The 1889 Louis Isaacs House - 349 West 122nd Street

 

Within three years, Joseph W. and Abram Alonzo Teets transformed the block of West 122nd Street between Morningside and Manhattan Avenues from vacant lots into a neighborhood.  In 1888, they hired architect J. A. Webster to design eleven three-story-and-basement brownstone houses on the north side of the block.  The following year, Webster was back, designing ten houses on the south side for the brothers.

Among the initial project, completed in 1889, was 349 West 122nd Street.  Just 15-feet wide, it was identical to its neighbors.  The tall stoop was guarded by beefy iron newels and railings.  Each floor was belted with carved foliate bands, and the windows wore prominent molded cornices supported by fluted brackets.  

Financially involved in her sons' development projects was Louisa S. Wood Teets.  On July 5, 1890, for instance, she purchased five of the northern houses--342 to 360 West 122nd Street--from Joseph and Abram Alonzo Teets for $25,000.  By then she owned 349 West 122nd as well.

Louisa Teets sold the house to Louis Isaacs, who listed his occupation as "buyer" at 309 Grand Street.  He and his wife, the former Marion Norburn, had five children, Charles Richard, Margaret Maud, Alfreda, Howard Norburn, and Florence Belle.  The eldest, Charles, was 10 years old in 1889 and the youngest, Florence Belle, was an infant.

Somewhat surprisingly, when Louis Isaacs sold the house in December 1906, the purchaser was Philip Teets, the widower of  Louisa (she died in 1895).  He paid $8,900 for the property, or about $320,000 in 2026 terms.

Teet leased the house to the family of James F. Douglass, a woolens importer at 244 Fifth Avenue.  He and his wife had a son and daughter.

The quiet lives within the household was upset when the Douglasses' name became fodder for newspaper articles nationwide in 1907.  At the beginning of summer, daughter Lorene, who was then 15 years old, was invited to a gathering of teens at the summer cottage of Joseph A. Physioc, a theatrical scenery painter, in Bayville, Long Island.  The Physiocs' son, Joseph, Jr., was also 15.

Also at the party on June 4 were Lilac MacManus, "a prospective heiress of New York city, 16 years old," as described by the Montana newspaper The Anaconda Standard; and 16-year-old Frank A. Libby.  

At some point, the four decided to sneak away and get married.  They made their way to Oyster Bay and the parsonage of Methodist minister Rev. M. Wilson.  Joseph Physioc said he was 22 years old and an engineer, Libby said he was 21 and was also an engineer.  The girls professed to be 18.

Despite their youthful appearance and clothing, and the fact that the four giggled and made light of the ceremony, Rev. Wilson married the two couples.  When the marriages came to light, according to The Anaconda Standard, they "caused wrath and consternation in the homes of four well-known New York families."  The news scandalized the summer community as well.  On September 13, 1907, The New York Times said, "Gossip has been busy all summer at the little village of Bayville, L. I., concerning a rumored double wedding, in which all of the contracting parties were under 17 years of age."

Lorene Douglass's mother was incensed and blamed Rev. Wilson.  She told a reporter from the Spokesman-Review, 

My daughter wore short dresses and had her hair down her back.  She had told me no effort was made to alter their childish appearance.  Lorene does not appear to realize the seriousness of this thing.  She said that while the minister was before them everybody tittered and acted as though the affair was a great joke.

A reporter from the The New York Times was less successful in getting an interview.  When he called at the 122nd Street house on September 12, "a servant said that Mr. and Mrs. Douglas [sic] were in Canada.  She also said that they had no daughter named Lorene."  The journalist tried a second attempt that afternoon.  "A young man, who said he was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Douglas [sic] said that his mother was upstairs, but could not be seen," said the article.

When he asked if Lorene was home, the young man said, "I have no sister.  This marriage story is all a mistake."

Despite the family's denials, The New York Times discovered that the Douglasses "consulted their lawyers early in the Summer, and were told that the marriages were not binding owing to the ages of the four."

Philip Teets died that year.  In September 1909, the Teets estate placed 349 West 122nd Street on the market.  An advertisement described it as being "in a quiet, elegant section of Harlem; an ideal residence."

