at the Colony Club to introduce their daughter, Miss Rebeckah DuBois, to society."  At the time, her brother, Eugene, was working in the editorial office of the Brooklyn Eagle newspaper.

When America entered World War II, all three of the Dubois men joined the Navy Reserves.  Dr. Dubois earned the rank of captain in the Medical Corps, Eugene rose to the rank of lieutenant, and Arthur was a midshipman.  

On April 4, 1944, The New York Times reported that Lt. Eugene Dubois, USNR, was married to Carol Johnston Mali, "in a setting of white spring flowers" in the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church.  Eugene F. Dubois was his son's best man.  The wartime ceremony had a decidedly military atmosphere.  Along with Arthur, the other ushers wore their Army, Naval, and Air Force uniforms.

Eugene and Rebeckah announced the engagement of their daughter to James Robinson Glazebrook on August 22, 1952.  The New York Times noted, "She is a research assistant at Cornell University Medical College."

The family sold 1215 Park Avenue in June 1956 to Max Greenberg.  He initiated a renovation the following year that resulted in apartments.  Today there are five units in the building.  

photographs by the author

1890 Twins -- 112 and 114 East 95th Street

On June 29, 1889 the Real Estate Record & Builders' Guide reported that architects Flemer & Koehler were working on "eight three-story and basement stone front dwellings" for developer Edward T. Smith.  The announcement explained that six of the houses would be on Park Avenue and two around the corner on 94th Street.

Whether the publication simply got the facts wrong, or if Smith modified his project is unclear.  But the completed row on Park Avenue consisted of only five, and the other two were on 95th Street (on the block with the quaint nickname "Goat Hill").  The mirror image houses at Nos. 112 and 114 East 95th Street  stood distinctly apart from their Renaissance Revival siblings.

Although Flemer & Koehler started out with a Renaissance Revival canvas--rigid symmetry, rough cut stone at the basement and parlor levels, and paneled pilasters, for instance--they lavished it with extraordinary Queen Anne decorations; notably at the upper floors.  Here the openings were framed with cream-colored terra cotta tiles.  Each exhibiting a single leaf, their alternating large and small sizes mimicked quoins.  The three bays of the second and third floors were unified by a single terra cotta cornice.  The homes were crowned by pressed metal cornices with interesting friezes of regimented rows of protruding bosses.

The construction cost of each house was $14,000--in the neighborhood of $377,000 today.   They were both purchased by Peter Wilkens as investment properties.  It was most likely scandal and subsequent business problems which forced Wilkens to relinquish title.

He was the owner of the Hotel Princess on Lexington Avenue at 25th Street.  In April 1895 the hotel was raided and, according to The Evening World, "men and women were found there and arrested."  The Parkhurst Society, led by reformer clergyman Charles Henry Parkhurst, battled Wilkens in the State Supreme Court, claiming he was running a disorderly house (the polite term for a brothel).   On April 17 the newspaper announced "Parkhurst Men Win" and reported that Wilkens's excise license had been revoked.

Charming details appear in the stylized capitals of the entrance pilasters.  A detailed basket of fruit is flanked by two impish creature faces.

Wilkens sold No, 112 to Charlotte Lambrecht on May 5, 1896, taking an apparent loss.  The $14,000 price equaled Edward Smith's original outlay; making it most likely about half of what Wilkens had paid.  The following year, in October, he transferred title to No. 114 to his daughter, Meta Wilkens.

Charlotte Lambrecht quickly resold the No. 112 to Rachel Geiger, who, in turn, sold it to Max J. Ullman and his wife Sarah.   The couple had two daughters, Ruth Elizabeth and Leonora May.  Unlike the wives of many well-do-to businessmen, Sarah had her own career.  She was a graduate of Normal College (later Hunter College) and taught school for years.

Born on November 27, 1854, Max had started out in business with his father, Jacob, as a member of J. Ullman & Son at No. 17 Park Place.  In 1901 he and his brothers Nathan and Louis formed the Ullman Mfg, Co.   The firm manufactured and sold "pictures, frames, art novelties, &c. &c."  Its offices were in Manhattan and the factory was in West Virginia factory.   Max was also a founder of the Ullman Company, a Brooklyn-based printing firm.

