The Altered James K. Pell House - 10 West 28th Street

 

In 1866 Miller's Stranger's Guide to New York described the area around Madison Square, saying "The houses surrounding this park include some of the most elegant of this city."  Among those residences was 10 West 28th Street, erected ten years earlier by L. Appleby.  Faced in red brick and trimmed in brownstone, the Italianate style structure rose four floors above a high basement level.

The 25-foot wide house was purchased by James Kent Pell.  The Pells were an old and prestigious family, whose first American ancestor, Thomas Pell, arrived in America in the 1630's.  In 1654 he signed a treaty with the Native American Siwanoy tribe that granted him 50,000 acres.  Thomas Pell became the first Lord of Pelham Manor, which eventually became Pelham, New York, as well as parts of the Bronx and Westchester County.

James K. Pell was a partner in the auctioneering firm of Pells & Co., with John H. Pell and David Clarkson.  His West 28th Street neighbors were as socially prominent as he.  Living next door at 12 West 28th Street was the Frederick W. Rhinelander family, and on the other side at 8 West 28th Street was Egbert L. Viele, the Chief Engineer of Central Park.

The Pells' beloved pet strayed off in the winter of 1862.  An advertisement on December 16 offered a $5 reward for the return of "a black and tan terrier, very evenly marked, ears trimmed, long tail, had on a brass collar."  The generous reward would be around $130 today.

Earlier that year James K. Pell had erected a white marble slab over the grave of his ancestor and namesake, John Pell, in the family cemetery near the old manor house.  John Pell, who died in 1700, was the nephew of Thomas Pell.

On November 25, 1874, James K. Pell died "of disease of the heart," according to The New York Times.  The 56-year-old's funeral was not held in the residence, as might have been expected, by at fashionable Grace Church.

Interestingly, Frederick William Rhinelander rented the house from the Pell Estate.  He and his wife, the former Frances Davenport Skinner, now moved from 12 to 10 West 28th Street, while his widowed sister Mary Elizabeth Newbold and her children moved into their former home.

Frances Rhinelander continued her social schedule.  At the end of every year The Season--An Annual Record of New York & Brooklyn Society was published.  It was essentially a day-to-day diary of the year's activities.  The 1883 edition noted, for instance, that on February 28 the previous year "The Lenten Glee Club met at the house of Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Rhinelander, No. 10 West Twenty-eighth Street."

The Rhinelander family remained in the house until 1886.   By then fashionable society was migrating uptown as commercial interests invaded the neighborhood.  On March 18 that year an advertisement appeared in The Evening Post offering the former mansion "To let for dwelling or to lease for business purposes."  Before the year's end the basement and parlor floors were converted to stores and the upper floors were being rented as apartments.

The property was leased in April 1887.  Henry C. Pell, as executor of the estate, now made even more extensive alterations--costing the equivalent of $337,000 today.  The architectural firm of Harding & Dinkelberg removed the stoop, installed a two-story commercial front, and altered the upper floors to bachelor apartments.

The ground floor became home to C. Wernicke's European antiques store.  The upscale shop would remain at least through 1893.

The Amusement Bulletin, December 21, 1889 (copyright expired)

The second floor was leased to the Fencing Club whose members were well-to-do society men.  On January 22, 1891 the New York Herald announced: 

The agile members of the Fencing Club, No. 10 West Twenty-eighth street, will wield the dainty foil before an invited audience of friends and admirers of the art on Tuesday evening next.  Several beaux sabruers will also brandish the broad sword and doubtless do good work.  The sharp sounds of the clanking steel will be followed by soft music, and a collation will conclude the evening.

The Fencing Club made way for James W. Bouton's book shop in 1895.  On June 1 that year, The Collection mentioned, "It should be noted, by the way, that since May 1, Mr. Bouton has been established at No. 10 West Twenty-eighth street, in the building adjoining his previous establishment."  (Bouton had been in 8 West 28th Street for several years.)

The Collector, June 1, 1894 (copyright expired).

Bouton had barely settled in before he left on a buying trip.  In its October issue, The Collector reported, "Twenty-eighth street, in the vicinity of Fifth avenue, has resumed its normal aspect with the return from Europe of Mr. J. W. Bouton.  Mr. Bouton spent the summer in England, principally in London, with flights to Eastbourne and other watering places.  Among his acquisitions is a picture in oil by George Ro9mney, which is likely to create a sensation in the ranks of our collectors."

Bouton returned in 1894 with this Romney portrait of Lady Hamilton.  from the collection of the National Portrait Gallery

The rare books available in Bouton's shop were evidenced when a reader asked The New York Times where he could acquire "a complete set of Boydell's Shakespeare."  The editor responded, "Our correspondent will do well to communicate with Mr. J. W. Bouton, 10 West Twenty-eighth Street."

In the meantime, the apartments in the upper floors were home to well-to-do, unmarried men.  David H. Biddle, a Philadelphia millionaire, used one of them as his New York pied-à-terre.  He was in town in the spring of 1893 when he, unexpectedly, became a news items.