As seen today, the rich woodwork of the parlor level continued throughout the upper floors. images via zillow.com

It was purchased by Elizabeth Cassidy Henry Smith, a real estate operator, and wife of Charles J. Smith.  The house was rife with Charleses.  In addition to the couple's son, Charles, Jr., Charles A. Henry was the son of Elizabeth's previous marriage.  It appears that the only male in the household not named Charles was John A. Smith.  The young man worked as a topographical draftsman in the Bronx Borough President's office.  His annual salary in 1914 was $1,350 per year--a modest $43,700 today.

Charles Smith was too young to fight in World War I, but his half-brother was not.  Charles A. Henry went overseas with the Army.  On November 19, 1918, the New-York Tribune reported that he was missing in action.  Shortly afterward, an official Government announcement listed him "killed in action."

Charles J. Smith died on April 30, 1922 and his funeral was held in the parlor on May 3, followed by a requiem mass at Corpus Christi Church at 121st Street and Broadway.  Around this time, Elizabeth's widowed father, John Cassidy, moved into the house.  

Charles Jr. was still here in 1928, when he was involved in a serious accident.  He and an associate, James O'Brien, were riding in a taxicab on Madison Avenue on March 2 when it crashed into another cab at 85th Street.  One "ran into a window of the Busy Bee Grocery at 1,143 Madison Avenue," reported The New York Times, and the other "crashed into the window of the Reese & Reese Cleaning Establishment, across the street."  Charles Smith suffered serious cuts and O'Brien's skull was fractured.  Neither of the cabbies was injured, but both were arrested, "charged with reckless driving," according to the article.

There would be one more funeral in the house.  John Cassidy died on April 19, 1919 and his funeral was held on the 22nd.  Elizabeth Smith sold 349 West 122nd Street shortly afterward.  

It appears that it was next operated as a rooming house.  Surprisingly, given that the Harlem neighborhood was now the epicenter of Manhattan's Black community, the tenants seem to have been mostly German.  Living here in 1934, for instance, were Peter Franz and Meyer Goldschmidt.

image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

The Depression years saw a quick turnover of owners.  The property was sold again in December 1936, and resold in November 1937 for $6,500 (about $142,000 today).

Rooming here in 1938 was 35-year-old John Workman, described by the Long Island City Daily Star and North Shore Daily Journal as a "Negro WPA worker."  (The Works Progress Administration was created in 1935 to create jobs during the Great Depression.)  He was working on a construction project at the North Beach Airport on October 6 that year when something went horribly awry.

The newspaper said he was arrested on a charge of attempted felonious assault after being "accused of trying to beat up a foreman" on the job.  The foreman, Joseph Urlacher, pressed the charges.  It was not the first time Workman had been in trouble.  The article said he, "was acquitted of another felonious assault charge last year."

A recent floorplan shows the current configuration.  image via zillow.com

Relatively recently restored to a single-family home, a surprising amount of original interior detailing survives throughout the house.  

photographs by the author

The 1890 Adam and Matilda Keller House - 342 West 122nd Street

 

In 1889, Developers Joseph W. and A. Alonzo Teets completed the construction of eleven handsome brownstone-fronted rowhouses along the north side of West 122nd Street between Morningside and Manhattan Avenues.  Apparently pleased with the project, that year A. Alonzo Teets brought back the architect, J. A. Webster, to design a similar row of ten houses on the opposite side of the street.

This time E. H. Hammond was listed as working with Webster on the designs.  Filed in May 1889, the plans listed the construction cost of the three-story, 16-foot wide homes at $11,000 each, or about $387,000 in 2025.  Near matches to the earlier residences, they were a successful blend of Romanesque Revival, neo-Grec, and Queen Anne styles.  And, just as was the case with those across the street, while the eight middle homes were essentially identical, the two end residences stood out.  

Instead of the heavy entrance brackets and cornices of the interior homes, the architects gave these doorways dramatic hood-like arches upheld by small paired colonettes.  The tympana were filled with elaborate Renaissance inspired carvings, including a glaring face.  To further set the end homes apart, in stark contrast to those beefy cast iron railings and stoop newels, these were given whimsical, airy Queen Anne railings with sunbursts and squiggles.

The interior doors with carved panels can be seen through the well-weathered outer doors.