Both Max and Sarah were active within the Jewish community.  He had been secretary of the Young Men's Hebrew Association as early as 1892; and Sarah was a long-time member of the New York Council of Jewish Women.

Max died at the age of 62 on August 28, 1917.   Although she retained possession of the 95th Street house, Sarah almost immediately left it.  On October 31 The Sun reported that she had leased it to Cyril Crimmins, the son of millionaire John D. Crimmins.

Of the ten children of the devoutly Roman Catholic tycoon, Cyril was perhaps the most colorful.  A member of the Fencers' Club and an avid yachtsman, his name routinely appeared in the newspapers for his sporting activities.  But a month before he signed the lease on the 95th Street house, it was more shocking news that drew society's attention.

On September 1 The Evening World reported "Cyril Crimmins, son of John D. Crimmins, has married Miss Kathryn Daly, one of the original attractions of the Ziegeld Midnight Frolic."  The wedding had been kept secret for a week.  Dalliances with showgirls, while not infrequent among society's young men, were disapproved of; but marriages with them were scandalous.  John D. Crimmins's opinion of the match was evidenced in The Evening World's mention "A member of the Crimmins household admitted that Mr. Crimmins did not attend the wedding."

The newspaper described the new Mrs. Crimmins as "a popular favorite on account of her looks and her dancing" and noted that she "has been one of the 'sweeties' in the present Frolic and took part in several of the more important episodes."

It appears that Cyril and his bride hoped to mend relations with his father.  The following day The Sun reported that the couple was "spending their honeymoon in the White Mountains, and according to an announcement from Boston last night they intend later to visit Mr. Crimmins's father at his country home, Firewood-on-the-Sound, at Noroton, Conn."

Just two months later John D. Crimmins was dead.  Cyril, along with six of his siblings, was at his bedside on November 9 when the 73-year old died of pneumonia.

Despite John D. Crimmins's misgivings, the marriage of Cyril and Kathryn was a successful one and they continued to play a significant part in society both in Manhattan and at their summer estate, Glenbreekin Farm, near Firewood-on-the-Sound in Noroton.

While the striking stone newels appear to be vintage, they are actually meticulous reproductions.

In the meantime, Meta Wilkens had originally leased No. 114, finally selling it on February 13, 1901 to Charles Wanninger.  A member of the New York Zoological Society, the well-to-do Wanninger and his wife, Sophie, had two daughters, Rita and Vera, and a son, Curt.

The family remained in the house until shortly after Rita's marriage to Kurt Richard Berger in St. James Lutheran Church in 1918.  Like Sarah Ullman had done, her parents retained possession of the house, but began leasing it the following year.

John F. O'Brien moved in in 1919 and would remain until 1922.  A corporate attorney, he was best known for his politics.  On May 21, 1918 the New-York Tribune had noted that he "is one of the veteran political leaders of the state."  He had served for four years as Secretary of State.

In October 1922 Charles Wanninger leased No. 114 to Dr. Henry Beller.  By now Sarah Ullman had sold the house next door to another physician, Dr. Eugene F. Du Bois.  As the Du Bois children grew up, the doctor began leasing the house in 1931.

His first tenants were George C. Barclay and his wife, the former Elizabeth Weed Moore.  In 1936 he leased it to Arthur B. Borden, and by 1942 to Dr. James R. Lincoln.  That year Lincoln's widowed mother died in the house while visiting from her home in Wareham, Massachusetts.

Eugene Du Bois, Jr. was a Lieutenant in the United States Naval Reserves.  Following his wedding to Carol Johnson Mali, the couple moved into No. 112.  Their daughter Caroline was born in March 1945.

In 1949 Dr. Du Bois leased the house to William J. Slocum and his wife, Ann.  They were a highly visible couple--journalist William Slocum was the writer of The New York Mirror column, "Bill Slocum Everywhere," and his wife, who went professionally by her maiden name Ann Gillis, was a radio and television producer of news and special events for the National Broadcasting Company.

Ann's "manner and competence," according to The New York Times, appealed to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and he recruited her to supervise his radio "Fireside Chats" during the Great Depression.  When Queen Elizabeth II visited the United States and Canada in 1957, Ann was in charge of the monarch's televised appearances.

