The Lost New York Eye & Ear Infirmary - 218 Second Avenue

 

from the collection of the New York Public Library

Having recently graduated from the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital, Drs. Edward Delafield and John Kearny Rodgers established the New York Eye Infirmary on August 14, 1820.  The first such facility in the Western Hemisphere, it was incorporated in March 1822.  By the 1850s, it had expanded its services, becoming the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary.

In 1855, having moved several times and achieved several more medical milestones, the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary broke ground for a new hospital at the northeast corner of Second Avenue and 13th Street.  The New-York Tribune made note of the "decidedly fashionable neighborhood."  On April 26, 1856, The New York Times reported, "Last evening the building recently erected in Second-avenue, corner of Thirteenth-street, specially for the purposes of an Eye and Ear Infirmary, was formally inaugurated by a public meeting in one of its spacious and elegant saloons."

The new Italianate style building was three bays wide on Second Avenue, its slightly protruding central section terminating in a triangular pediment.  The two-story upper portion was separated from the base by an intermediate cornice.

from the 1908 The Development of Ophthalmology in America 1800 to 1870.  (copyright expired)

The examination and admissions rooms were bustling scenes.  The 1864 Catalogue of Columbia University noted, "Over 8,000 cases of diseases of the eye and ear are treated annually at this Infirmary, including all varieties of Conjunctivitis, Amaurosis, Cataract, Tumors of the Orbit, Strabismus, and other affections of the organ of vision."  Patients who were unable to pay were not charged for treatment.  On August 5, 1869, The New York Times pointed out that of the 6,815 patients with eye diseases and the 1,526 treated for ear disorders the previous year, "5,207 were of foreign birth."  Most were treated as out-patients.  "The infirmary accommodates fifty patients," said the article.

from the collection of the New York Public Library

The facility was, as well, a teaching institution.  The Catalogue of Columbia University added, "Every pains [sic] is taken to make this a great and valuable school of Clinical instruction in this important branch of special surgery."

An enlargement to the building was begun in 1870, and on July 3, 1872, The New York Times reported, "another story has been put upon the building, and the rooms have been fitted for the better accommodation of patients.  There are now about sixty beds in the institution."  The architect designed the new fourth floor as a stylish mansard.

from the collection of the New York Public Library

In reporting on the improvements, the newspaper reminded readers, "no fees are ever received by the surgeons as their own perquisite for services done at the Infirmary...Persons who are not absolute paupers, and who desire to make such compensation as they can for professional attendance, are invited to do so."

The New York Eye & Ear Infirmary received rare negative publicity in May 1875 when it was sued for $100,000 damages by the guardian of Edward P. Doyle.  The youth was brought in for treatment of an eye disease.  Dr. Derby used a contaminated brush on the boy's eyes, resulting in his being infected with gonorrheal ophthalmalia (better known as gonococcal conjunctivitis today) and losing his eyesight.

Shockingly today, Judge Van Brunt of the Supreme Court instructed the jury on May 13, "It was not every member of the profession that was supposed to be gifted with the highest degree of knowledge and skill.  All that was to be expected was that he should be ordinarily well acquainted with the appliances and usages customary in such cases, and should give his best exertions to render them successful."  The jury found Dr. Derby innocent.

Modern technology was installed within the Eye & Ear Infirmary in 1881.  On New Year's Day 1882, The New York Times reported, "By means of an Ericsson motor and double boiler, water is now forced to the fourth floor of the building, thus affording suitable bathing accommodations for the patients on that floor."  During the previous year, 524 patients were admitted, while 12,086 out patients were treated--8,368 for eye problems and 2,799 for hearing.  The difference, explained the newspaper were the "919 [suffering] from throat diseases."

King's Handbook of New York City, 1892 (copyright expired)

At the time, the venerable facility was overstretched.  On April 28, 1887, The New York Times said it, "has long been in want of more room and better accommodations."  Fund raising for $275,000 to erect a "good new hospital and dispensary" had been begun.  In order to keep the facility operating throughout the construction, a two-phase building plan was arranged.

On March 15, 1890, former First Lady Frances Folsom Cleveland laid the cornerstone to the first section, directly behind the old building.  Designed by Robert Williams Gibson, The New York Times explained, "The new building is so arranged as to combine with the old one until money can be had to replace it.  The complete hospital will be in three pavilions placed across the lot with open spaces between."

The cornerstone for the second phase, replacing the 1856 building, was laid later that year.  In 1891, as reported by King's Handbook of New York City, "a hospital wing containing 70 beds was opened for the free treatment of patients."  The complex was enlarged with the building of the Schermerhorn Pavilion in 1903.

photo by Irving Underhill from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York.

At this writing, the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary has vacated the Romanesque Revival complex (which does not have landmark designation), leaving its fate unclear.

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J. M. Felson's 1937 161 East 88th Street

Although the country was mired in the Great Depression, architect J. M. Felson was busy designing apartment houses in New York City in the 1930s, sometimes acting as his own developer.  In 1936, he was hired by York Enterprises to design a six-story structure at 159 through 163 East 88th Street.  Completed the following year, the Art Deco, six-story building was faced in beige brick.  Unlike Felson's 1931 40 West 86th Street, which was decorated with brilliantly colored terra cotta panels, 16 East 88th Street depended almost entirely on brick.

