tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post6534212613851342365..comments2024-03-28T05:18:25.792-07:00Comments on Daytonian in Manhattan: The Henry Siegel Mansion - 26 East 82nd StreetTom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13542224816886418433noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-25430616017015819592017-08-20T08:10:35.794-07:002017-08-20T08:10:35.794-07:00This has now been published on the File770.com web...This has now been published on the File770.com website!Andrew Porterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09303874382474271502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502312000087595701.post-18844430441576856972017-08-17T09:14:33.442-07:002017-08-17T09:14:33.442-07:00When built, there was a semi-circular driveway ent...When built, there was a semi-circular driveway entrance on Madison Avenue, where the single story A&P supermarket (replaced by the current high-rise next door) once stood. In later years, part of the basement housed a toy store accessed by a stairway from the bookstore above. The proprietor told me that some of the toy soldiers he sold came from the collection of Donald A. Wollheim, a well-known collector and once publisher of DAW Books. And one of the buyers was George R.R. Martin, whose "Game of Thrones" (HBO) is so popular.<br /><br />When I lived there with my mother and stepfather in the early 1960s, the buildings were managed by Kreisel. The building superintendent was a Cuban exile, reputedly Cuban royalty. There was a small hallway connected 24 and 26. While our apartment was actually in 26, the building entry and mailboxes were in 24, with a seldom used exterior door, visible to the left of the store awning, from 26.<br /><br />Our apartment, #3C, was above that apartment rented by Ahmet Ertegun, who owned Atlantic Records. There was a separate entrance from the public hallway directly into the kitchen, and a small maid's room in the back of the apartment (where I lived, with my growing book collection). Ertegun's apartment had a small terrace, which you can't see in the modern photos. The living rooms, with fireplaces, were about 20 x 30 feet, and Ertegun threw big parties, with live music, using the lobby of 24 as a coatcheck. Whenever he threw his parties, he placated the neighbors for the loud music by giving us LPs from Atlantic Records.<br /><br />Later residents of the building included Baby Jane Holzer. Several of the apartments were combined into one, which was purchased by actress Renée Zellweger; she later sold them. You can see the plans in this Curbed article:<br /><br />http://tinyurl.com/y99h3wmj<br /><br />Among the stores were The Copper Lantern, a coffee shop, which I see is no longer there. For many years there was also a bookstore. In early 2017, Crawford Doyle Booksellers, which claimed to be there for 21 years, closed. However, there'd been a bookstore there since at least the late 1950s. I know, because as a teenager, I had a job delivering Womrath Library rental books to posh apartments around the area.<br /><br />I'm delighted that I was able to add to your account. Thanks for the post! I'm sending the link out to a whole bunch of people and blogs.Andrew Porterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09303874382474271502noreply@blogger.com