The 1907 John B. Haskin House - 34 West 86th Street

 

In 1906 developer William H. Hall, Jr. completed two handsome rowhouses at 32 and 34 West 86th Street.  Designed by Welch, Smith & Provot, they were the first in a row of homes built two at at time that would extend west towards Columbus Avenue.  (The architecturally harmonious group would be completed in 1908.)

Welch, Smith & Provot designed the row in the neo-Renaissance style.  Like its neighbors, 34 West 86th Street sat upon a rusticated limestone base, its upper floors clad in warm red brick.  The second through fourth floor windows were framed in limestone, while the top story took the form of a steep, slate-shingled mansard.  Here two brick dormers were capped with arched Renaissance style pediments.

The house became home to the family of John Bussing Haskin, Jr.  His father, who died in 1895, was an influential attorney and congressman.  Bussing and his wife, the former May Louise Quackenbush, had three daughters, Mabel, Edith Mae, and Edna.  (Their first daughter, Ethel Amelia, died in 1888 at the age of one.)  Haskin was a partner in Wyatt & Listman, makers of automobile parts, and president of the John B. Haskin's Estate, Inc.

The family brought their trusted domestic staff with them, including James B. Griffin, who had been their chef since 1891.  In the summer of 1907, the family notified police that pieces of silver and expensive cut glass were slowly disappearing.  Detective Kahn was put on the case.  

Kahn scoured the pawnshops and found some of the Haskins' items in several locations.  In each case, the description of the seller matched that of James B. Griffin.  The Haskin family was no doubt shocked when Kahn arrived at 34 West 86th Street on the night of October 4 and led their faithful chef away in handcuffs.  "Griffin had nothing to say," reported The New York Times.

Unlike many of their well-heeled neighbors, the Haskins did not own a country home, but summered at fashionable resort hotels, instead.  On November 8, 1908, for instance, The New York Times reported, "Mr. and Mrs. John P. Haskins [sic] and family, 34 West Eighty-sixth Street, have returned from the Berkshires and Adirondacks."  And the following year, on October 17, 1909, the New York Herald noted, "Mr. and Mrs. John Bussing Haskin and the Misses Haskin, of No. 34 West Eighty-sixth street, after a trip through the Berkshires, will go to Briarcliff Lodge, Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., for an indefinite stay."

On April 10, 1910, The New York Times reported that Mabel Louise would be married to William Arthur Flinn on April 27, noting, "It will be a home wedding."  One can imagine the panic Mabel experienced when she contracted measles a week later.

The New York Times reported on April 18, "It was said yesterday that Miss Haskins [sic] was confined to her room with measles, and that her wedding to a Pittsburgh young man, which was to have taken place on April 25, would have to be postponed."  While admitting that Mable was sick, the family denied that "her illness would interfere with the wedding plans."

And, indeed, on May 1, the newspaper reported that the wedding had taken place in the family's drawing room the previous evening.  Edith and Edna were two of their sister's five attendants.

On May 22, 1915, the New York Courier and International Topics reported that John and May had announced "the engagement of their second daughter, Miss Edith Mae Haskins [sic], to Mr. Hugh T. Porter."  The article said, "The announcement was made in interesting circumstances at the house of Mr. and Mrs. W. Arthur Flinn...Mrs. Flinn, the elder sister of Miss Haskin, gave a dinner, followed by dancing, to celebrate the fourth anniversary of her marriage, her mother's birthday and the engagement of her sister."

Not long after Edith's wedding, John Bussing and May Louise  Haskin moved to Glen Falls, New York.  The West 86th Street house became home to the Jorje (sometimes spelled Jorge) Ezekiel Zalles family.  Born in La Paz, Bolivia in 1872, he was married to Arcadia Calderon.  The couple had five children, George Jr., Maria, Leonora Eugenia, Robert H., and Reginald Hugh.

Zalles was the honorary financial attaché to the Bolivian legation.  Arcadia was the daughter of Don Ignacio Calderon, the Bolivian Minister to Washington.  The family's country home, Devon, was in Amagansett, Long Island.

While her husband was on a business trip to South America in the summer of 1919, Arcadia visited her parents in Washington, D.C.  On August 4, The Washington Times reported, "The Minister of Bolivia and Senora Ignacio Calderon have as their guest Senora Jorge E. Zalles, wife of the honorary financial attache of the legation, and daughter of the minister."

By 1930, when Leonora's engagement to Emile C. Freeland was announced, Jorje Zalle was a vice president of W. R. Grace & Co.  Leonora was married in Santiago, Chile in January 1931.  She may have met her husband through her father.  The New York Times mentioned, "Mr. Freeland is an industrial engineer with W. R. Grace & Co."

Reginald H. Zalle also became affiliated with W. R. Grace & Co. following his graduation from Columbia University.  He worked in the firm's office in La Paz, Bolivia.  Interestingly, when Reginald was married to Maria Esperanza Santivanez in La Paz on January 10, 1940, his father did not attend the wedding.  The East Hampton Star reported on January 25, "The bridegroom's mother flew to Le Paz for the wedding.  She will return next month to rejoin Mr. Zalles, who is vice president of W. R. Grace & Co."

By the outbreak of World War II, the once exclusive West 86th Street block had been taken over by commerce.  And yet the Zalles family continued on as they had for decades.  Arcadia, who had been highly involved with musical groups like the Beethoven Association, the Leschetizky Society and the Friends of Music, now threw herself into the war effort as well.  She became a member of the American Women's Volunteer Services.

In 1948, the Zalles moved into a large apartment at 322 East 57th Street where Arcadia died in March 1951.  Somewhat surprisingly, the following year on November 29, The Miami News reported, "An interesting wedding took place recently in New York when Miss Rose Willoughby Saul became the bride of Jorge E. Zalles of Paris, France, and New York...Mrs. Zalles is a retired executive of the W. R. Grace Co."  George died in the East 57th Street apartment at the age of 81 on March 27, 1954.

In the meantime, 34 West 86th Street was converted to apartments in 1949.  It was home to several musicians, including Harold "Sonny" Salad, who was here in 1952.  Salad was an alto saxophonist with Ray McKinley's big band.  Living here at the same time was alto saxophonist Larry Elgart, who played in the band of his brother Les Elgart.

Externally, 34 West 86th Street house looks much as it did when a family's trusted chef purloined expensive pieces of cut glass nearly 120 years ago.

photographs by the author

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