Stone appeared only at the reeded entrance, which was capped by a waterfall-like panel.  Felson accentuated the verticality of the relatively short building by laying the bricks within the spandrels between floors on their ends.  The fire escapes were part of the design, their curved corners and chevron motifs melding with the Art Deco architecture.  Felson reserved the drama for the top floor, where Aztec inspired panels and a stair-stepping parapet stole the show.

There were seven apartments per floor, ranging from one-and-a-half to four rooms with either one or two baths.  A 1937 advertisement in The New York Sun boasted, "modern elevator apartments; dropped living rooms, dining alcoves, open galleries, concealed radiation, etc."  Rents started at $55--or about $1,140 by 2024 terms.

from Columbia University's Real Estate Brochure Collection

Among the initial residents was the George William Knight family.  Knight's father, Louis Aston Knight (who went professional by his middle name), was a recognized landscape artist.  When his parents and sister, Diane, returned to America on the Vulcania on November 26, 1937, they "went to the home of a son, George W. Knight, at 161 East Eighty-eighth street," reported The New York Sun.

Aston Knight had been busy abroad, completing about 20 paintings in Normandy.  He told the press, "I have no definite plans.  We shall spend the Christmas holidays in Rochester and go on a cruise at Eastertime, probably to the West Indies, but just where will depend on the sailings."

The Knights apparently approved of their son's apartment, and within a year they, too, had moved in.  Born in Paris in 1873, Aston Knight first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1894.  In 1922, President Warren G. Harding purchased his The Afterglow for the White House.

Knight's wife was the former Caroline Ridgeway Brewster.  In addition to George and Diane, they had a son, Ridgway Brewster.  (Ridgway would go on to become American ambassador to Syria, Belgium and Portugal.)  

Along the Seine is typical of Aston Knight's work.

The Knights were visible in Manhattan society.  On February 20, 1939, for instance, The New York Sun published a photo of Diane in an evening gown and George in white tie at the Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center, "where they were members of a dinner party."  Interestingly, when Diane married James R. Todd in the Church of the Transfiguration on June 25, 1940, The New York Sun noted, "A small reception will follow at the home of the bride's brother and sister-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. George W. Knight, 161 East Eighty-eighth street," rather than her parents' apartment.

Living here in 1941 was Yolanda De Clifford, described by the New York Evening Telegram as, "a rather plump brunette...who says she is a singer, a linguist and a playwrighting collaborator."  Sharing her apartment was her Irish Setter, Erin's Pride, which she fondly called Tinko.

Yolanda De Clifford, The New York Sun, May 29, 1942

One afternoon while De Clifford was walking Tinko, he "rushed upon the tiny dog being walked by [Irving] Halpern and bowled it over," reported The New York Sun.  De Clifford explained to Halpern, who "seemed somewhat disturbed," that Tinko was "just being playful."

Halpern soon got over the incident and turned his attention to Tinko.  De Clifford said her dog was worth $750 (a considerable $14,000 today), and Halpern asked "if he might take the dog out walking sometime."  Yolanda De Clifford did some research and discovered that Halpern routinely walked other people's dogs.

When she fell ill on December 28, 1941, she remembered Halpern's offer and called him.  Immediately, both Halpern and Tinko disappeared.  Five months later, on May 29, 1942, The New York Sun reported, "If Irving Halpern weren't so fond of taking other people's dogs for walks he wouldn't be in jail trying to raise $500 bail."  

Halpern had finally been tracked down and brought to court.  "Tinko, he said, is somewhere on Long Island," reported The New York Sun, which added, "He has a record of twelve previous arrests, the police say, including a sentence in 1936 for three years in the Federal Penitentiary and a $500 fine for passing counterfeit money."  Whether Yvonne De Clifford was ever reunited with her pricey Irish Setter is unclear.

At the time, resident Edward F. Morrisey was serving in World War I aboard a Superfortress B-29 bomber.  On March 26, 1945, The New York Sun reported that Sergeant Morrisey had been awarded "the Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster to the Air Medal for outstanding and meritorious achievement on flights from India and Western China."

Educator Dr. George Kurke and his wife, the former Miriam Morris, lived at 161 East 88th Street during the war years.  Born in 1890, Kurke graduated from City College in 1910 and earned his law degree from New York Law School.  He received his Ph.D. from New York University in 1938.  The principal of Robert E. Simon Junior High School, he was also the editor of the Roosevelt Quarterly and associate editor of the Roosevelt House Review.  Nationally recognized for his innovations in education, he revised a series of arithmetic books for the American Book Company, was instrumental in developing a teacher's handbook and new type of report card, along with other public school improvements.  He received the Roosevelt Medallion for "distinguished service rendered in connection with Americanization work," according to The New York Times. 

Little has changed to the exterior of 161 East 88th Street.  Its Art Deco façade is an integral thread in the diverse architectural tapestry that makes up this Upper East Side block.

photographs by the author

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The Rudolphus R. Bogert House - 20 Charlton Street

 

Charlton Street was laid out around 1817 and by the mid-1820's prim, Federal style homes began appearing along the quiet thoroughfare.  Among the first was 20 Charlton Street, built in 1826 by George Paulding.  Similar to its neighbors, the 18-foot wide house was faced in Flemish bond brick and rose two-and-a-half stories above a brownstone basement level.  Two dormers pierced the peaked roof.

