The 1909 Britannia - 527 Cathedral Parkway (West 110th Street)

 

image via streeteasy.com

On December 27, 1892, shovels broke ground for the construction of the Cathedral Church of St. John Divine on the east side of Amsterdam Avenue at 112th Street.  Its sprawling property stretched from 110th to 113rd Streets.  Simultaneously, the section of West 110th Street from Amsterdam Avenue to Riverside Drive was renamed Cathedral Parkway.  Not all New Yorkers, however, warmed to the change and the buildings along those blocks continue to use both addresses to this day.

In 1909, the Gracehull Realty Co., headed by J. Charles Weschler, hired the short-lived partnership of Waid & Wallauer to design an apartment house at 527 Cathedral Parkway.  (Daniel Everett Waid would be remembered as a prominent architect.  Arthur Wallauer, on the other hand, fell from the record, apparently working with Waid only on this building.)

The plans, filed on February 19, 1909, projected the cost at $350,000--more than $8.7 million in 2026 terms.  Completed before the end of the year, the nine-story Britannia was designed in the Tudor Revival style.  Described by the Real Estate Record & Builders' Guide as suggesting "the old English house," its multi-paned windows and sharply-angled bays echoed portions of Hampton Court.  Above the limestone base, the facade was clad in rough-faced tapestry brick and trimmed in stone and terra cotta.  Arthur Willauer explained in The American Architect in 1909, "Let us give to the crowded thousands some portion of that joy that we have known abroad and from the real homes in our own country."  And The Apartment Houses of the Metropolis described the Britannia as having a "domestic character in harmony with the architecture of the Cathedral."

Waid & Wallauer produced this rendering in 1909.  Supplement to Apartment Houses of the Metropolis, 1910 (copyright expired)

The side courts of the Britannia's U-shape provided light and ventilation to nearly every interior room.   The wide, deep central courtyard also acted as "an entrance for vehicles and pedestrians, as well as the approach to the private entrances to two ground floor apartments," as reported by Apartment Houses of the Metropolis.  

Potential residents could choose apartments from five to nine rooms with one or two baths.  Apartment Houses of the Metropolis said, "None of the apartments contain the long dark narrow hallway, so objectionable to dwellers in apartments."  Residents would enjoy, "garbage receptacles, porcelain lined refrigerators, long distance telephone, etc."  Rents ranged from $1,400 to $3,000 per year--about $4,000 to $9,000 per month today.

Apartment Houses of the Metropolis, 1910 (copyright expired)

Notably, Waid & Wallauer gave the Britannia more than its share of personality in the form of humorous carved corbels in the form of medieval characters.  The Record & Guide explained that each one was "symbolic of some form of the homely art of housekeeping."  And so the ten crouching figures stir a pot, eat from a bowl and spoon, carry a roasted chicken on a platter, write in a diary or ledger, and such.

This comical figure licks his finger before turning the page in his ledger or diary.  photograph by Carole Teller

Among the first residents were its builder, J. Charles Weschler, and his family; and Archer S. Gibson, his wife, the former Frances Fleetwood Bryant, and their seven-year-old daughter, Elinor.

Born on December 5, 1875 in Baltimore, Gibson was arguably the most famous organist in the country.  He was organist and choirmaster of the Brick Presbyterian Church on Fifth Avenue.  He was also in great demand by high society, almost all of whom had pipe organs in their mansions.  The New York Times would later describe him as the "organist by appointment to many of the country's richest families."  Among his clients, for instance, were Charles and Eurana Schwab, who had two pipe organs in their sprawling chateau, Riverside House.  The Times added to the list: "Mrs. Henry Clay Frick, William Sloane, Andrew Carnegie, Walter P. Chrysler, H. E. Manville, Mrs. H. Mckay Twombly...and the Rockefellers, Senior and Junior."

Archer S. Gibson.  He and his family remained here at least through 1915.  (original source unknown)

A fascinating couple were Fabian Franklin and his wife, Christine Ladd-Franklin, who were also initial tenants.  Born in Hungary in 1853, Franklin was brought to America by his parents when he was four.  He graduated from Columbian College (today's George Washington University) in 1869 with a Ph.B. in engineering, and earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from John Hopkins University in 1880.  He and Christine Ladd were married in 1882.  By the time the couple moved into the Britannia, he was an associate editor of the New York Evening Post.  He would go on to write books on social, political and economic issues.