On May 21 the New York Herald ran the headline, "He Did Not Even Soil His Cuffs / Fashionable Mr. Biddle, of Philadelphia, Knocks out Four Race Track Roughs."  He and three New York millionaires, De Courcey Forbes, J. J. Follansbee, and Frederic Gebhard, "all horsemen and men well known to the turf," according to the newspaper, were returning from a day at the Gravesend track on the Long Island Ferry when trouble ensued.

"On the boat was a crowd of race track 'hangers on' and 'thimble riggers,'" said the article.  "These men invariably make trouble each spring."  The toughs targeted the well-dressed gentlemen, becoming "bold, persistent and insulting."  Their intention was to provoke a fight and then rob them just as the ferry docked.  But, according to the New York Herald, "Mr. Biddle smiled at this.  He is an athlete and able to take care of himself."  

And, indeed, he was.  As the boat neared the slip one of the toughs attacked.  One by one he "almost annihilated a gang of catchpenny gamblers and fakirs," as worded by the newspaper.   By the time the boat docked, "The gamblers were busily engaged wiping the blood from their faces and preparing a plan for escape.  Mr. Biddle had not even 'lost his wind' or soiled his cuffs."

Another tenant was Dr. J. Herbert Clairborne who operated his office from his apartment.  The New York Times remarked later that he "was a member of two of the oldest families in the country."  On the afternoon of April 4, 1895 a man "pretending to be ill," according to the New York Herald, was seated in the waiting room.  He then "stole an overcoat that had been left there by a man who was in the consulting room."  The description of the thief matched that of a man who had gone to the office of Dr. C. A. Von Damdohr on Irving Place that same day.  In that instance he made off with the doctor's bag of surgical instruments and two silk umbrellas.

In the spring of 1900, J. W. Bouton loaned the Gallery of Walter Satteries an ivory tankard valued at around $9,500 today.  While on exhibition there, it went missing.   A $40 reward was announced and, according to police, one of Satterlee's assistants, William Barber, said "if he were given the $40 he thought he could arrange for the return of the property."  And so, the reward was handed over.  But unknown to Barber, an undercover detective was on his trail.  The New York Herald reported on March 28 that the detective "found him spending the money in the company of Miss [Margaret] Gallagher."  Both were arrested "in connection with the disappearance" of the unique tankard, but it was still no where to be found.

A year later, James Bouton had waited long enough.  He sued art collector George W. Crane for $400, saying that it was Crane who had transported it to Satterlee's studio and was therefore responsible.  But just before the case came to court, Walter Satterlee received an anonymous letter "offering the return of the cup in good order for $100."  Satterlee paid the ransom, Bouton got his tankard back, and the thief was never discovered.

Living here at the time was Charles W. Johnson, described by The Morning Telegraph as "a wealthy banker."  He showed up at the Jefferson Market Court on December 30 complaining that he had been robbed.  The newspaper said:

According to the tale furnished by Mr. Johnson he had arrived at his apartments rather early on Sunday morning and had removed several valuable diamond rings and fifty dollars.  Then he had taken off his clothes and was sitting idly thinking of stocks and bonds, when he was startled by observing his electric bell was ringing.

Although he did not know who his visitor was, he released the electric lock of the front door.  Two minutes later, he said, his doorbell rang.  "He was mildly surprised when two colored women entered, and, wishing him a pleasant New Year...helped themselves to his valuables as they lay upon the table."  He said he did not call for the watchman, thinking of  the appearances of "his undressed condition."  The women left and it would be several hours before the banker decided that while he "did not care particularly for the publicity...he certainly as in favor of the enforcement of the law," said the article.

There may have been much more to the story than Johnson was admitting.  "He took pains to inform Sergt. Murtha that he had not the pleasure of the negro women's acquaintance," said The Morning Telegraph.   Two days later two women were arrested, whom Johnson identified.  The newspaper reported, "When they were searched the matron found four diamond rings and $111 in money on Nellie Benson, and a few pawn tickets upon her companion."  Charles W. Johnson had recovered his missing property more quickly than he would restore his tarnished reputation.

In September 1902 James W. Bouton was diagnosed with Bright's Disease.  He died a month later at the age of 69.  The New England Stationer and Printer noted he "had been identified with the publishing and bookselling business in this city for more than fifty years."  His shop would remain at 10 West 28th Street through 1907.

The New York Times, April 6, 1907 (c0pyright expired)

In 1902 the male-only status of the apartments changed.  An advertisement in The New York Times on October 15 that year read "Bachelor Apartments or Others--4 rooms and bath; splendid central location; $45 month."   The rental would equal about $1,400 today.

Several of the new female residents were in the musical field.  Among the earliest were contralto Katharine Pelton, who advertised "concerts and vocal instruction," and pianist and accompanist Henriette Weber.  Composer and agent Albert Von Tilzer lived here, as well, in 1902.  Among his best known songs is the 1908 Take Me Out To The Ball Game.

In 1908 The Color Photography Co. photo studio was located here.  The former Bouton bookstore space was now E. W. Johnson's store "for books hard to find or any books."