The first owner of 20 Charlton Street was Rudolphus Ritzema Bogert, who first appears at the address in 1827.  Born in Holland in 1766, he was brought to America as an infant.  He was listed as "merchant" and was also a director of the United Insurance Company.  Bogert and his wife, the former Ann Clark, had a son, Rudolphus. Jr.

A miniature watercolor locket portrait of Rudolphus R. Bogert was painted by Parmesan Howell around 1806.  from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The younger Rudolphus married Wealthy Jane Gordon.  The family welcomed a baby boy on February 17, 1842.  He was given his father's and grandfather's names: Rudolphus Ritzema Bogert.

Nine months after the joyous occasion, on November 16, the eldest Bogert died at the age of 76.  His funeral was held in the house the following afternoon.

The Bogerts remained at 20 Charlton Street until around 1850, when T. M. Ferguson is first listed here.  Ferguson and his wife were highly involved in administering the Charlotte Boarding Academy in Davenport, New York.  

An advertisement in The Evening Post on October 7, 1851 noted, "Students from the city will be taken in charge at the steamboat Utica, foot of Cedar street, and conveyed to the Academy without charge."

The $130 yearly tuition (about $5,350 in 2024) included "board, beds, bedding, fuel, lights, books and stationery.  The ad said, "There are no extras except Music on Piano and Painting in oil.  Music, with the use of the Piano, $12 per term, or $24 per year, and Painting in Oil $10 per term--the students furnishing their own paints and materials."  Circulars, said the advertisement, could be obtained at two Manhattan offices "or T. M. Ferguson, 20 Charlton Street."

The Fergusons took in two boarders.  In 1851 they were Euphrates Hirst, a teacher; and commission merchant Thomas Clarke.  Hirst taught at Ward School No. 18 on 51st Street and earned $1,000 in 1853, or about $40,700 today.  He received a $200 raise around 1858.

Euphrates Hist was also on the board of managers of the New York Bible Society.  He boarded with the Fergusons through 1858, moving down the block the next year to 10 Charlton Street.  Thomas Clarke was listed here until 1856.

The Fergusons had no boarders in November 1859 when they advertised for a domestic.  Their ad in the New York Herald read:

Wanted--In a small family of two persons (man and wife), a middle aged Protestant woman; must be a good cook, washer and ironer, obliging and willing, and understand her business; good city reference required; wages $7 a month; a German Protestant preferred.

The Paulding family purchased 20 Charlton Street around 1870.  As was common, the title was put in Ellen Paulding's name.  They advertised on September 18, 1870, "A very nice furnished second story front room as Parlor or Bedroom with connecting bedroom on same floor.  Rooms heated; gas and water; to gentlemen only.  Terms will be very moderate, as family is very small and has no use for them.  This is a chance seldom met with.  Breakfast if desired."

The ad then took a peculiar turn:

Or I will rent the house, all furnished, to a good, respectable private family for $40 a week, and will pay $20 a week for self, wife and four year old.  Coal in cellar for one year and kindling wood for three years.  This little snuggery is at 20 Charlton Street.

Since the Paulding family would remain on premises, they would not actually be leasing the entire house, as the ad suggested.  Their tenants over the next few years included printers Ernest Payent and John T. Hardwick, and James Rossiter, a "pickler."

Jeanetta H. Reab and John Volz, a German immigrant, boarded here in the summer of 1877.  Volz's infatuation with Reab landed him in court on August 10.  His love interest had accused him of attempted rape.

The New York Dispatch reported, "On Friday, there appeared before Justice Otto a buxom, matronly, and chaste-looking woman, who, with some pride, announced the euphonious name of Jeanetta H. Reab."  She told the judge that Volz, who was around 50 years old, had "chased her through the different rooms into her bedroom, and threw her upon the bed, and attempted to commit an outrage upon her."

"Mr. Volz, a man of your age ought to know better than attempt such a thing with a decent woman," chastised the Justice Otto.

Volz replied that he loved Reab "with his whole heart."  

"Yes, but John, you are a married man, and this thing is enormous," said the judge.

Voltz explained that his "frau" had been in a "lunacy asylum" for eight years and he wanted another wife.  He was held on $500 bail awaiting a grand jury decision.

The residence was sold in 1884 and was operated as a boarding house throughout the subsequent decades.  It was the scene of tragedy on August 21, 1902.  On that afternoon, Ida Promezkty was cleaning a dark room using a benzine soaked rag.  The World reported, "Her little girl, Mary, six years old, was holding a candle for her."  Mary dropped the candle and it fell on the benzine can, which exploded.

Mary was unhurt, but Ida's clothing caught fire.  By the time other boarders rushed in, nearly all her clothing had been burned off.  The World said, "She is burned from her ankles to the top of her head and is believed to have inhaled some of the flame."  She was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital where she died.  

In 1920, Leonard Weill purchased several properties in the neighborhood, including 20 Charlton Street.  He resold it in November 1921 to Margaret Donahue Howell who, according to the New-York Tribune on November 7, "will alter the house from plans prepared by Maxwell Hyde, architect, into a modern dwelling."

