photograph by Anthony Bellov
In 1851 George P. Rogers and William C. Rhinelander erected two three-story-and-basement homes on West 13th Street between Seventh and Greenwich Avenues. Their basement and parlor levels were clad in brownstone and the upper floors faced in red brick and trimmed in stone. Nos. 141 and 143 West 13th Street (renumbered 213 and 215 in 1868) were initially rented, resulting in relatively short residencies for their early occupants.
Real estate agent William H. Terry and his family lived in 141 West 13th Street in 1853. Living next door in 1855 and 1856 was the family of dry goods merchant Max Weil.
Charles Fox, who operated a "caps and fur manufactory" on Canal Street, moved into 143 West 13th Street and would remain through 1869. The Campbell family next rented the house. Andrew J. Campbell was a blacksmith and Henry Campbell listed his profession as "iron." (The related professions suggests that they worked together.) When the Campbell family left early in 1872, an advertisement in the New York Herald on April 24 offered:
To let--A three story high stoop house, 215 West Thirteenth street, in perfect order, with carpets, mirrors, cornices and gas fixtures, near Seventh avenue; immediate possession; $1,500; very cheap.
That yearly rental would translate to about $3,400 per month in 2026.
The advertisement was answered by widowed Lawrence Mingey. He and his late wife, Mary, had eight sons, at least two of whom--Walter and Lawrence A.--moved into the West 13th Street house.
A married daughter and her family also shared the house. On July 4, 1873, their 18-year-old daughter, Mary Agnes McCann died. Her funeral was held in the parlor.
The Mingey parlor would be the scene of another funeral before long. Lawrence A. Mingey, the youngest of the brothers, died at the age of 27 in Raleigh, North Carolina on May 1, 1874. His body was rushed back to West 13th Street and his funeral was held on May 3.
Walter Mingey was a successful and enterprising businessmen. When the family moved into 215 West 13th Street in 1873, he operated a saddlery on Staten Island and a butcher business on Grove Street.
In the meantime, the family of Henry Strouse leased the house next door in 1867. Among their servants German-born Sophia Woelt. A 42-year-old German man, Albert Garagnon, became infatuated with her and "frequently importuned [her] to become his wife," according to the New York Herald. Sophia, however, "often refused him on account of his being previously married."
Between 6:00 and 7:00 on the morning of February 11, 1868, Garagnon arrived at the house. He and Sophia quarreled and Garagnon drew a revolver and fired two shots at her. Both bullets missed Sophia. "He then took a razor from his pocket and cut his own throat," said the newspaper. Garagnon died on the spot and the New York Herald concluded, "Disappointed love, so far as has yet been ascertained, is the cause assigned for the dreadful act."
Max Goepp and Simon Sterne were partners in the law firm Goepp & Sterne. Their office was at 35 Wall Street. On September 10, 1870, they purchased 213 13th Street--each owning a 50 percent share--and moved in. The attorneys remained here until Goepp's death on May 12, 1872.
The house was rented after that, but the unusual ownership caused problems. In 1875 a relative, Charles Goepp, sued Simon Stern "to restrain defendant from collecting the rent of property 213 West 13th street."
The house was sold to David Richey, who continued to lease it. In January 1886, he hired architect Gilbert A. Schellenger to add a fourth floor and a four-story addition to the rear. Richey quickly sold the remodeled building to Mary Stappers for $19,000 (about $663,000 today). By then, 215 West 13th Street had been raised to four floors, as well.
When Charles Rubinger purchased both buildings in June 1909 for "about $200,000," according to The New York Times, they were described as "two four-story single flats." Then, in 1925, they were combined. Rubinger's architect gave the cojoined buildings a neo-Georgian make-over. The stoops were removed and an elegant entrance created at grade. Within a columned portico, the doorway echoed an 18th century country mansion with multi-paned sidelights and a refined fanlight.
photograph by Anthony Bellov
At the same time, a fifth floor was added above a cornice upheld by corbels and decorated by a row of dentils.
Splayed Georgian-inspired lintels decorate the midsection openings. via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.
In 1938, architect Joseph Lau renovated the interiors, resulting in four apartments per floor. They quickly attracted literary figures. Anaïs Nin and her husband, engraver and filmmaker Hugh Parker Guiler were perhaps the first. Born Angela Nin, she had started writing detailed journals at the age of 13. By now she was known as a writer of novels, short stories and erotica. She and Guiler were married in 1923.
Anaïs Nin (original source unknown)
Writing in her diary on September 12, 1940, Nin wrote,
After much searching I found an apartment I could afford. Sixty dollars a month, a skylight studio, on the top floor of 215 West Thirteenth Street. Five flights up. A very large, high-ceilinged room, half of the ceiling an inclined skylight, the whole length of it, twelve windows in all. A small kitchen, with barely enough room for stove and icebox.
Also moving in that year were Shirley Jackson and Stanley Edgar Hyman. The writers met in 1938 and moved in shortly after their marriage in 1940. Shirley Hardie Jackson, born in 1916, would be best known for her mystery and horror novels and short stories. Stanley Edgar Hyman, who was three years younger, was a literary critic.
Shirley Jackson, from the dust jacket of We Have Always Lived in the Castle.
Arthur McCaffery and his wife lived here at midcentury. Born in 1899, his wide-ranging resume included radio writing, acting, and directing. In 1947 he wrote Cape Cod on the Subway and collaborated on theatrical and musical comedy productions.
An avid fisherman, he and his wife owned a 30-foot cruiser. The couple hosted several guests on their boat on Sheepshead Bay on May 22, 1954, when a gale blew in. In battling the weather conditions, McCaffery suffered a heart attack. The New York Times reported, "Mrs. McCaffery had other fishermen summon Coast guard assistance for her husband." Happily, although "strong winds and waves up to ten feet" hampered the rescue, McCaffery was taken ashore for treatment and recovery.
photograph by Anthony Bellov
From the street, the handsome, combined rowhouses are nearly unchanged since their significant 1925 remodeling.
many thanks to Anthony Bellov for suggesting this post
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