In 1956 Dr. Du Bois sold No. 112.  Tragically, Ann Gillis died in the house the following year, on December 16, at the age of 44.  In reporting on her death, The New York Times mentioned "During the last two decades she had been the originator of many programs emanating from the White House and involving Cabinet members and other Government officials."

After owning the house next door for more than three decades, Charles Wanninger died on June 10, 1935 at the age of 81.  The following year the new owner was slapped with a violation from the Department of Buildings for operating an illegal "multiple dwelling."  It was sold in 1946 to Irene K. Neff as her private home.

It was possibly their narrow widths, just 15.5 feet, that prevented either house from being converted to apartments in the second half of the 20th century.  In 2009 a joint restoration of their facades was initiated by Azor Contracting.  By now both were slathered in layers of paint, which was cautiously stripped away to reveal the remarkable tiles and the contrast of materials and colors.  The meticulous restoration included the stoop newels which had become so eroded that tax photographs had to be referenced to replicate them.

The 2009 renovation included replacing the lost interior elements with elegant replacements.  photo via corcoran.com

The remarkable Queen Anne twins today appear much as they did in 1890 when Goat Hill was seeing a flurry of development.

photographs by the author

The Dore Lyon House - No 1217 Park Avenue

The spacious home is once again a private residence.

On June 29, 1889 The Real Estate Record & Builders' Guide reported that architects Flemer & Koehler had filed plans for eight stone-fronted homes on Park Avenue, wrapping around the northeast corner of 94th Street.   The project for developer Edward T. Smith would cost $112,000; or just under $375,000 per house in today's terms.

Quickly J. A. Henry Flemer and his partner, V. Hugo Koehler, would be at work filling in the remainder of the block.  Completed in 1889, the northernmost house at the southeast corner of 95th Street, appeared little different from its neighbors when viewed from Park Avenue, other than the absence of a high stone stoop.

It was on 95th Street that the desirable differences were obvious.   By placing the entrance on the side street, the architects had given the house a frontage nearly double that of the Park Avenue houses.  Northern light spilled into the many openings--their various shapes and sizes trimmed in warm terra cotta and brownstone.  The Renaissance Revival design included tongue-in-cheek details like keystones in the form of grimacing bearded faces, while incorporating formal elements like terra cotta capitals and ornate inset panels.

At the time Anna E. Parker Lyon was making a name for herself among female society.  The wife of wealthy builder Dore Lyon, she not only styled herself as a pundit on etiquette; but involved herself in so many clubs, associations and committees that she was dubbed by the press "The Queen of Clubs."

The couple had one child, Grace, and in 1893 erected what one newspaper deemed "a magnificent mansion" as their summer estate in Saratoga, New York.   When Dore Lyon died in 1898, Anna inherited what The New York Times said was "a fortune of more than a million dollars."

She and Grace moved into No. 1217 Park Avenue--although Anna often used the address of 100 East 95th Street.  The house saw the comings and goings of wealthy women as Mrs. Dore Lyon, as she was known, hosted meetings of the numerous organizations.  Such was the case in December 1902 when a meeting of the Car Passengers' Rights Association was held here.

The group was intent on reforming the conditions of street cars; Mrs. William Tibbits Salter warning "A man may hesitate and quake, and fear conflicting results, but to us they will say, 'You cannot stop a woman.'"

The women were well fired-up; but it seems they had not quite decided what they were fired-up about.  One new member was slightly confused and asked what exactly the group hoped to accomplish.  "Do you seek to provide seating capacity for all, or seating capacity and standing room for a few--few enough to be in conformity with comfort and morality?"

She drew the annoyance of the association's president, Mrs. Richard Henry Savage, who fired back "We haven't quite reached that yet.  It is our purpose first to tell the companies that they are all wrong, and afterward tell them what improvements we want."

Mrs. Dore Lyon was not merely a member of a dozen or so clubs and organizations, she held many offices.  She was president, for instance, of the Eclectic Club, described by The Evening World on December 19, 1902 as being "composed of some of New York's most fashionable matrons."

In the club's private meetings, most often held at Delmonico's, the women sloughed off what The World called "the moral corsets" of feminine society.   They discussed current social issues normally deemed improper among respectable women.  Among such topics were "Is man less faithful than woman?" and "Can a woman love more than one man?"