The plans called for new interior walls and rooms, skylights, and the joining of the two dormers into one.  When the renovations were complete, Howell placed the house on the market in June 1922 for $22,000 (about $400,000 by today's terms).  Her ad described it as a "three story remodeled house; modern in every respect; attractive garden with trees; top floor studio apartment separate."

Interestingly, Margaret Howell had inherited a tenant when she purchased the house.  Robert Dimond, Jr., a real estate agent and his family had moved in around 1897.  His son and daughter-in-law, Matthew and Marcella Dimond, remained in the house until their deaths, and when Howell bought it, Fanny Olivia Dimond still occupied their rooms.  She died in the house on February 27, 1922.

An advertisement in 1925 described one of the apartments.  "Greenwich Village--4 rooms, bath, kitchenette; cool and light, overlooking garden; sublet to Oct. 1.  Inquire caretaker, basement."

The house was renovated in 1946, resulting in one apartment per floor.  Among the tenants in the coming decades was Robert Jonathan Kornfeld, here in 1948.  An advertising man, he had graduated from Harvard in 1941.  And Josephine Assenza was a tenant in 1960 when she was a member of Amita, described by The Villager as a "women of achievement organization."

A renovation completed in 2017 brought the parlor through attic floors back to a single family home.  The basement level holds an apartment.

photograph by the author

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Edward Cunningham's 1886 385 Manhattan Avenue

 

In February 1886, John M. Pinkney sold the vacant lots that made up the western blockfront of New Avenue (renamed Manhattan Avenue the following year) between 116th and 117th Street to developer Edward Cunningham.  Cunningham was also a partner in the contracting firm of Cunningham & Henderson, and appears to have acted as his own arcchitect.  Before the year was out, he had filled the block with 11 three-story homes.  A medley of Queen Anne designs, the houses--some faced in brick, some in brownstone, and others in both--created a charming streetscape.

The parlor level facades of the mirror-image houses that anchored the corners were clad in brownstone.  Stone quoins framed the openings and ran up the corners.  Large arched openings with stained glass transoms faced the avenue and side street, and decorative chimney backs carried on the Queen Anne motif.

The original appearance of 385 Manhattan Avenue can be seen in its mirror-image on the opposite corner at 405 Manhattan Avenue.  image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services

Rudolph and Minnie L. Schneider purchased 365 Manhattan Avenue in 1887.  The couple operated a "brewers' materials" business at 211 East 94th Street under the name M. L. Schneider.  The Schneiders sold the building on January 29, 1904 to William Levers.

It is unclear whether Levers ever moved into the house or merely rented it.  In 1905 and '06, Eugene Bernstein listed his address here.  A German immigrant, he was an active member of the Tonkünstler Society, a German musical group.

Lever sold 365 Manhattan Avenue to Solomon Schinasi in May 1906.  Schinasi converted the parlor level for commercial use and created a second residential entrance around the corner at 355 West 116th Street.  The upper floors were adapted for apartments.  

In 1915, the shop space was leased to Drs. William Boehm and John Luks, who opened the Harlem Health Institute.  A notice in The Columbia Spectator on April 7 that year described the facility as "an institution of interest to all Columbia University students in need of health-baths of all kinds."  Among the services offered were "scientific massage, corrective gymnastics, and physical culture in all its branches--(X-Ray and all modern Electrical apparatus used)."  The institute remained through 1917.

An advertisement in 1921 offered furnished or unfurnished apartments.  It read, "Large rooms, kitchen, shower bath; parquet floor; electricity, gas included; or furnished; reasonable."

Not all the residents of 385 Manhattan Avenue during the Depression years were law-abiding.  Carl Taylor lived here in 1936 when his criminal endeavors nearly cost him his life.  On July 21, the Elmhurst, New York Daily Register reported,  "Captured after a wild chase in which shots were fired, Carl Taylor, 34, a negro of 385 Manhattan avenue, Manhattan is in St. John's Hospital today suffering from bullet wounds received when he was pursued by Newtown police early this morning after the attempted burglary of a Jackson Heights apartment."

Born in Virginia around 1868, Thomas Lyman lived here in 1940.  Crowded into the apartment with him were his 39-year-old daughter, Ellen Ash, and her three teenaged children, Vivian, Robert and Alfred.

At the time, the store was occupied by the grocery of brothers Louis and Michael Ronan.  On the afternoon of December 28, 1946, Harrison Wilson, James Lewis and Leonard Lappeire barged into the store brandishing handguns.  The young men (Wilson and Lappeire were both 22, and Lewis was 26), were dangerous and had committed ten armed robberies within the past month.  During one of the heists alone--at the Club Car at 924 Fifth Avenue--they made off with "cash, furs and jewelry with a total value of $9,100," according to The Sun.  (The Club Car was a private night club within the former mansion of George Henry Warren.) 

The hoodlums were not expecting this caper to be any different from their others.  But, as reported by The Sun, "Michael [Ronan] obeyed the 'stick 'em up' command, but Louis ducked under a counter and grabbed a gun."  A shoot-out commenced during which Ronan wounded one of the would-be robbers in the hand.  In the meantime, a passerby saw what was going on and notified two policemen.  They captured Harrison Wilson, the injured man, as he was exiting the store.  The others were tracked down within 24 hours.