The post-World War I years saw the Apex Wire Mesh Co. and the Argentine Trading Company in the commercial spaces.  In 1922 the Cohen Typewriter Exchange moved in.  The store offered monthly payments, advertising "$5 down, $5 monthly, buys latest Underwood, Royal, Oliver, Remington, $35 up."

By 1939 Palestine House operated from one of the stores.  It offered "Holy Land Gifts."  The other shop was home to Harvey the Hatter who "makes men's hats to order for $3.75, $5 and $7.50, depending on the quality of the felt you select," according to Shopping News on September 3, 1941.

As the Nomad neighborhood slowly transformed, so did the commercial tenants of 10 West 28th Street.  In 1974 Pot Covers opened in the second floor of 10 West 28th Street.  Run by Willian Kind and Adele Lewis, it sold "baskets of every size and description," according to The New York Times writer Virginia Lee Warren.  The shop also sold imported jardinières and pots.

And then, in 2014 Daniel Humm and Will Guidara opened the two-level NoMad Bar.  Vogue magazine said, "With plush, oversize banquettes, dark wood, brass detailing, and a working fireplace, the bar harkens back to a more opulent era, when dirty money and crime ran the city."

Harding & Dinkelberg's 1887 storefront has been repeatedly altered.  But rather amazingly, the upper floors are little changed since the day that James K. Pell moved into the house in 1856.

photograph by the author

LaptrinhX.com has no authorization to reuse the content of this blog

The Remodeled Frederick W. Rhinelander House - 12 West 28th Street

 

In 1866 Miller's Stranger's Guide to New York described the area around Madison Square, saying "The houses surrounding this park include some of the most elegant of this city."  Around seven years earlier a handsome, high-stooped residence had been erected at 12 West 28th Street, between Fifth Avenue and Broadway.

The owner advertised in September 1859:  "Wanted--A first rate waitress; must be neat looking and have the best of city references.  Scotch or Welsh preferred."  Waitresses were more polished than servants like chamber maids.  Among their duties was the serving of meals in the dining room and tea in the parlor.

By 1867 the house was home to the Frederick William Rhinelander family.  Born in 1828, Rhinelander was married to the former Frances Davenport Skinner.  The socially-prominent couple, who had eight children, maintained a villa in Newport, Rhode Island. 

Frederick Rhinelander's sister, Mary Elizabeth, had married Thomas Haines Newbold in 1846.   The Newbold family was as prominent as the Rhinelander family.  Both traced their ancestry in America to the 17th century.   The Newbolds' country estate, Fern Tor, sat on the banks of the Hudson River above Poughkeepsie.  

Thomas Newbold died on March 12, 1869.  Frederick Rhinelander and his family were still listed at 12 West 28th Street in 1870, but before long Mary Newbold and her children, Thomas, Frederick, Catherine and Edith, moved in.

By the 1880's affluent families were moving northward as commerce inched into the neighborhood.  In March 1890 Mary Newbold leased the house to the Actors' Fund, and then hired architect G. P. Graves make renovations totaling about $59,000 in today's money.  The plans called for altering walls, "internal alterations," and a new front.

The Actors' Fund of America had been founded in 1882 to "foster and benefit the physical, as well as advance the intellectual, welfare of the actors of America."  On the parlor floor of its new home on West 28th Street were the reception room and reading room, and in the rear two offices.    The New York Amusement Gazette reported, "The remainder of the building will be rented out as offices to different branches of the profession."  Offices on the second floor were leased to the Dramatic Exchange, and to the Horace Wall American Amusement Agency.  Years later, in 1913, The New York Clipper would recall, "These offices were handsomely fitted up.  The walls were papered in gold."  On the third floor was the Actors' Fund committee room, "and no one was admitted to it but the trustees," said the newspaper.

The former English basement level was home to Carl Wernicke's "bric-a-brac shop" by 1891.  The "art room" where paintings and statuary were displayed was behind the main shop.  On January 24 that year Mr. and Mrs. De Ford picked out a jardinière and asked that it be converted to a jewel case at a cost of $35 (more than $1,000 today).  

A few days later the returned, and said that rather than have it delivered they would take it themselves.  They paid for the piece and took along two statuettes for wedding presents, "if they were deemed suitable."  On February 16 they returned again, saying the statuettes would not do, and began browsing for something else.  De Ford wandered into the art room, while his wife waited.  

Suddenly, she told a clerk that she was going shopping at Macy's and left.  Five minutes later De Ford came out of the back.  The Sun later said, "De Ford wore a bulky, shaggy overcoat, closely buttoned, and Mr. Wernicke noticed that it bulged."  The bulge was the result of "jewels and silverware, valued at over $7,000" stuffed in his pockets.

As it turned out, Mr. De Ford was Robert Howe, "otherwise Ralph Hamberg, otherwise De Ford," and his wife was Nettie Hamburg, "otherwise Nettie Kirby, the reputed wife of Howe."  And Wernicke was only one of their victims.  When they were tracked down and arrested, the "plunder" found in their rooms was brought to court as evidence.  The Sun reported on September 29, 1891, "Jewels in almost every conceivable form for woman's wear flashed upon the prosecutor's table yesterday...A hamper full of antique silverware stood at one end of the table.  Near the table were three trunks filled with fine clothes."