Fabian Franklin, MacTutor History of Mathematics

Christine Ladd-Franklin was no less respected in her field.  A psychologist, logician and mathematician, she was known familiarly as Kitty.  She was born in 1847 in Connecticut.  Highly unusual for a female at the time, Christine graduated from Wesleyan Academy in 1865 and enrolled in Vassar College the following year.  Although she had a passion for physics, women were banned from physics laboratories, so she turned to mathematics.

Christine Ladd-Franklin from the collection of the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Christine obtained a fellowship at John Hopkins University in 1878 by signing her application, "C. Ladd."  It was only after she accepted the position that the university realized she was a woman.  Now living here, the erudite woman's name appeared in newsprint more often than that of her husband.  On January 14, 1911, for instance, The Evening Post reported on the Sarah Berliner fellowship, "which grants the sum of twelve hundred dollars for study or research in biology, chemistry, or physics."  The article said, "Applications must be in the hands of the chairman of the committee, Mrs. Christine Ladd Franklin, No. 527 Cathedral Parkway, New York, before February 1."

The Franklins' only daughter, Margaret Ladd, graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1908 and entered New York University Law School where she graduated in 1917.  She became a prominent advocate for women's rights.

Christine Ladd-Franklin's concerns were not limited to mathematics, psychology and education.  On March 1, 1915, the Fortnightly Review reported:

Mrs. Christine Ladd Franklin, of 527 Cathedral Parkway, New York City, protests against the illustrations of women's underwear published in many newspapers and magazines and which quite pass beyond the limits of decency.  This is a matter where women, even without organization, have the case in their own hands.  A few letters to the shops, newspapers and magazines concerned would, no doubt, be at once effective.

photograph by Carole Teller

Like Christine Ladd-Franklin, her neighbor Bertha Vivian Wooten was an adherent of Edwardian proprieties.  Her husband, Jesse B. Wooten, was an associate of the Knox Hat Company.  His disturbing behavior forced Bertha to leave him in May 1913.  She filed separation "because he played golf on Sunday and fell asleep over his evening paper when she wanted to talk to him," according to the New York Herald.  But the last straw came when, after they had been apart for two days, "he kissed his niece before he did his wife."  To make things worse, when Bertha complained about that, he replied, "Don't be silly."

In court, Jesse explained that his niece was only nine years old, and when he said, "Don't be silly," his "tones were conciliatory rather than brutal."

Happily, just 31 days after Bertha stormed out, she returned to the Britannia and her husband on June 27.  The New York Herald reported that they "were reconciled."

Engineer Albert Bach and his family lived in the Britannia as early as 1915.  On May 22 that year, he and his wife, the former Alice Henricks, announced the engagement of their daughter, Justine Ellen, to Otto Ludwig Koscherak.  The Bachs had two other children, Albert Jr. and Henry Michael.

Alice Bach died in the apartment the following year, on November 17, 1916, at the age of 53.  The family would remain at least through 1919.  By then, Albert Bach Jr. was an engineer like his father.

A prominent resident was architect Lionel Moses, who lived here with his wife, the firmer Shirley Maduro, and three sons, Lionel Jr., Felix, and Richard.  A great-grandson of Revolutionary figure Isaac Moses, Lionel joined the firm of McKim, Mead & White in 1887.  It was Moses who proposed to William Rutherford Mead the formation of a club for Rome Prize winners who had completed their residence at the American Academy in Rome.  He died in his apartment here at the age of 60 on February 19, 1931.

Another respected resident died the following month.  Richard Fitch was an assistant in the psychology department at Columbia University.  He shared his apartment with his brother Carl.  On the afternoon of March 18, Fitch asked the elevator operator to take him to the top floor.  He explained that he "was going to the roof to repair the radio wires."  Once there, the 25-year-old lost his balance and fell to his death.

image by Wurts Bros. from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York

Hermine Baranyi Serly and her widowed daughter Ethel (born Etelka) Serly Brummer shared an apartment here at midcentury.  Hermine was the widow of composer, conductor and author Lajos Serly.  Her son (and Ethel's brother) was composer and conductor Tibor Serly. 