A grocery store occupied the shop space in 1941.   image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services

It may have been the harrowing incident that prompted the Ronan brothers to leave 365 Manhattan Avenue.  The following year the store was home to Miguel Aviles's delicatessen.

Beulah Brown lived here in 1963 and worked in the Hotel Ebony on West 112th Street.  She became a key witness in the capture of a serial murderer that year.  James Foster was a 36-year-old trucker's helper who would later admit that he had "nursed a grudge against all women for the past 21 years," according to The Record of Hackensack, New Jersey.  Within a two-week period beginning at the end of April, he strangled three women to death in Harlem hotels, and on the morning of May 12 strangled a 15-year-old girl in her mother's home.  That night, detectives broke into a room in the Hotel Ebony where Foster had just registered with another women.  The raid no doubt saved that woman's life.

A year later Foster went to trial.  On April 25, 1964, the New York Amsterdam News reported, "During the two-week trial, Foster was identified by Mrs. Katherine Owens of 150 West 140th St., and Mrs. Beulah Brown of 385 Manhattan Ave., as the man who registered with Miss Lewis."

Around 2009, a second store was carved into the rear portion of the building.  Kuti's Place, a takeout restaurant opened there in 2010.  The New York Times food columnist Dave Cook described the offerings as a marriage of "West African and Middle Eastern flavors."

More than a bit battered today, 365 Manhattan Avenue nevertheless retains much of its 1886 appearance.

photographs by the author

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The Jeremiah and Mary Ann Youmans House - 205 Prince Street

 

John Peter Haff's official profession was "inspector of sole leather."  Additionally, however, he was a recognized authority on agricultural techniques and a speculative real state developer in New York and New Jersey.  In 1834, he completed construction of two Federal-style homes at 203 and 205 Prince Street.  The westernmost house sat on the northeast corner of Prince and MacDougal Streets, affording it additional light and ventilation on the side.  Two-and-a-half stories tall and faced in Flemish bond brick, its parlor floor was originally accessed by a brownstone stoop.  Three dormers punched through the peaked roof. 

It appears Haff leased the houses until his death in 1838.  Around 1850, Jeramiah H. and Mary Ann Youmans purchased 205 Prince Street.  They had at least one son, David S., born in 1837.  In 1851, a daughter, Eliza, was born.  Youmans owned a lumber business (called a "woodyard" in the 1853 city directory) on Washington Street near the Hudson riverfront.

On October 20, the Youmans advertised in the Morning Courier, "Board--One or two large parlors and one bedroom, to let furnished, with board, to a gentleman and wife, or two single gentlemen, in a small private family.  Apply at 205 Prince street, corner of McDougal st."  (MacDougal street was variously spelled MacDougal, Macdougal and McDougal for years.  The confusion was understandable.  It was named after Alexander McDougall, whose father spelled his surname MacDougal.)

In 1853, the couple's boarders were Jessie W. Wadleigh and Dr. Baron Spolasco.  They would have long-term boarders in Charles E. L. Brinckerhoff and his family starting in 1857.  Brinckerhoff and his wife Clara had a 10-year-old son, Charles Rolph.

Born in 1822, Charles E. L. Brinckerhoff dealt in lamps and gas lighting fixtures.  He had two stores downtown, one on John Street and the other on William Street.  His wife, however, was far more celebrated than he.

Born in London in 1828 as Clara Maria Rolph, she was brought to America by her parents in 1833.  Her father, John A. Rolph, was an artist and her mother was a Italian-trained soprano.  Clara was trained in singing by her mother.  Following her mother's death, Clara was trained by leading coaches, including George Loder, conductor of the Philharmonic Society and his wife.

Clara made her concert debut at the age of 16 at Apollo Hall on Broadway.  The principal soprano of Grace Church, she sang the full Christmas service on December 25, 1848, before marrying Charles later that day.  

The famed soprano's image appeared on this sheet music in 1873.  from the collection of the New York Public Library.

Clara contributed greatly to the family's income.  The Youmans allowed her to conduct her voice lessons in the house.  An advertisement in The New York Times in September 1857 read,

Mrs. Clara M. Brinkerhoff informs her pupils and the public, that her season for tuition in Vocal Music will commence on Monday, Sept. 28.  Terms: $40 for a term of twenty-four lessons; single lessons, $2.  Address No. 205 Prince-st., corner of McDougal.  At home on Wednesdays.

The tuition for a 24-lesson term would equal about $1,440 in 2024.

Additionally, Clara was a composer, romance novelist (under the pseudonym Henri Gordon) and lecturer.  Among her best known songs was One Flag or No Flag, published during the Civil War.

The parlor of 205 Prince Street was the scene of four-year-old Eliza Youmans's funeral on May 15, 1855.  The little girl had died the previous day.

The Brinkerhoffs remained in the Youmans house at least through 1862.  On October 25, 1861, Clara advertised,

Madame Clara M. Brinkerhoff, having returned from Europe, will be ready for concert engagements and pupils in singing from the 1st of November.  Address 205 Prince-st., corner of Macdougal.

Jeremiah H. Youmans died at the age of 61, "after a short illness, in full hopes of a blessed immortality," as worded by the New-York Tribune, on May 13, 1862.  His funeral was held in the house on May 16.  Mary Ann was still in mourning when David S. Youmans died on February 9, 1863 at the age of 26.  His funeral, too, was held in the parlor.