In the meantime, the Actors' Fund assisted down-at-the-heels thespians, often paying their medical or funeral expenses.  On April 23, 1894 The Evening World reported, "Only a dozen people were present at the obsequies over the body of Adele Waters, the young actress who died at the Bellevue Hospital...The services were held at noon yesterday at the Actors' Fund rooms, 12 West Twenty-eighth street."

Around 1899 George Busse moved his shop into the former Wernicke space.  A publisher of art reproductions, he also used the shop to stage exhibitions of contemporary artists.

The Evening Post, October 27, 1900 (copyright expired)

On October 1, 1903 The Dowling-Sutton Music Publishing Company moved into an upper floor office.   In announcing the move, the firm noted, "Our latest Song Success are: 'In Those Happy Autumn Days,' 'You'll Always Be The Only Girl For Me,' 'My Mabel of Mulberry Bend,' 'The Sun Shines On No Sweeter Girl Than Mine, " Yo' Am De Best Soap Bubble Dat I Knows,' etc."

In December 1916 the Corn Exchange Bank signed a 21-year lease on the property.  The Evening Post reported, "A marble front and other changes made to meet the needs of the new tenant will be made from plans by S. Edson Gage.  

Gage's plans, filed in January 1917, would completely transform the old brownstone residence into a modern bank building at a cost of about $535,000 today.  The stoop and front were removed and a gleaming white marble façade installed.  A grand, three-story arch dominated the design.  Below the intermediate cornice below the fourth floor, delicately carved festoons draped above the keystone and trailed down the sides.  Two-story fluted pilasters separated the openings of the third and forth floors.

Architecture magazine, November 1917 (copyright expired)

The 28th Street Branch of the Corn Exchange remained in the building until 1925, when it became home to the Gramercy Finance Corp.  

The main floor banking room.  Architecture magazine, November 1917 (copyright expired)

Starting in 1928 and lasting well into the Depression years, the bank housed the Modern Investment and Loan Company.  In 1936 the structure was altered and it was most likely at this time that the arch, which so closely identified the building as a bank, was removed and replaced by square-headed openings.  

A recent renovation replaced the bottom two floors.  Happily, the neo-Classical swags of S. Edson Gage's 1917 design and his regal upper floors survive.

photographs by the author

LaptrinhX.com has no authorization to reuse the content of this blog

An 1886 Queen Anne Style Updating - 4 West 28th Street

In 1866 Miller's Stranger's Guide to New York described the area around Madison Square, saying "The houses surrounding this park include some of the most elegant of this city."  Four years earlier the estate of J. J. Coddington had completed an upscale, four story brownstone two blocks north of the park at No. 4 West 28th Street, just west of Fifth Avenue.  

The 25-foot wide house became the home and office of Dr. William Elmer.  The son of the esteemed Dr. William Elmer, Sr., of Bridgeton, New Jersey, Elmer's residency on West 28th Street was short-lived.  He moved back to Bridgeton by 1865, selling No. 4 to dentist Samuel Hassell.  He and his son, John J., worked together as Samuel Hassell & Son and, as Dr. Elmer had done, ran their dental practice from the house.

The family maintained a summer home on Long Island at the time; but sold it the year after moving into the 28th Street house.  Hassell's description of the property on February 10, 1866 reveals his comfortable financial status.

For Sale or to Rent--A very desirable Country Seat, beautifully situated, commanding a fine view of Long Island Sound...house in the Italian villa style; 14 rooms; 3-1/2 acres of land or more if desired; bar, carriage house, fruit and shade trees.

The family was taking in boarders by 1870.  That year Mary M. Beers, the widow of John Beers, and William Josephy, leather merchant, lived with the Hassells.  An advertisement on September 21, 1874 described "Handsomely furnished rooms on second and third floors to let with first-class board, to a private German family."  

The Hassell family left West 28th Street by 1879 when the new owner, John R. Robinson, placed an advertisement on April 9 offering "Doctor's Office and Reception Room to rent furnished, on parlor floor; rooms large."

It was leased to the eminent physician M. Josiah Roberts.  He was the instructor in orthopedic surgery and mechanical therapeutics at the Post-Graduate Medical School, and in 1881 he published Lectures on the Practice of Medicine, a compilation of seminars by Dr. Francis Delafield.  The esteem in which he was held among the medical community was reflected in an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association on January 5, 1884.  "A reception to Dr. M. Josiah Roberts, of New York, was given on Thursday evening by Dr. William H. Daly, of Pittsburgh, in that city.  Several of Dr. Roberts' professional brethren in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and elsewhere together with a large number of Pittsburgh physicians, were invited to be present."

