The Dr. Cyrus Edson House - 54 West 9th Street

 

The balcony, stoop, and areaway railings originally matched those of 56 West 9th Street, at right.

In 1853, builder Reuben R. Wood erected three exceptionally handsome homes at 10 through 14 Ninth Street (renumbered 54 to 58 West 9th Street in 1867).  Their three-step porches were protected by brownstone wingwalls surmounted by beefy iron Italianate railings and newels.  The double-doored entrances and parlor windows sat within fully arched openings.  At the second floor, a common balcony stretched the width of the three homes, its railing matching that of the porches and areaways.  The upper floor windows sat below segmental arches and wore molded lintels.  Separate bracketed Italianate cornices crowned the homes.

Wood sold the easternmost house, 10 Ninth Street to tobacco and snuff merchant Christian H. Lilienthal as an investment property.  He and his family lived directly across the street at No. 11.  Lilienthal leased the house in 1853 to Francis A. Bruguiere, a merchant with offices downtown on New Street.  Soon after moving in, he and his wife had a child.  An advertisement in the New York Herald in 1854 read:  "Wanted Immediately--A healthy young wet nurse, with the best city references, particularly from her physician; one without husband or child preferred.  Apply from 11 till 3 o'clock at No. 10 Ninth street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues."

The young woman would be one of several servants in the house.  On October 8 that year, the Bruguieres were seeking, "A Cook, who understands her business thoroughly; none need apply without a very good city recommendation."

Dr. Morris Leo-Wolf and his wife, the former Rachel Franks Salomon, leased the house beginning around 1858.  Born Moritz Leo-Wolf in Germany in 1803, he Anglicized his first name upon emigrating to Philadelphia with his family.  He and Rachel were married on June 14, 1848, and had one child, Ida Johanna.

Morris Leo-Wolf came from a medical dynasty.  His grandfather was a physician, and his father was Dr. William Leo-Wolf who first practiced in Hamburg, Germany and then in Philadelphia.  All three of Morris's brothers--Joseph, William, and George--were doctors.  

Charles Lilienthal advertised the house for rent again in August 1861:

To Let--The English basement brown stone front House, 10 Ninth street, with all the modern improvements, chandeliers and gas fixtures complete; will be rented very moderate to a small family.  Inquire of C. H. Lilienthal, 221 Washington street.

Lilienthal's renters often stayed only for a few years.  Samuel Mitchell, a publisher of maps, and his family were here in the early to mid-1860s.  Edmund H. Weyman, Jr., a merchant at 302 Broadway, occupied the house from 1868 to 1869.  

The following year police captain John Young moved his family into 54 West 9th Street.  They were not here long before the house was targeted by brazen burglars.  At about 10:00 on the morning of May 7, 1870, while the family was away, three teenaged boys forced open the basement door.  The New York Herald reported they stole "all the chandeliers, gas brackets and faucets, valued at $300."  (The figure would translate to about $7,230 in 2024.)

The thieves managed to get as far as Third Avenue near 13th Street when Officer Dunn became suspicious of the bulky bag carried by 16-year-old Peter Gorman.  As he approached, Gorman's accomplices fled, but Gorman was arrested and the fixtures recovered.

Young had been promoted to detective and was still living in the house in 1872 when it was sold to George Starr for $19,100 (around $472,000 today).  

By 1875, the house was occupied by Dr. Charles P. Russel, an expert on infectious diseases.  In addition to this private practice, he was employed by the city as a medical inspector.  

Tragically (and ironically), the Russels' eldest daughter, Florence, contracted diphtheria and died here on February 25, 1875.  Her funeral was held in the parlor two days later.  The Russels almost immediately left West 9th Street.  An auction was held on April 24, the announcement of which listed:

Elegant Household Furniture. original oil Paintings, Marble statuary, Dancing Girl, &c. at the private residence 54 West Ninth street, the entire elegant drawing room, bedroom and dining room Furniture en suite; four French plate mantel and pier Mirrors; satin, damask and real lace curtains, rich chandeliers, Moquet velvet and Brussels Carpets, dwarf Bookcases, &c.; all in fine order and good quality.

The house saw several tenants over the next few years, including vocalist Auguste Dupin; Stevens Voisin, head of the importing firm Stevens Voisin & Co.; and Edward Holland, a superintendent in the city's street sweeping department.

Then, around 1888, another esteemed physician moved in.  Dr. Cyrus Edson was the son of the former mayor, Franklin Edson.  His wife was Virginia Churchill Page, grandniece of the Duke of Marlborough.  Her father, William Rufus Page, was a shipbuilder and U.S. Consul to Turkey and Egypt.  The couple had five children.

Dr. Cyrus Edson (original source unknown)

Born in Albany in 1857, Edson graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1881 and the following year was appointed Assistant Sanitary Inspector of the New York Health Department.  Before the end of the year, he was made Commissioner of the Health Department.  The promotion came during a cholera epidemic.   New York, The Metropolis: Its Noted Business and Professional Men commented:

The appointment of Dr. Edson to be Health Commissioner of the city of New York in this crisis has been hailed with delight by all citizens, in the first place, for no one is more deserving and better qualified, and in the second place, for the purely selfish reason that he above all others is better fitted to fight the cholera, whose advent is so dreaded and expected.

On July 31, 1891, the Wilmington, Delaware Evening Journal reported on the death of Virginia Edson at the age of 37.  The article mentioned, "Four [sic] little children are left motherless by the death of Mrs. Edson.  Cancer was the immediate cause of death."  The funeral was held in the house on August 1, The Press noting, "Several of Dr. Edson's associates on the Board of Health were present.  Many beautiful floral tributes were received."