Mary Ann operated her home as a boardinghouse for the next six years.  Having buried her entire family, she died here at the age of 57 on August 16, 1869.

Six months later, on February 15, 1870, the "two-story brick house" and lot was sold at auction for $20,250 to Samuel Parsons.  (The amount would translate to about $488,000 today.)  One month to the day later, an auction of the Youman family's furnishings was held.  Among the elegant pieces sold was a "rosewood piano, by Steinway & Sons."

Samuel Parsons continued operating 205 Prince Street as a boarding house.  Among his boarders in 1871 was Ronald MacDonald, an editor.

Parsons made significant changes to the house in 1875.  He removed the stoop, filled in the basement level, and installed a neo-Grec cast iron storefront on what was now the first floor.  It was possibly at this time that the attic was raised to a full floor, taking the shape of a stylish mansard.  Parsons's first commercial tenant was O'Leary Bros., a furniture store.

Around 1886, August Berrmann purchased the property.  The personality of the commercial space underwent a drastic change that year when brewers Bernheimer & Swartz signed the lease.  It was common for breweries to operate their own saloons, thereby assuring that only their own products would be sold.  

At the turn of the century, the saloon was run by Peter Mutthiessen.  He was fined the staggering amount of $1,630 on February 27, 1903 by State Excise Commissioner Cullinan.  The Albany newspaper The Argus explained, "Matthiessen trafficked in liquor at 205 Prince street, New York city, and violated the liquor tax law by having his barroom open [on Sunday]."  

The storefront was boarded up and obviously under renovation when this photo was taken in 1941.  On the side of the building an R & H Beer (Rubsam & Horrmann brewery) sign can be seen.  via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

The estate of August Herrmann sold the property in March 1906 to Albert J. F. Sibberns and his wife, Clara L.  Calling his saloon a "café," it became what today would be called a sports bar and a training venue for boxers and wrestlers.  

In 1909, the Bridgeport, Connecticut newspaper The Farmer reported that Young Evans was in town.  "He has put away some clever boxers, including Tommy Devlin of Philadelphia, Joe Percenti of Chicago, Bob Smillie of Salem, and Johnnie Dohan of Brooklyn," said the article.  "He is willing to take on any promising youngster in this State at 136 pounds.  Communicate with his manager, Al Sibberns, 205 Prince street, New York."

The bar was also the headquarters of the Bugs Association baseball team.  Al Sibberns played centerfield for the group.

Sibberns was not the only trainer who worked from the saloon.  In 1915, according to the Brooklyn Standard Union, boxer Johnny Hayes's manager was Chick Kenney, and Dummy Dragon's was Louis Masso.

Albert J. F. Sibberns declared bankruptcy in November 1916.  The Sun reported that he had liabilities of $7,610 and assets of $300.

A saloon would remain here until Prohibition.  The space continued to house a restaurant or tavern throughout most of the 20th century.  

The building was returned to a single family home in the 1970s, its owners replacing the storefront infill with handsome arched windows reminiscent of a Dickensian London bookshop.  The renovation earned the owners a 1979 Certificate of Appreciation by the Association of Village Homeowners for "enhancing the surroundings with renewal of facades in a way appropriate to the historic character of the district."

photographs by the author

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The 1925 Hotel Olcott - 27 West 72nd Street

 

image via compass.com

The Nathan Straus family had lived in the brownstone mansion at 27 West 72^nd Street for decades when the 27 West 72^nd Street Corp. demolished it and three abutting residences at 29 through 33 in 1924.  The firm hired architect George F. Pelham to design a modern residential hotel on the site.  Residential hotels differed from apartment buildings in that the apartments did not have kitchens and residents enjoyed the amenities of a hotel, like maid service.  They differed from regular hotels in that the tenants were long-term.

 
George F. Pelham was noted for his use of historic styles, notably neo-Tudor.  But for the Olcott Hotel he turned to a 1920’s take on the Italian Renaissance.  Completed in 1925, an advertisement described the building as being “constructed of steel, gold-colored tapestry brick, with the first three floors of limestone.”  There were 227 suites of one to four rooms and, while there were no kitchens, each apartment had a “complete serving pantry,” which included a “mechanical refrigeration [and] circulating ice water.”
 
On the ground floor were the lobby, the residents' dining room, four “convertible lounging and dining rooms,” two doctors’ offices with apartments, and the hotel offices.  The rooftop included a children’s playground, large sun parlors, and a billiard room.  The location was highly touted by the Olcott’s management.  An advertisement said the building had unobstructed views of “the extensive and beautiful gardens of the Dakota apartments.”
 
The Olcott Hotel attracted professional, moneyed residents.  Among the first were Sol Bashwitz, described by The New York Times as a “wealthy retired wholesale clothier,” and his wife.  In May 1929, the couple returned from Europe and three weeks later Bashwitz made an appointment to meet with his attorney, Harry S. Sondheim, in the apartment at 4:00.  It was a convenient time since Mrs. Bashwitz would be out visiting their daughter on West 86^th Street.
 