Hermine was born in Budapest, Hungary.  When she met Serly, she was the prima donna of the National Theatre in Kolozsvar, Hungary and he was the conductor.  The New York Times would later recall, "For a number of years she sang in Europe with various opera and operetta companies, of which her husband was conductor."  The couple moved to the United States in 1905.  Hermine and Lajos organized the First Hungarian Theatre here and she later helped found the Hungarian Free Lyceum.

Hermine and Ethel later established the Hungarian Folk Dance and Character Ballet Group (Buzavirag Koszoru).  Hermine was the musical director of the group until 1950.

Ethel started out in vaudeville with her sisters, the Serly Sisters.  An accomplished dancer, she was a member of the Dancing Masters of America and the Dance Educators of America.  When she and her mother moved into the Britannia, both were widows.  Ethel's husband, art connoisseur and founder of the Brummer Art Galleries, Imre Brummer, had died in 1928.

Hermine Serly died at the age of 82 in their apartment on August 9, 1951 "after a long illness," according to The New York Times.  Ethel Serly Brummer died the following year, on August 16, 1952, at the age of 64.

Virginia Brauer, who lived here at the time, experienced a terrifying incident on July 16, 1954.  Virginia worked as the cashier at the Cherry Lane Theatre at 38 Commerce Street.  That night, two gun-wielding men rushed in and forced her and the manager, Nelson Sykes, to turn over the receipts.  The crooks grabbed the $225 in cash and fled in a waiting auto.

As early as 1979, poet Rika Lesser occupied an apartment here.  Born in Brooklyn in 1953, she graduated from Yale University in 1974, studied at Sweden's University of Gothenburg, and received her Masters in Fine Arts from Columbia University in 1977.  In addition to her own compositions, she translates poetry from Swedish and German works to English.  

Lesser received the Landon Poetry Translation Price from the Academy of American Poets in 1982, and the Poetry Translation Price from the Swedish Academy twice--in 1996 and 2003. 

photograph by Carole Teller

Thankfully, little has outwardly changed to the Britannia since 1909.  The automobile turnaround no longer allows vehicles to turn around, but the magnificent many-paned windows are miraculously intact.  And as for its marvelous carvings, Thane Rosenbaum described the building in The New York Times on April 19, 2002 as "a veritable Gothic asylum for grotesque characters."

many thanks to artist Carole Teller for suggesting this post

The 1913 Synod Hall - Amsterdam Avenue and 110th Street

After the grounds of the former Leake & Watts Orphan Asylum were purchased by the Episcopal Church as the site of its planned cathedral, the asylum building took on the duties of Synod Hall--the meeting place of the Episcopal General Convention.  But in 1911 J. Pierpont Morgan, for years the chairman of the Committee on Place of Meeting, and William Bayard Cutting, a New York Deputy of the group, agreed that a permanent, proper hall should be built and that they would build it.

The northeast corner of Amsterdam Avenue and 110th Street was selected.  The new Synod Hall would be the only building in the complex other than the cathedral to face Amsterdam Avenue.  On November 29, 1911 The New York Times noted that the trustees of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine had ordered work to begin the following week on the $300,000 structure, the cost of which Morgan and Cutting had agreed to split.  (Each of their contributions would equal a little more than $4 million today.)

The article noted "The architecture will be that of the cathedral as changed by the new architects."  Ralph Adams Cram of Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson had recently been appointed "consulting architect" and had changed the cathedral plans from Romanesque to Gothic.  The new Synod Hall would follow suit.

The plan was to have the hall completed in time for the next Episcopal General Convention, in October 1913.  The Sun explained that when the convention was not in session the structure would be used "for religious meetings of all kinds."  The general meeting hall would seat 1,200 persons and there would be a large banquet chamber for other gatherings, and a series of smaller committee rooms.  

Construction progressed according to schedule and on July 26, 1913 The Sun reported that it was nearly finished.  "Only the installation of the organ, the placing of the speakers' platform and the filling in of the seats remain to be attended to," it said.  "The new hall is Gothic within and without."  Over the main door were figures of five religious and historic figures, including Charlemagne, Constantine, Alfred the Great, Gustavus Adolphus and, perhaps a bit surprisingly, George Washington.

George Washington took center stage between the doors and directly below the figure of Christ.  photo by Wurts Bros. from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York 

The newspaper noted it was built of "a new West Virginia sandstone, gray with pink tinges, which will mellow beautifully with age.  This is the first structure for which this particular stone has ever been used."  The stained glass windows were imported from England.

