The Lost Robinson Houses - 750 and 752 Park Avenue

 

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

In reporting on the upcoming June wedding of Helen Rebecca Roosevelt and Theodore Douglas Robinson on April 24, 1904, The Sun hinted at the union's social importance.

The couple are cousins and are niece and nephew of President [Theodore] Roosevelt.  The bride-elect is a granddaughter of Mrs. Astor, who may hasten her return from Europe to be present on the occasion.  The Misses Alice Roosevelt and Caroline Drayton and the Misses Whitmore of England, cousins of the bridegroom, will be on the list of bridesmaids.

Helen was the daughter of James Roosevelt Roosevelt, Jr. and the former Helen Schermerhorn Astor.  Her father was the half-brother of the future President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  (Franklin was the son of James Roosevelt I with his first wife, Rebecca Howland, who died in 1876.)

Helen Rebecca Roosevelt Robinson. from the collection of the FDR Library

Born in 1883, Theodore Douglas Robinson was the son of Douglas Robinson, Jr. and Corinne Roosevelt (the sister of President Theodore Roosevelt and aunt of Eleanor Roosevelt).  His material grandparents were Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. and Martha Stewart Bulloch.  The grandparents on his father's side were Douglas Robinson, Sr. and Frances Monroe, a grandniece of President James Monroe.

Theodore Douglas Robinson later in life.  from the collection of the Library of Congress

Two years after Theodore and Helen were married, on April 28, 1906, the New-York Tribune reported that plans had been filed for "two fine Park Avenue houses" at 750 and 752 Park Avenue "for Douglas Robinson and Mrs. Helen Roosevelt Robinson."  Designed by Trowbridge & Livingston, the article said, "They will be of Colonial design, the facades of granite at the first story and marble trimmed brick above.  The entrance will be flanked with tall lamps of ornamental metal."  The architects projected the construction costs at $50,000 and $65,000 respectively.  (Although visually mirror images, Theodore's and his wife's house would be slightly narrower than that of his parents.)

Trowbridge & Livingston's neo-Georgian design featured a rusticated base.  Above the double-doored entrances were scrolled keystones carved with a swag.  The upper floors were faced in red brick, their fenestration treated differently at each level.  Fully arched French windows at the second floor were fronted with iron faux balconies.  The marble lintels of the third floor windows were decorated with a centered carved shell, and splayed lintels crowned the fourth floor openings.  The fifth floor took the form of a slate-shingled mansard with stately dormers behind a stone balustrade.

It was common for well-to-do couples to place the title of real property--especially their town and country houses--in the wives' names.  And while Helen was the title holder of 750 Park Avenue, it appears that it was a gift from her father-in-law.  The New York Times explained the "the two fine houses of similar design...were erected by Douglas Robinson, one for himself and the other for his son, Theodore Douglas Robinson." 

On February 15, 1907, as construction neared completion, The Augusta [Kansas] Daily Gazette reported that the two families "have developed an idea which is entirely original."  Should they have a common entertainment, a wall of the piano nobile, or second floor, could be opened.  "By the manipulation of a wall in the shape of wainscoting, reinforced with steel and made fireproof, the two houses will be made one," said the article.

After what was reportedly weeks of planning, Livingston & Trowbridge devised (or more likely, contracted) an apparatus by which, "the massive wall can be moved silently, and, with the application of power supplied by a single pair of hands."  The Gazette explained, "When the wall, which is on the second floor, is sent on its ballbearing attachment two spacious drawing-rooms will be thrown into one."

The Augusta Daily Gazette, February 15, 1907 (copyright expired)

The feature would soon be utilized.  "When the twin houses are entirely completed a reception will be given in the form of a housewarming for the friends of Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, and the movable wall will receive a practical test," reported the article.

Shortly after moving into their respective houses, the Douglas Robinsons had a change of mind.  In September 1908, they sold 752 Park Avenue to publisher Robert Joseph Collier and his wife, the former Sara Stewart Van Alen.  The combined Robinson families, at least temporarily, shared No. 750.  On October 19, 1909, the New-York Tribune reported that the marriage of Corinne Douglas Robinson and State Senator Joseph Alsop on November 4, would be held, "in the new home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Robinson, No. 750 Park avenue."

In the meantime, the Colliers moved into 752 Park Avenue.  Born in 1876, Robert Joseph Collier was a partner in the publishing firm founded by his father, P. F. Collier & Son.  The company's most visible publication was the popular Collier's Weekly.  He married Sara Stewart Van Alen in Newport in 1902.  On April 22, 1903, the couple had a son, Robert, Jr.  He died two days afterward.  The Sun remarked nearly two decades later, "They never fully recovered from the loss, their friends say."

This photograph of Robert J. Collier was taken in 1906, two years before he and Sara moved into the Park Avenue house.  The World's Work, 1906 (copyright expired)

The next door neighbors were closely related.  Helen Roosevelt Robinson and Sara Stewart Van Alen were first cousins.  Sara's mother was Emily Astor, the eldest daughter of William Backhouse Astor, Jr. and Caroline Webster Schermerhorn.  Helen's mother, Helen Schermerhorn Astor, was the Astors' second eldest daughter.

Sara Stewart Van Alen Collier.  Harper's Weekly 1902 (copyright expired)

In the spring of 1908, when the Colliers were still living on Gramercy Park, their house was burglarized.  The New York Times said they "were among the many victims of what was known as the 'chloroform gang.'"  According to the newspaper, the incident "unnerved" Sara and prompted the couple to move to Park Avenue.