Interestingly, Cyrus Edson packed up his five children and sent them to his parents' country home.  It appears he almost immediately went looking for a new wife.

On March 31, 1892 (before the doctor's official mourning period had elapsed), The Evening World reported, "It is announced that Dr. Cyrus Edson, Chief of the Bureau of Contagious Diseases...is to wed Mrs. Mary E. Quick, widow of William H. Quick, Dr. Edson's bosom friend, who died four years ago."  The pair's connection went far beyond merely Edson's friendship with Mary's deceased husband.  They were second cousins and, according to The Sun, "Dr. Edson has known Mrs. Quick ever since she was a little girl."  The Evening World mentioned, "Dr. Edson's children have been at the home of his father, ex-Mayor Franklin Edson, Fordham, since the death of their mother."

Edson and his bride enjoyed a wedding trip to Washington.  But shortly upon his return he was faced with another crisis.  He and his team were called to the boarding house at 42 East 12th Street where "several cases of typhoid fever" were reported.  According to Howard Markel in his 1997 Quarantine! East European Jewish Immigrants and the New York City Epidemics of 1891:

In one room alone, Edson reported finding fifteen immigrants prostrated with high fevers, delirium, excruciating headaches, pains, and the tell-tale mulberry rash of typhus, rather than typhoid fever.  This was not a lightly made diagnosis; typhus fever was regarded in 1892 as "one of the most highly contagious of febrile affections."

Edson acted decisively and swiftly.  First, the building and one other were quarantined, and then all the tenants--whether they exhibited symptoms or not--were evacuated and sent to North Brother Island.  A potentially devastating disaster was averted, with only 50 resultant deaths.

In April 1900, 54 West 9th Street was sold to Captain French Ensor Chadwick.  He had commanded the U.S. Flagship New York during the Spanish-American War and had just been appointed president of the Naval War College.  

It does not appear that Chadwick ever lived here, but leased the house.  George Ethridge and his wife occupied the house in the first years of the 20th century.  He was the head of The George Ethridge Company on Union Square, an advertising firm.  His wife found an interesting outlet for her time beyond teas, dinner parties, and benefits.  On November 8, 1903, the New-York Tribune reported on the women's class of the Fencers' Club, noting, "Mrs. George Ethridge, of No. 54 West Ninth-st., is chairman of the women's class."

Art collector and banker Chester Dale lived here in the post-World War I years.  He was, as well, a director in the Montana, Wyoming & Southern Railroad Co.  His wife was painter and art critic Maud Murray.  They filled the house with a superb collection of 19th and 20th century art.  Living with them was Maud's son, Murray Thompson.

Famed artist George Bellows painted this portrait of Chester Dale in 1922.  from the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

Early on the morning of February 4, 1920, fire broke out next door at 52 West 9th Street.  The Dale family fled their home, fearing the worst.  The New-York Tribune reported, "The smoke was so dense that it spread to the home of Chester Dale, at 54 West Ninth Street, forcing Mr. Dale and his stepson, Murray Thompson, to lead Mrs. Dale, who was ill, over several slipper ice-coated roofs to the home of a neighbor."  Luckily for the Dales, the fire did not spread to their home.  Tragically, however, their next door neighbors Edith Morgan and her 14-year-old daughter Ellen perished in the blaze.

The family had an impressive houseguest seven months later.  On September 23, 1920, the New-York Tribune reported, "Henry Woodford, secretary of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Regents Park, London, who is arriving on the Mauretania Saturday, will visit his cousin, Chester Dale, 54 West Ninth Street, while in New York."

Within three months, the Dale family moved out.  On December 11, The Billboard reported, "Tony Sarg, whose marionettes will be seen in a series of thirteen matinees at the Punch and Judy Theater beginning Monday, December 13, has leased a house at 54 West Ninth street as his headquarters.  The building has been remodeled to suit Mr. Sarg's needs and contains a model theater, studio and machine shop."

Tony Sarg was married to the former Mary Eleanor Norcliffe.  In addition to his puppetry, he was a painter, illustrator and "man of letters," according to The International Blue Book in 1926.  Born in Cobán, Guatemala, he was a regular contributor to the Saturday Evening Post.  He designed animated toys, lectured on artistic topics, and created the marionettes that made him famous.  The Sargs maintained a country home on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts.

Tony Sarg, from the collection of the Library of Congress

In 1921 Sarg created the animated film The First Circus.  It would lead to his Marionette and Shadowgraph films and a series of cartoons known as Tony Sarg's Almanac.

Sarg leased rooms in the house to other artists.  Living here in 1920 was painter Louise Janin, and in 1922 illustrator Ethel L. Armstead rented space.  Her works included fashion illustrations and magazine covers.

In 1928 Sar partnered with Bill Baird, another puppeteer, to build massive helium-filled balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.  He was still living at 54 West 9th Street in 1935 when the department store hired him to do the puppet-related work of its elaborate Christmas display windows.

A 1937 postcard depicted Sarg's Nantucket Sea Serpent.

In 1939 Sarg devoted nearly all his time to the New York World's Fair, creating its maps, and promotional items like scarfs, handkerchiefs and table linens.  Despite that profitable commission, Sarg declared bankruptcy that year and was forced to give up his lease on 54 West 9th Street, on which he owed significant bank rent.

In 1941, the original ironwork survived.  image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

The house remained a single-family dwelling until 1961, when it was converted to one apartment per floor.  It was possibly at this time that the Italianate balcony, stoop and areaway railings were replaced with more modern examples, and the molded lintels and sills of the openings shaved flat.

photograph by the author

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