The building was dedicated on October 7, 1913 with Bishop David H. Greer officiating.  Notably missing from the ceremony were its donors.  William Bayard Cutting had died on March 1, 1912, and J. P. Morgan on March 31, 1913.  Greer called the building "a splendid memorial" to the men.  The New-York Tribune wrote "Mr. Cram's design has the right artistic salience and charm.  Perfectly adjusted to its surroundings, it also possesses a character and a beauty of its own."

Behind the newly-completed hall can be seen the rising Cathedral of St. John the Divine.  photo by Wurts Bros. from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York 

Inside, the main meeting hall featured an open-beamed ceiling with colorful stenciling and two massive hanging candelabra.  The Tribune opined "Between the dark and discreetly carved panelling of the main floor and the galleries and the stately, yet somehow very friendly, roof the bare stone walls strike a weighty note, the piers and windows which break them serving to lighten their austerity, without disturbing their essential character."  The critic summed it up saying "It is a fine monument, of importance to the Church and to American architecture."

A massive chandelier hangs before the organ loft.  Convention delegates sat in theater-type chairs. The American Architect, December 17, 1913 (copyright expired)  

Not every critic was as accepting of Cram's design.  In its January 1914 issue, The Architectural Review insisted that "modern architecture should strive to reveal the modernity of a building's construction by expressing a modern point of view in its design rather than literally reproducing architectural forms from which vitality has departed."  It called Cram's exterior design "cold repression" and said the hall itself "partakes of the same bare coldness; although the organ-case and the balcony-rail are modern--and English--in type."

The conventions within Synod Hall dealt with weighty matters of the Church.  In its first sessions the delegates so disagreed upon various issues that on October 14, 1913 The Evening World began its article saying "There was every prospect to-day that the session of the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Synod Hall...would even more resemble a Republican national convention with Bull Moose trimmings than did the proceedings of yesterday."  The delegates grappled with the proposal to merge with the Church of England, the issue of intermarriage between Blacks and whites, and whether or not to have a "presiding bishop," or in effect a pope, over the Episcopal Church.

In the fall of 1918 The Most Rev. Meletios Metaxakis, Metroplitan of Athens and the primate of the Orthodox Greek Church came to New York.  On the afternoon of October 6 he was the principal speaker at a special service in the cathedral and the following evening he was guest of honor at a dinner in the banquet room of Synod Hall.

A special convention to elect a bishop was called for September 17, 1919 following the death of Bishop David Greer.  The Evening World noted that "If every clergyman and layman who has a right to vote is present, the convention will number 819."  That posed a problem.  Although Synod Hall could accommodate 1,200 persons, 500 of those would necessarily be in the gallery.  That, said the article, would resulting "great confusion in the casting of ballots."  Therefore the cathedral proper was used for the convention at which William T. Manning, rector of Trinity Church, was elected.

Manning was installed on May 11, 1921 in the cathedral.  The New York Herald anticipated it would be "the most impressive ceremony of the kind ever witnessed in New York."  The outspoken and decisive Bishop Manning got straight to work.  The article noted that later that day he would be addressing the session of the diocesan convention in Synod Hall with his "declaration of policy."

On August 7, 1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt endorsed a program to scrap metal from public buildings and other locations for the war effort.  Bronze statues were melted down, copper trimming from the roofs of vintage buildings was removed, and other materials were pried loose to be remade into military implements.  On September 13 The New York Times reported that Bishop Manning had joined the cause by donating five tons of metal from the cathedral complex.  "The antique side rails from the steps of Synod Hall, more than 100 years old...were stripped away for scrap."

Bishop Manning looks on as workmen remove the vintage railings.  The New York Times, September 13, 1942

By now Synod Hall held the diocesan offices and exhibit space.  As the century progressed it was used as a concert space was well.  Admission went toward cathedral efforts like its homeless outreach program.  The main hall and the banquet room were available for rental by 1984.  An evening's rent for the hall that at the time was $1,250 (nearly three times that much in today's money).

Despite standing in the shadow of the magnificent Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Ralph Adams Cram's Synod Hall holds its own; a striking example of Gothic Revival architecture.

photographs by the author