Dr. Roberts would soon have to relocate his practice.  John R. Robinson, hired Henry F. Kilburn to remodel completely transform it.  The architect's plans, filed on April 17, 1885, included "take down front wall and extend building on front 4.3 [feet]...one story fitted up for stores and upper stories for flats."  The cost of the make-over was $10,000, or just under a quarter of a million in today's dollars.

The renovations were completed early in 1886.  Kilburn had clad the façade above the two-story cast iron storefront in brick trimmed in stone.  The Queen Anne design included quoins around the openings and up the sides, a whimsical half-bowl below a fourth floor window, and carved spandrel panels between the paired openings of the third and fourth floors.

In keeping with the Queen Anne style's distaste for symmetry, the carved panels were noticeably different.

One of the commercial spaces was taken by ladies' tailors Adams, McIvor & Allen, which started business in January 1887.  Mrs. Charlotte Adams had joined forces with three former employees of John Patterson & Co., one of the city's most high-end manufacturers of women's wear.  The other space was taken by well-known real estate agent Charles S. Peck, who would remain at least through 1893.  

The residents of the apartments were well-heeled, like famous actor Richard Mansfield who had a flat in 1892, and Samuel Mason who was wealthy enough to own his own carriage.

Richard Mansfield was among the most famous actors of his period.  from the collection of the Library of Congress

Mary Chelton, however, was not so respectable as her neighbors within the building.  She and another young women were secretly engaging in prostitution.  On December 10, 1893 The Press entitled an article "Purification Goes On" and reported that Police Captain Schmittberger and 60 detectives had raided brothels the previous evening.  Among them was a flat in No. 4 and "here were arrested Mary Chelton and one inmate."

By 1897 Joseph Guggenheim had established his jewelry store here.  He advertised himself as "appraiser of diamonds.  Correct estimates given."

Millionaire Robert Hoe, head of the printing business R. Hoe & Co., purchased the property in October 1898.  Although he made few other changes, the lower level became home to Morello's Restaurant that year.  The New-York Daily Tribune's weekly "Where To Dine" column regularly included Morello's, noting that the ambiance included music.

Following the turn of the century S. Wyler's jewelry store was in the ground floor store while the upper space was home to wholesale florist Charles Schenck.  

New-York Daily Tribune, December 17, 1905 (copyright expired)

One Saturday night in the fall of 1905 a burglar somehow gained entrance and emptied Schenck's cash register.  It happened the next Saturday night, and the next.  Schenck laid a trap.

On Saturday night, October 21 he closed up as usual, but did not leave.  He hid in the dark near the cash drawer and waited.  And he did not have to wait long.

The Evening Telegraph reported "Less than half an hour after the store had been closed the front door was opened with a key and Mr. Schenck, to his surprise, beheld a former employee.  The young man had been accustomed to opening the store when he was employed there and had a key."

Schenck watched as the youth opened the cash drawer, then rushed him, knocking him to the floor.  The thief escaped, however, running westward toward Sixth Avenue.  Schenck was close behind, yelling "Stop, Thief!"  The newspaper reported "Many persons joined in the chase."

At the end of the block, actor Robert Cummings had just turned from the avenue onto 28th Street.  He was headed to Proctor's Fifth Avenue Theatre where he was playing the part of Sir Oliver Surface in School for Scandal.  "Mr. Cummings, who is big and strong, nailed the quarry by knocking him down.  Then he picked up the fellow and protected him until Policeman Williamson...relieved him of the prisoner."

Schenck assumed that Cummings was a detective.  But the following Tuesday a friend commented, "That was Bob Cummings who stopped your thief."  With this new knowledge, Schenck walked into Proctor's Theatre before the matinee, "laden with flowers."  The Telegram said "They were not for Amelia Bingham nor yet for Frances Starr, but for Robert Cummings."

Although painted, the upper section retains much of its 1886 integrity.

In the beginning of 1907 Schenck left and the "parlor floor" as described by the New-York Tribune, store was taken by Minot Govan, dealer in photographic supplies.  His announcement in The Evening Telegram noted "Last week of bargains before removal to 4 West 28th st.; portrait cameras at $3 and $5; camera stands, $3 up; lenses portrait, $10 up" and so on.  A $5 camera was indeed a bargain, equal to about $140 today.

Govan's services went beyond the selling of supplies and equipment.  An advertisement in July 1909 offered "Kodaks, films, supplies; developing, printing, enlarging."

S. Wyler was still at the address that year.  As Christmas approached on December 19, he held a sale "on account of lateness of the season."  He promised that his "genuine antique jewels and finest European and American silver" would be sold "at prices which defy competition, less than 1/3 of prices asked elsewhere."

More likely, the reason behind the sale was that Wyler was in financial trouble.  A year later the jewelry store was gone and the Label Shop replaced it.  The Label Committee had been formed by a consortium of labor unions.  The "label" or stamp J. H. U. was sewn or stamped into union-made products.  In its September 1, 1911 report, the Label Committee wrote "The most important development in regard to the label was the opening on February 4, 1911, of the Label Shop at 4 West Twenty-eighth Street."