The developer originally leased 342 West 122nd Street to the family of retired merchant Adolph Mohle.  Living with him and his wife was his teenaged son, Paul, from Adolph's first marriage.  On September 17, 1891, the 18-year-old stole and pawned $500 worth of jewelry from his stepmother.  (The figure would translate to nearly $18,000 in 2025.)  A year later, The Press said, "The fear of arrest kept young Mohle away from his father's home ever since."  But his angry father had not stopped searching.  On September 12, 1892, Paul Mohle, now 19 years old, was captured.  The Press reported, "Mr. Mohle intends to have him committed to a reformatory."

Later that year, A. Alonzo Teets sold 342 West 122nd Street to Adam and Matilda Spoha Keller.  Born in 1840, Keller had served with the Seventh Regiment during the Civil War.  He was president of the Keller Manufacturing Company, makers of jewelry.  He and Matilda had two sons, Adam Jr. and Frank; and three daughters, Emma, Estelle and Agnes Marguerite.

The parlor was the scene of Emma's wedding to Dr. Augustine Charles McGuire on June 21, 1899.  The newlyweds would move to Pelham Manor where McGuire would make a significant mark in the medical community.

Estelle, who was Emma's maid of honor, was studying at Normal College at the time.  She received her teaching license in 1901.

The whimsical stoop railings of 342 stood in stark contrast to the muscular iron railings of the other houses along the row.

Although six adult Kellers shared 342 West 122nd Street, the family took in two boarders in 1901.  G. A. Taber was an 1894 graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and worked with the Rapid Transit Commission.  He married Edna May Dearborn on October 25, 1900.  The Technology Review reported in January 1901, Mr. and Mrs. Taber will reside at 342 West 122d Street, New York.

A second wedding took place in the parlor on June 1, 1911.  Agnes Marguerite was married to Edgar Nelson Sidman that evening.  Agnes quickly slipped into the routine of society women.  Eight months later, on February 4, 1912, The New York Times reported, "Mrs. Edgar Nelson Sidman has returned from a four months' trip abroad, and is at the Sherman Square Hotel."

Adam Keller died "suddenly" in the house on the night of January 10, 1915 at the age of 75.  (The term often suggested a heart attack or stroke.)  His funeral was held in the house two days later.

Mathilda sold 342 West 122nd Street in April 1919.  It became home to Jay C. Walton, a commissioner of deeds, and his wife.  Highly involved in politics, Walton had run for Congress under the Independent League ticket in 1910.  His wife was also active and in 1921 was a member of the New York City Federation of Women's Clubs, which sought to advance civic improvements, educational interests and philanthropic work.  She was, as well, a member of the Beethoven Society.

image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services

By the Depression years, 342 West 122nd Street was operated as a rooming house.  Musician Pancho Diggs listed his address here in the 1940 American Federation of Musicians Directory as "c/o I. Smith."  Pancho Diggs and His Orchestra were described in a 1938 advertisement  as "a local sensation."

Pancho Diggs and His Orchestra participated in the Grand Opening of the Jersey Savoy Ballroom in 1938.

Also rooming in the house that year was Selina Johnston, whose name was listed in the Government's roll of Communist Party voters.

Today, 342 West 122nd Street, little changed on the exterior, is a two-family home.  

photographs by the author

The 1889 Cord D. Degenhardt House - 341 West 122nd Street

 

Architect J. A. Webster turned to the Queen Anne and Renaissance Revival styles in designing a row along the north side of West 122nd Street between Morningside and Manhattan Avenues for Joseph W. and A. Alonzo Teets in 1888.  The eleven three-story-and-basement, brownstone fronted residences would cost the brothers $100,000 to erect, or about $3.3 million in 2025.

The houses were essentially identical.  Their tall stoops were guarded with beefy iron newels and railings.  Each floor was belted with carved foliate bands, and the windows wore prominent molded cornices supported by fluted brackets.  The two end residences, including 341 West 122nd Street, stood apart.  Instead of the heavy entrance brackets and cornices of the interior homes, Webster gave these doorways arched Gibbs surrounds, the tympana of which were filled with intricate Renaissance Revival carvings.

The the entrances of the interior houses sat below projecting cornices.  No. 341 is a the far right.