The following year, in July, Mrs. Dore Lyon was appointed Assistant Secretary to the New York Commission of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, and the Lady Manager of the New York State Building at the St. Louis World's Fair.

In spite what must have been a dizzying schedule of meetings and entertainments, Anna had the time to write a novel, Prudence Pratt, published in 1903.  She invested heavily in publishing, and in the Westchester Sanitarium, a facility for the insane and addicted which opened in 1902.

The Evening World published a photograph of Mrs. Dore Lyon on December 19, 1902 (copyright expired)

On January 8, 1906 40 women were recognized at the Honor Day luncheon of the National Society of the United States Daughters of 1812, held at Delmonico's.  The New York Times said that of the 40, "only one of them did not say that she was surprised when called upon to make a speech.  The exception was Mrs. Dore Lyon."

When she was called to speak, she pulled out a lengthy poem she had written for the occasion.  The Times said "By hurrying the reading of her seven verses, the poetess succeeded in finishing them in the two minutes allotted for a speech."

Her poem was intended to describe the gathering that afternoon, albeit with "some poetical license," as described by the newspaper.  It started:

Sing a song of honor days,

A function full of girls,

Four and twenty Presidents

In Paris hats and curls.

The other 39 society presidents diplomatically termed the poem "perfectly cute."

While Mrs. Dore Lyon was composing literature, leading civic causes against annoyances like street noise, and serving tea to club women, another far different type of organization was taking form.  In November 1908 Miss Marie Lydia Winkler founded The German-American Friendship Club for Young Woman.  Taking two floors in a house at No. 387 Park Avenue, it provided a place for German immigrant girls to relax and feel safe.

The concept came to Winkler when she was hired by several German societies to "investigate the white slave traffic in this country as if affects German girls," according to her.  What she found was shocking. 

Unscrupulous men preyed on the lonely girls, most of whom did not speak English, eventually forcing them into prostitution.  "I have found that hundreds of decent girls are brought to disgrace and death through sheer ignorance or the almost equal peril of loneliness...There are plenty of bad men and women on the watch for the 'green ones,' as they are called, and prepared to force, or more often, delude the poor things into horrible situations."

Winkler's Friendship Club stationed agents in Germany to counsel girls headed to America; and lookouts were posted at the piers to watch for naive new-comers.  At the clubhouse, they were taught English, helped find jobs if necessary, given temporary lodging and, most importantly, provided a safe haven to relax on their off hours.

The unlikely paths of Mrs. Dore Lyon and Marie Lydia Winkler's club for German girls would cross beginning in January 1910.

That was when the doyen of women's clubs could no longer maintain her facade.  Mrs. Dore Lyon's novel was an unmitigated failure, and her unwise investments had left her literally penniless.   When she filed for bankruptcy on January 22 she listed her liabilities at $503,246 and her assets as "2,000 copies and the copyright of her unsuccessful novel, 'Prudence Pratt,'" according to The Times.

She had already mortgaged the Park Avenue house, then quietly sold it.  Her friends were even more shocked when her attorney disclosed "Mrs. Lyon is really in desperate circumstances," and admitted that she was not even able to pay the $30 bankruptcy fees.

On January 15, 1911 Marie Lydia Winkler formerly opened the doors to the new clubhouse for the German American Friendship Club for Girls in the former Lyon house.  She proudly showed reporter Marguerite Mooers Marshall around.  "In our new house we can accommodate twenty girls," explained Winkler.  But it was available to members whether they lived there or not, from 9:30 in the morning to 9:30 at night.

The parlor had a piano where the girls sang German songs.  There was a "big living room" on the first floor with an immense map of the United States, and a sort of gymnasium on the second floor.  When a new member arrived, Winkler first taught her basic English skills--words like "post office," "subway," and "bank."  When her English was fairly good, the girl would be taken onto the streets to learn how to navigate the subways and elevated trains.  Winkler said she would "make her try reading the words and phrases she has studied here.  If one trip is not sufficient, I take her until she knows."

In April the girls held a fair to raise funds.  On the last night Baroness Elsa Laura von Molzogen sang and a group from the play The Spring Maid entertained.  Similar fund raising events continued, such as the entertainment in Arion Hall, home of the German singing society, on April 11, 1912.  The New-York Tribune reported "It will consist of living pictures posed by club members and representing a young German woman's life beginning in her home in the Fatherland and ending in the Friendship Club."