The shop was stocked with union-made clothing, "tub and lingerie dresses, silk waists, chiffon jumpers, shirtwaists," etc.   The Brooklyn newspaper The Chat said "The purpose is to demonstrate that women can purchase all necessities for wearing, from gowns to underwear, made under union conditions."

The group's president, Carola Woerishoffer, was described by The New York Press as a "wealthy suffragist and social worker."  A tireless worker, she was also the treasurer of the Woman's Trade Union League, a director of the Greenwich Settlement House, and of the Labor Legislation Association.  The New York Press said "She took an active interest in the strike of the shirtwaist girls, and bailed them out as fast as they were arrested."

The Label Shop left in 1913.  Russin & Hanfling had its office and salesroom in the building by now.  Its advertisements described it as "Manufacturers and Importers of willow and fancy baskets for florists" and "dealers in florists' supplies."

On October 22, 1916 The Sun reported that A. Cotromano had taken the "store" "for restaurant purposes.  It is unclear whether that included both floors.  Then, following the sale of the building in July 1920, The Real Estate Record & Builders' Guide reported that the new owner, the L. K. Schwartz Co. "will alter the property and resell it."

The renovation was not begun until 1922 and was completed the following year.   There were now apartments above the two-story commercial space.  Among the initial residents were Dr. Riedon, and Morris Schwinger, both of whom were involved in poison pies that year.

On August 1, 1922 the New-York Tribune ran the headline "Broadway Pie Poisons Scores; 4 in Hospital."   The article reported that "police estimate that between fifty and one hundred persons were affected" after eating "peach, huckleberry or blackberry pie" at the Shelburne Restaurant.  Among the victims taken to Bellevue Hospital where their stomachs were pumped was Morris Schwinger. 

A month later, on September 9, the same newspaper reported "The police of the East Twenty-second Street station swooped down on the Purity Shop, Broadway and Twenty-sixth Street, yesterday afternoon, after the sudden illness of two girls."  The shop girls were initially treated by Dr. Riedon.  Unlike the poison pies, exactly which food they had eaten was more difficult to trace.  The article described their hearty meal: "They had eaten soup, salmon, potatoes, bread pastry and salad."

In 1931 the shop was remodeled for a restaurant and the apartments updated.  Among the residents in 1937 was Cleveland Bissell.  The editor and cartoonist of Shape-Up, the periodical of the C.I.O. labor union.  It was a position that risked enraging hard line union workers.

That summer tensions were high between the A. F. of L. longshoremen's union and the C. I. O. opposition.  On September 21, 1937 Bissell went to a meeting on the Hudson River docks "to bring about harmony."  It did not end that way.  The New York Times reported that outside a Ward Line pier ten members of the International Longshoremen's Association "set on him."  One of the men, Frank Savio, struck Bissell with a bottle.  Savio was convicted of assault the following month.

The 28th Street block suffered neglect through the succeeding decades.  But in 2013 the Italian restaurant Mercato Trattoria signed a lease and today Ulivo, also an Italian restaurant, calls the space home.  And while the commercial space cries out for attention, the upper floors are wonderfully intact.

photographs by the author

The Poland Springs Building - 1180 Broadway

A. G. Newman was a manufacturer of "builders' and house-furnishing hardware" with a factory on West 29th Street.  In 1870 he commissioned Stephen Decatur Hatch to design an office and store building at No. 1180 Broadway, just north of West 28th Street.

Hatch had just designed the lavish Gilsey House hotel a block to the north on Broadway and would go on to produce some of New York City's most recognized buildings of the late 19th century.  His project for Newman was less ambitious.

Completed within the year, the cast iron fronted structure rose five stories, each floor clearly delineated by a molded cornice.  Banded piers with Corinthian capitals flanked the second floor where matching pilasters separated the openings.  Hatch toned down the ornamentation of the third floor with Doric capitals, and then forewent the banding of the outside piers for panels on the upper floors.

Only the second floor (and, presumably, the storefront) received Corinthian touches.

A. G. Newman moved his retail store into the ground floor.  From here architects and builders would select the hardware necessary for construction--hinges, window hardware, and even burglar alarms.  

Real Estate Record & Builders' Guide, April 23, 1881 (copyright expired)

Newman's store would be convenient to the those tenants in the upper floor offices engaged in the building and real estate trade.   In the 1880's E. H. Ludlow & Co., "real estate, auctioneers and brokers," had its offices here; and in the 1890's building contractor H. Prost operated from the address.

Henry Andersen had been chief assistant architect in the office of Thom & Wilson since 1885.  Now, on March 26, 1892, the Record & Guide announced that he had struck out on his own, opening his own practice at No. 1180 Broadway.  The article noted "Mr. Andersen is well known to many builders in this city.  His architectural experience extends over some twenty years, both in this country and abroad."  Andersen's venture was successful and he worked from the Broadway office into the first years of the 20th century.  