J. W. and A. A. Teets sold 341 West 122nd Street to Cord D. and Caroline Degenhardt on December 7, 1889.  The couple paid $16,000 for the house, equivalent to about $547,000 today.  

Degenhardt was born in Germany and moved to New York City in 1873.  He was a director in the Salvador Brewing Company and in 1880 founded C. D. Degenhardt & Co., a saloon at 371 Greenwich Street.  A Souvenir of New York's Liquor Interests described it as being "finely fitted in solid hand-carved mahogany throughout.  It is supplied with handsome mirrors, ornamental decorations, toilet and wash rooms, and all modern improvements in every department."

Two years before buying 341 West 122nd Street, Degenhardt took on a partner, another German native, H. Prange, and opened a second saloon at 105 South Street, which Prange managed.  A Souvenir of New York's Liquor Interests said it was "fitted in the same artistic and attractive style as the first-mentioned house."  The brochure stressed, "the trade is first-class in every respect."

It was common for even well-to-do families to take in a boarder or roomer.  In April 1890, the Degenhardts advertised, "Front and rear parlors in private house, elegantly furnished; en suite or single; references."  In 1892, a Dr. Mortimer roomed here.

On May 2, 1907, the Degenhardts sold 341 West 122nd Street to attorney and broker Charles E. Silkworth and his wife, the former Alice A. Parks.  Born in 1857 and 1859 respectively, George and Alice had five sons.

Although the Silkworths do not appear to have regularly taken in a roomer, Dorothy David Hood lived with the family briefly in 1919.  An actress and playwright, she was known to theater audiences as Dorothy Raynol.  While living here, she was engaged in a court battle with William T. Wager over his cousin's will.

Dorothy was the sole beneficiary of Sarah Duffy Hurtig's estate.  Known on stage as Sadie Lorraine, Sarah had been Dorothy's "friend and companion since childhood," as worded by The Evening World.  Sarah Hurtig owned a country home at St. James, Long Island and a townhouse on Riverside Drive.  She died on March 13, 1919 and her estate was valued as much as $1.76 million in today's terms.  Wager insisted that a subsequent will was in existence.  Happily for Dorothy Hood, on November 12, 1919, the will was upheld.

The census the following year shows that living with Charles and Anne were their three unmarried sons, George F., Amos P., and Theodore J., and a maid, Julia Schroeder.  At least one of the sons was involved in the Silkworth Realty Company by now.

In March 1921, the Silkworths sold 341 West 122nd Street to Winifred Carroll.  Interestingly, George Silkworth was still listed here as late as 1924, apparently leasing his former family home from Carroll.

image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

In the early Depression years, the residence was operated as a rooming house.  An advertisement in The New York Medical Week in 1932 offered, "Pleasant back parlor for doctor's office, use of front room for reception; prompt attention given to bell and telephone, convenient bus, El, subway."

Rooming here in the summer of 1940 was 20-year-old John Brown.  He had worked as a janitor in a Genovese drugstore in Queens for three years, but was laid off earlier that year.  Around the same time, a string of pharmacy break-ins began.  Queens detectives "have been trying to solve a series of nearly a dozen burglaries in the Genovese chain of drug stores in the last few months," reported the Long Island Star-Journal on July 12, 1940.  The article said that detectives had arrested John Brown.

The sleuths found evidence at the scene of a break-in on July 8 that lead them to Brown.  He had made off with $15 in cash and cameras valued at $45 in that heist.  The article said officers, "arrested the youth at his home, where they reported recovering a large amount of the stolen merchandise."

In the early 1990s, as many as ten families occupied 341 West 122nd Street.  Then, in 1995, it was purchased by Yoel and Shoshana Borgenich.  The upper floors were restored to a private house and an apartment was installed in the basement level.  The couple restored the surviving interior details.  

image via cocoran.com

In his 2016 The Jews of Harlem, Jeffrey S. Gurock writes that while living here the Borgenich family "grew to five--Rex came along in 2006, Theo in 2008, and Delia followed in 2009--and they seemed quite happy on a street that is becoming increasingly gentrified."  The family sold the house for $2.75 million in 2012.

Other than the replaced stoop ironwork, outwardly little else has changed in more than 135 years.

photographs by the author