On May 25, 1913 Kaiser Wilhelm's daughter, Princess Victoria Luise, was married.  To mark the happy occasion, an engagement ceremony was held, almost simultaneously, at the Friendship Club.  The Sun said "the home for lonely German girls" was "gayly decorated" for the event.  In the rear yard photographs of the princess were surrounded by young girls in white dresses who held a white veil with a crown and myrtle on a type of maypole.

Inside, after Miss Winkler gave a history of the princess's life; the "betrothed couple" was formally presented to the club.   Then came a supper, followed by a "torch dance."  The Sun reported "All lights were put out in the four story house except for candles in every window.  Then there were games played as is done in Germany during such ceremonies."

Happy events like this one would soon come to an end both on Park Avenue and in Germany.   When war broke out in Europe, some German-born New Yorkers left to fight for their homeland.  The German ocean liner the Vaterland was docked in New York harbor in August 1914, when a reception was held at No. 1217 Park Avenue for four of its officers and 23 German-Americans waiting to leave for the war.

"Germans from the East Side dropped into the rooms at intervals during the evening and sang national songs and talked over the war," reported The Sun on August 24.  "The girls were sent away from the home to make room for the men." 

The following month the German-American Friendship Club held a three-day "Fair for the Fatherland" to raise money for war relief.

Interestingly, the ever-resourceful Mrs. Dore Lyon had reappeared that year.  On April 2, 1914 The New York Times reported "Under the name of Mme. Dore, Mrs. Dore Lyon, a former wealthy woman who was one of the founders of the Federation of Women's Clubs, is appearing at the Palace Theatre this week at the head of a vaudeville company which is presenting 'Great Moments from Grand Operas.'"

While the United States remained neutral in the war, New York's sentiment toward its German population remained, for the most part, friendly.  On August 1, 1915 a benefit for the German-American Friendship Club was held at the Terrace Garden.  The steamship Vaterland was back in New York and its captain, Commodore Hans Ruser, was the principal speaker.  Somewhat surprisingly, he avoided the topic of war, speaking instead on "A Trip to the North Cape."

Sometime following America's involvement in World War I the German-American Friendship Club was no more.  In November 1920 Dr. Henry H. M. Lyle purchased the house.  A few months later he applied for a building permit to add a garage at the eastern end of the building, where the entrance to the rear garden was.

Lyle was surgeon at St. Luke's Hospital and surgical director of the Stuyvesant Square Hospital.  His wife was the former Jessie Abbott, one of what The New York Times called "the well known Abbott sisters."  Both Jessie and Bessie were operatic singers.  While Bessie (she dropped one "b" from the spelling of her last name when a Paris program misspelled it early in her career) had gone on to fame; Jessie gave up the stage when she married Henry Lyle.

The Lyle's summer estate was in Pointe-au-Pic, Quebec.  The couple's upscale lifestyle was supported by Dr. Lyle's prominence in the medical community, his extensive technical writings, and his client list that included millionaires like J. P. Morgan.  The Park Avenue house was filled with important artwork, ranging from the 15th century panel "Saint Catherine of Siena Receiving the Stigmata" by Giovanni di Paolo, to Edward Hopper's "My Roof."


The Lyles remained in the house for over two decades, selling it in July 1946 to Dr. Charles Peck.  In reporting the sale The New York Times mentioned the house contained "fifteen rooms and three baths."  Peck converted the ground level to a doctor's office, while breaking the upper floors into two duplex residences.

The 54 year old Peck was perhaps more involved in real estate than medicine.  He had entered the realty business in 1923 and was president of the Elba Management Corporation.  He and his wife, Fannie, had two grown children, Benjamin and Eleanor.  The Pecks' summer home was in Peekskill, New York.

In the mid-1950s Peck's health began to fail and he died "after a long illness," according to The Times, on August 22, 1957.  Fannie lived on in the house for another decade.  She sold it to investor Gerald J. Katz in April 1967.

In 1989 the upper floors were reconfigured into a single home; and in 2008 the doctor's office was eliminated, creating one lavish private residence once again.  During that renovation an extensive facade restoration was undertaken, giving No. 1217 Park Avenue the chic character it displayed when the colorful Mrs. Dore Lyon held sway here.

photographs by the author