Another architect, Thomas Nelson, had his offices here by 1899.  There were, of course, non-construction related tenants in the building, as well.  Political cartoonist and illustrator Thomas Nast launched his Thomas Nast's Weekly, a "new illustrated paper," from room 12 in September 1892.  The 16-page periodical offered jokes, editorials, the famous Nast cartoons, and news.

from the collection of the University of Minnesota Libraries

By 1894 the offices of the American Theatrical Exchange were in the building.  That particular year was a difficult one for its manager, A. McConnell.  Nearly a decade earlier, in 1886, he had married actress May Hosmer, but she soon left him and sent a letter from Chicago saying she had obtained a divorce.  McConnell then remarried and was living happily with his second wife.

In 1890 May Hosmer married actor Theodore Babcock.  They had one child together, but then in 1893, according to Babcock, "she left with a handsomer man."  He sued her for divorce, but got a letter in return stating that his marriage to May was "a farce and a bigamy" since she had never been divorced from McConnell.

The Evening World reported "This was interesting to McConnell...Now he will also sue the fickle May for absolute divorce and go through a second ceremony with the present Mrs. McConnell."

Women were finding their way into the workplace in the 1890's.  Secretarial jobs, traditionally held by men, were now being offered to females.  Miss James's School trained prospective office workers in No. 1180 starting around 1894 and continuing for several years.  Her courses in stenography and typewriting included "business correspondence, spelling and punctuation."

Louis Blum sold celebrity photographs from his office here in 1899.  An ad in Broadway Magazine in July 1899 offered "Thirty Stunning Photographs" of female stage stars, "some in tights."  For 25 cents the buyer would received pictures of Lillian Russell, Pauline Hall, Della Fox and others, deemed by Blum as "the most stunning women of the contemporaneous stage."

On February 24, 1906 the Record & Guide announced that "Hiram Ricker & Sons, proprietors of Poland water" had purchased No. 1180 Broadway.  "the buyers will extensively alter and occupy the structure," it said.  Simultaneously they bought No. 1178 next door as additional space.

Plans for renovating the building were filed by Edward P. Ricker & Son, as architect.  Not coincidentally, Edward Payson Ricker was a son of Hiram Ricker.  The completed alterations included a new cornice and ambitious parapet that announced "Poland Spring Building."

The various Ricker-headed firms in the building included the Poland Waist Co., the Poland Spring Company, and the New England Resort Hotels.  from the collection of the Office of Metropolitan History

The building, which held the offices of Hiram Ricker & Sons' many ventures including The New England Resort and Travelers' Information Company, was ready for occupancy in November.  Advertisements touted it as Poland Springs' "new and attractive uptown location."

New-York Tribune, November 26, 1906 (copyright expired)

The Ricker enterprises remained in the building for decades.  The travel and hotel booking offices garnered more attention than the less glamorous spring water.  By the second decade of the 20th century the resorts they represented went beyond the New England locations.  In June 1914, for instance, reservations were being taken for the new The Tak-A-Nass-Ee in West End, New Jersey.  It was touted as an "up-to-the-minute hotel, of concrete construction, and possessing all improvements of the best city houses."

This advertisement listed some of the Ricker businesses headquartered in the building.  The Sun, August 1, 1916 (copyright expired)

The Poland Spring and travel offices remained in No. 1180 Broadway through 1922.  Then in 1923 architect Morris Rhineton was hired to convert the ground floor space to a restaurant and to revamp the upper floor offices.  It was most likely at this time that Edward P. Ricker's bold parapet was removed.

The Poland Spring Building parapet was gone before 1941.  The Parnes restaurant occupies the ground floor .  photo via the NYC Dept of Records and Information Services

In the first years of the 1940's the ground floor was home to Parnes Dairy Restaurant.  The eatery would remain for decades and in 1964 The New York Times well-known food critic Craig Claiborne commented that locals "are enthusiastic about breakfast at the Parnes Dairy Restaurant."  He added that the fare was a bit pricey.  "The cost of eating well at breakfast, or rather of dining in the style to which they are accustomed, is a touch elevated but worth it.  A morning's check might range from $3 at Parnes."  The cost of that breakfast would equal about $25 today.

The rusting and battered building sprouts a garish vinyl sign at street level while commercial lofts have replaced the former offices upstairs.  Perhaps the ongoing rediscovery of this section of Broadway will result in a coat of paint and a renovated store front.

photographs by the author

The 1903 Johnston Building (Nomad Hotel) - 1170 Broadway

Living in Stutgart, Germany did not impede Caroline H. Johnston's Manhattan real estate operations.  She remotely purchased properties around the island which she improved with commercial and residential structures.  As the turn of the century neared, she little by little amassed the properties around No. 1170 Broadway.  In 1897 she purchased No. 1172 at the southeast corner of Broadway and 28th Street for $250,000.  She acquired the abutting property at No. 1168 Broadway the following year for $110,000; and No. 1168 Broadway in 1900 for $148,005.

On March 15, 1902 The Record & Guide reported that she "has decided to erect a 12-sty store and loft building on the site."  The nearly square footprint was just over 105 feet wide on Broadway and almost 103 feet on 28th Street.  The architectural firm of Schickel & Ditmars was put to work designing what would briefly be known as the Johnston Building.  Their plans, filed a month later, projected the cost at $500,000.  Coupled with the price of the properties, Caroline Johnston's project would cost her the staggering equivalent of around $30 million in today's dollars.