At 4:00 on June 4, the front desk telephoned the apartment but received no answer.  After several more attempts, Sondheim and a bellboy went to the apartment with a passkey.  They found the 56-year-old Bashwitz lying on his back in the smoking room with a bullet wound through the heart.  A .32-calibre automatic pistol lay at his side.  While the family insisted it was murder, there was no evidence to suggest anything but suicide.
 
At the time, Sol Anderson and his wife lived here.  He had retired in 1920 after running a florist shop at 71 Broadway for 25 years.  He was better known to New Yorkers as the Captain of the Old Guard.  Perhaps the city's most venerated military organization, it was formed in 1826 as the Tompkins Blues.  Over the decades it had served as honor guard at the funeral of President James Monroe and traditionally was present in all Gubernatorial and Mayoral events, such as inaugurations.
 
Among the most colorful residents was George Mayer.  Like Sol Anderson, he was retired, having been a partner in the Strause-Adler corset company until 1927.  He was known as a “perfect first-nighter.”  On October 16, 1930, The New York Times reported, “For forty-eight years, with the exception of his absence on a trip to Europe several years ago and to Honolulu nine months ago, Mr. Mayer never missed a first night in New York, which was the place of his birth.”  If two plays opened on the same night, Mayer would buy four tickets and give two away so as not to break his streak.  A bachelor, he had attended more than 5,000 Broadway performances.  The New York Times added that he “had never been late or left before the final curtain.  He always bought the same seats, A1 and A3, which, though aisle seats, he refused to exchange, in order not to disturb others.”
 
Resident Antonina Marco was the widow of a coal dealer.  While she was at the Blackstone Hotel at Miami Beach on February 13, she removed $40,000 of her jewelry from her safety deposit box in the hotel vault.  It turned out to be a fortunate move.  The following day five “cool bandits,” as described by The New York Sun, “selected sixteen of the eighty-two deposit boxes…including Mrs. Marco’s, and walked out with a total of nearly $200,000 in jewelry and cash.”  Antonina Marco lost a string of pearls with a diamond clip, and four diamond bracelets—in all $100,000 in jewelry and $2,000 in cash.  (That amount would equal about $1.9 million today.)

Antonina Marco.  The New York Sun, June 15, 1939.

Back in New York, her luck would not improve.  On the evening of June 15 Antonina was invited to the apartment of Bessie Williams at 135 West 79^th Street for a “friendly card game.”  While the women were playing, three men knocked on the door and the maid let them in.  Saying they were from police headquarters and were responding to a complaint of “the noise of a roulette game,” the men started searching the apartment.  Suddenly they turned to the elegantly-dressed women and declared, “This is a stick-up.”
 
The New York Sun reported, “Apparently some one had put the finger on Mrs. Marco because they were most interested in the jewelry and money she had.  The others won scant attention.”  The newspaper said the robbers “divested her of three rings valued at $6,000, a $1,500 wrist watch and $700 in cash.”
 
Another interesting resident was attorney Abraham Felt, a member of the bar since 1912.  Born in Jersey City in 1881, he had a broad resume.  A 32^nd degree Mason and a past master of the National Lodge of Masons, he was a composer and poet as well.  He and his wife, the former Dora Mandell Felt, maintained a summer home in Deal, New Jersey.  On August 8, 1957 he suffered a fatal heart attack on the train back to New York from Deal.
 

The entrance was modernized and a streamlined marquee installed by the time Roy Colmer took this photograph in 1976.  from the collection of the New York Public Library.

While most apartment hotels had been converted to apartments by the last decade of the 20^th century, the Hotel Olcott hung on.  Joseph Berger, writing in The New York Times on April 25, 1992, said, “It is not really a hotel you can check into for the night.  Many of its 240 residents checked in 30 years ago and never repacked their suitcases.  It is a residential hotel, an apartment house mostly for lazy people who do not want to make beds, cook dinner or buy furniture.”
 
Monthly rent for a four-room suite at the time was $3,000--the equivalent of $6,520 today.  Among the “lazy” residents in 1992 were entertainer Tiny Tim, Academy Award winning actor Martin Balsam, and Franco-Russian ballerina Nina Youshkevitch.  Berger’s article said, “Madame Youshkevitch raised her son, Robert, in the Olcott.  She felt secure about his coming home from school and fortunate that he had Lincoln Center within a short walk.  She even found the hot plate adequate for the steak and vegetables they ate.  ‘We made big dinners,’ she said.”
 
By 1996 a Dallas BBQ Restaurant occupied ground floor space.  It became a thorn in the side of its West 72^nd Street neighbors.  The restaurant was flooded with noise complaints.  One of the owners, Greg Wetanson, fired back, “We’re a family restaurant.  I don’t have young punks.  I have wonderful customers.  And I try to do what I can for the community.”

A more period appropriate marquee graces the entrance today.  image via compass.com

The end of the line for the residential hotel came in 2005 when Brack Capital and Stellar Management converted the building to condominiums.

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The Lost Luke Welsh House -- 86th Street and Riverside Drive

While the chickens in the yard give make a bucolic scene, Luke Welsh's house buzzed with activity.  from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York.

On July 28, 1868, The New York Sun reported on the benefit performance for former boxing champion Jem Ward.  The article opened saying, "There was a high old time at the Old Bowery last night.  The house was in all its glory."  The night started out with "mimicry, dancing club exercises by a lady, a comedietta, and truly wonderful gymnastic exercises by the Bulshay family."  Finally came the main event.  "Old Bill Tovee, the veteran manager at benefits, introduced Luke Welsh and John McGuire."