On October 1, 1908 decorators were "doing up the house both inside and out," according to The New York Times.  Sara was home, but Robert was on a business trip in the West.  During all the confusion, a thief entered the house around noon and stole two rings valued at $30 from a maid's room on the top floor.  The newspaper said, "They have their suspicions as to the thief, and hope to make an arrest shortly."

The Colliers had two celebrated house guests in 1909.  On January 3, Samuel Langhorn Clemens wrote to Margaret Blackmer, saying in part, "Miss Lyon [i.e., Isabel Lyon, his secretary] & I are going to arrive at Robert Collier (752 Park Avenue) at noon the 20th of this month & remain there the 21 & 22nd & perhaps till the 3.32 [train] the afternoon of the 23d."

Two months later, on March 13, the New-York Tribune reported, "Mr. [Theodore] Roosevelt will be the principal guest at an informal breakfast given by Robert J. Collier at his home, No. 752 Park avenue, this morning.  About thirty men will be present."  (Presumably the former President stopped by the house of his niece and nephew next door, as well.)

Theodore Douglas Robinson was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1911.  Throughout his term, which ended on December 31, 1913, he and Helen lived in Albany and leased 750 Park Avenue to well-heeled families.  In 1911, they rented it to Willard D. Straight and his wife, the former Dorothy Whitney.  They were followed by George S. Brewster and his wife; and finally by William Douglas Sloane and his wife, the former Emily Thorn Vanderbilt.

Peter Fenelon Collier died in 1909 and Robert became head of P. F. Collier & Son.  He and Sara maintained a country estate, Rest Hill, in New Jersey, and a "camp" at Racquet Lake, New York in the Adirondack Mountains.  The couple was at their camp in August 1914 when Robert suffered "an acute attack of uraemic poisoning," according to The Sun.  He was brought back to 752 Park Avenue unconscious in his private train car, Vagabondia.  Days later, on August 28, the newspaper said, "The efforts of several physicians have failed to rouse Robert J. Collier, the publisher, out of the coma into which he lapsed several days ago."

Collier survived the frightening ordeal.  On February 15, 1918, the New York Herald reported that the couple had sold 752 Park Avenue to William Hartman Woodin and his wife, the former Anne Jessup.  The article said, "Mr. Woodin paid close to $300,000 for the realty and furnishings."  The price would translate to about $6 million in 2025.

An 1890 graduate of Columbia University, Woodin was president of the American Car and Foundry Co., and a director of a score of corporations, including General Motors Corporation, Westinghouse Electric International Company and railroads and shipping firms.  He and Anne had four children: William, Jr., Mary Miner, Anne Harvey, and Elizabeth F.

On the afternoon of June 25, 1919, Theodore Douglas Robinson was approaching his doorway when he was attacked by three gunmen.  The Evening World called it a "bold attempt at a hold-up with a revolver in the best resident quarter of New York on a street where many people were moving and less than half a block away from two police officers."  Seventeen-year-old Harold Vogel thrust a revolver against Robinson's body and threatened to shoot him if he did not hand over his money and jewelry.

Passersby rushed to Police Lieutenants Frank Brady and Patrick McCarthy.  The three would-be robbers separated and Edward Henebry and Arthur Plum, 18 and 23 years old respectively, were captured running away.  Vogel cleverly turned back and tried to meld into the growing crowd.  Lt. Brady, however, was not fooled.  The Evening World reported that he "was attracted by a young man who was breathing heavily as if from the stress of running."  Brady pressed his hand over the youth's chest "and found it throbbing."  He discovered a revolver in his pocket.  Brady took him to Robinson, who identified his attacker.

The Woodins' children were growing up at the time.  In December 1919, the couple announced the engagement of Anne Jessup Woodin to Olin Frisbie Harvey.  The couple was married the following year on November 6 and the reception was held in the Park Avenue mansion.  The following month, Elizabeth F. Woodin was introduced to society in the Rose Room of the Plaza Hotel.

Elizabeth's engagement to William Wallace Rowe was announced in April 1922, and her brother, William Hartman Woodin, was married to Carolyne Hyde on December 9 that year.  In reporting on William's wedding, the New York Herald mentioned, "During the war, Mr. Woodin was in the aviation service."  (Three months earlier, William Sr. had been named the State Fuel Administrator.)

In 1924, Theodore Douglas Robinson was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy by President Calvin Coolidge.  (The position had previously been held by his cousin, Theodore Roosevelt III.)  Three years later, he and Helen sold 750 Park Avenue to James T. Lee, a real estate operator and the owner of the Hotel Shelton.  If Lee intended the house to be his family's home, he soon had other ideas.

Living in the mansion next door at the corner of 71st Street were George Stephenson Brewster and his wife, the former Eleanor Grant Bosher.  (They were the couple who rented 750 Park Avenue from the Robinsons in 1912).  Lee convinced the Brewsters to give up their home in favor of an upscale apartment building on the site.  On March 14, 1929, The New York Times reported that Lee had purchased 752 Park Avenue from William H. Woodin.  By then, he had also purchased a fourth property adjoining the Brewster mansion on 71st Street.

Lee replaced the properties with 740 Park Avenue, designed by Rosario Candela.  (Interestingly, when the 17-story apartment building by Horace Ginsberg & Associates was erected at the northern part of the block in 1951, it usurped the former address of Theodore and Helen Robinson's home, 750 Park Avenue.)