The fact that this section of Broadway was dotted with several upscale hotels may have prompted the architects to design the Johnston Building to more closely resemble a hotel than an office structure.  Above the street-level storefronts, the limestone-faced building dripped with Beaux Arts decorations, its rounded corner rising to an elaborate cupola.

The lushly ornamented entrance would have been appropriate for any high-end hotel of the time.  photo by Beyond My Ken

The name did not last especially long, most likely because there was another Johnston Building downtown which was already well known.  Two Johnston Buildings, one on Broadway and another on Broad Street, were just too confusing. 

The new structure filled with the offices of architects and other construction-related firms.  In the first decade after its opening architects James B. Ware & Sons, Bosworth & Holden, W. E. McCoy, J. J. Malone, and N. Serracino were here.  Builders and contractors included Jobson-Hooker Co., The Bottsford-Dickinson Co., Geo. Vassar's Son & Co., and the Hennebigue Construction Company.

The National Cash Register Company was in the highly visible corner store in 1905.  photo by Wurts Bros. from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York

Real estate firms joined the architects and builders.  The International Amusement & Realty Co., the West Rockaway Land Company, and the uptown office of Frederick Soutack & Alwyn Ball, Jr. were tenants.

When the International Amusement & Realty Co. sought to update its offices in April 1910 by renovating the stairs and walls, it did not have to look far.  Both the architect, James J. Malone, and the contractor, Geo. Vassar's Son & Co., were tenants.

In June 1912 Caroline Johnston updated the show windows and replaced the roof.  The building continued to lure architects and builders.  That year the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company moved in and would remain into the 1920's.

Atlantic Terra Cotta Company was a major tenant for years.  Real Estate Record & Guide, December 21, 1912 (copyright expired)

Atlantic Terra Cotta Company was joined in the building that year by builders Wills & Marvin Co. and architect James Brite.  The well-known construction firm of Thomas J. Brady, Jr. Company took space in 1914.

A variation in the tenant list began in 1916 when A. J. Haire Publishing Co. moved in.  The firm published The Corset and Underwear Review, a monthly trade journal, and the annual International Corset & Underwear Directory.

The Corset and Underwear Review, July, 1921 (copyright expired)

In 1918 the general offices of the United Electric Light and Power Co. were here, and by the following year the Barker Original Bakeries System, Inc. operated from the building.

The Barker firm advertised nation-wide, hoping to attract would-be small business owners.  For an investment of $5,000 (just under $74,000 today), an investor was guided through the process of opening a bread bakery.  An advertisement claimed that "many wide-awake men in cities of the Middle West and East are today making $500 to $2,400 per month...who knew nothing whatever of the Baking business."  "We have solved all problems for these people, furnished an expert to start them and covered every detail to assure their success."

Other garment-related firms in the building that year were The Textiles Company, Inc. and Naef Brothers, dealers in embroideries "that impart distinctiveness to Lingerie, Blouses and Infant's and Children's Dresses," according to an advertisement.

Another new tenant in 1921 was the New York School of Filing.  It entitled an advertisement on January 30 "Woman's Best Vocation--FILING," and claimed "We have trained and placed over five thousand girls and women in positions paying $18 to $35 per week."  (The higher salary would equal $500 today.)  

After having been in the building for 37 years, Haire Publishing Company left in 1953.  The neighborhood around No. 1170 suffered during the next few decades as modern Midtown business buildings attracted tenants.  Small offices and stores moved in, like Josalam, headed by Joseph J. Samowich.  Another tenant, Yuchius Co., operated from a storefront here and at No. 1133 Broadway.  

As Christmas shoppers frantically searched for the popular Cabbage Patch dolls in 1984, Customs Agents raided the Yuchius Co. stores as well as the firm's warehouse on West 27th Street, confiscating 20,000 counterfeit Cabbage Patch dolls.  Tests by the Customs Department chemists indicated "that the stuffing in the dolls contained several volatile and flammable compounds, including benzene and toluene," said The New York Times.

In the meantime Josalam garnered more positive press coverage.  In October 1983 Joseph Samowich received his patent for "Josalam," a decorative laminate "for home, business or even military use."  And two years later he was awarded another patent for a new "bulletproof clothing, or soft body armor."  This was Samowich's third patent on the protective garments which he said "required fewer layers of fabric and are less costly than those currently employed" by the police and military, according to The New York Times on April 13, 1985.

photo by Beyond My Ken

The rediscovery of the neighborhood north of Madison Square, or Nomad, at the turn of the century would result in a renaissance of No. 1170 Broadway as well.   The building that looked like a hotel became one in 2012 when the Sydell Group transformed it into the NoMad hotel and restaurant.  The interiors were designed by French architect Jacques Garcia.

The renovation-restoration resurrected Schickel & Ditmars' 1903 Beaux Arts showpiece.

photographs by the author