The two Irishmen boxed for four rounds to shouts like "bully for the young mosquito!" and "that's a stinger!"  The young mosquito was, by no means, Luke Welsh.  The newspaper later described the boxer as "gigantic."  

Like many boxers of the day, Luke Welsh soon turned from boxing to training and running a sports venue.  Sometime around 1875 he leased the property on Mount Tom at "Twelfth Avenue to Thirteenth Avenue, from 86th to 87th Street," from Ellen R. and Otis W. Randall.  Sitting on the property was a "two-story brick dwelling," as described by the Real Estate Record & Guide.   

Initially he partnered with Phineas Vize to open Hudson River Park.  An advertisement in the New York Evening Express on June 6, 1876 read:

Foot of Eighty-sixth Street, North River.  Magnificent Course for Yachting and Rowing, buoyed for Distances of from 1 to 25 Miles.  Every Accommodation and Facility for Anchorage of Yachts &c.  Accessible by Vehicles.  First-class Refreshments constantly on hand.  Boats to let for fishing or pleasure parties.

Welsh and his wife Mary occupied the house.  Patrons of the park could obtain light meals and refreshments in the first floor rooms.  

The couple nearly lost their venture in the summer of 1879.  On August 17, The New York Times reported, "A fire occurred shortly before 3 o'clock yesterday morning in the two-story and attic brick house at Eighty-sixth street and Twelfth-avenue, owned by Luke Welsh and occupied by him as a saloon and dwelling."  The damages to the house and contents amounted to $1,000 (about $31,500 in 2024 terms).  Unfortunately for the Welshes, while the building was insured, the "furniture and household effects" were not.

Welsh promoted and trained professional boxers.  On December 25, 1880, The National Police Gazette reported that he was one of "a large delegation of sporting men" who "invaded the sanctum" of the newspaper's offices to arrange a wrestling match between William Muldoon, "the modern Hercules of the Police Department" and Clarence Whistler of Kansas, the "wrestling demon."  The article referred to Welsh as "the noted boxer who is famous as one of Ned O'Baldwin's, the late Irish giant, pugilist backers."

The Columbia Yacht Club's clubhouse was on the waterfront, just south of Luke Welsh's Hudson River Park.  It made for a symbiotic relationship.  The yacht races sponsored by Welsh used the Columbia "triangular course," and spectators of the Columbia Yacht Club regattas took advantage of Hudson River Park.  Such was the case on July 12, 1881, the day of the "first Union Regatta of Columbia Yacht Club."  The Truth reported, "At Hudson River Park, Luke Welsh's towering form circulated among the gathering of yachting men and pleasure seekers.  Luke had just come in on the steamer New Orleans from a trip to Lake Ponchartrain, which he said was a pleasant journey, but a long ways to travel for the sake of getting beat."

The reciprocal relationship between Welsh and the yacht club was evidenced again a year later.  On October 14, 1882, The Spirit of the Times reported, "There is to be a sweepstakes match next week, from off Luke Welsh's place, Hudson River Park, foot of Eighty-sixth Street, N[orth]. R[iver].  If sufficient entries can be had at $25 each.  The course proposed is the triangular one of the Columbia Yacht Club."

Police suspected that Welsh had held a bare-knuckle fight on the property in the summer of 1883.  The World reported on July 17 that they "found near the Riverside Drive at Mount Tom on Sunday morning twelve stakes driven into the ground in the form of a square, with ropes complete as if for a fight."  The officers said, "In the ring were two shirts covered with blood and the grass was trampled as though a bloody fight had taken place in it."

In fact, as the newspaper's investigative reporter discovered, the police "had exaggerated the real facts."  The ring had been set up for a legal boxing match.  The "blood-covered shirts" were "two pieces of linen covered with iron-rust, and were found not in the ring but in the gutter of the drive."  The article explained,

It seems that on Saturday night, Mr. Luke Welsh, who keeps a well-known sporting resort near where the ring was pitched, was to have had a "opening."  Among the attractions to bring his friends from the city were to have been "wrestling and sparring matches in a 24-foot ring on the turf."  An ox roast was to wind up the attractions.  On Saturday evening, however, Mr. Welsh was sick, and his friends and the boxers and wrestlers returned to the city without the ring having been used.

On February 9, 1884, The National Police Gazette reported, "The fistic engagement which is now attracting the most attention in the sporting world is the prize fight between Tom Henry, of this city, formerly of England, and Jimmy Murray, of this city, formerly of Providence, R. I."   The article noted, "Jim Murray went into training at Luke Welsh's, at the foot of Eighty-sixth street, North river, on the 21st."

from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York.

At the time of the article, the end of the line for the Hudson River Park was near.  Luke Welsh's lease expired on May 1, 1884.  Ellen and Otis Randall had sold the property to Thomas H. Nally on February 25, 1882 for $32,500 (just under $1 million today).   Shortly after Welsh's lease expired, Nally sold the block on May 22, 1883.  Somewhat surprisingly, Luke Welsh sued Nally, but (not surprisingly) he lost in court.

The brick house was demolished and the block of land that had been Luke Welsh's "famous sporting resort" was quickly developed.

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