The 1922 West Side Meeting House - 550 Cathedral Parkway

photo by the author

After having moved several times since 1886, the Unity Congregational Society of New York purchased the five plots at 244-252 Cathedral Parkway (West 110th Street) between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway in 1921.  The firm of Hoppin & Koen was commissioned to design a church-and-community-house on the site.  Associate architect A. D. R. Sullivant was given the project.  His grand, initial design included a cupola reminiscent of Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

Sulllivant's 1921 rendering was more than twice the width of the subsequent building.  The Christian Register, June 16, 1921 (copyright expired)

But before ground was broken on June 2, 1921, the plans were grossly reduced.  Completed in 1922, Sullivant's dignified three-story, neo-Georgian-style edifice engulfed only two of the plots.  Above a limestone base, the upper floors were clad in red brick.  A centered, temple-like composition of double-height stone pilasters upholding a triangular pediment distinguished the upper sections.  (Sullivant's subdued Colonial design would reappear in a much more exuberant form in Thompson, Holmes & Converse's 1929 Tammany Hall on Union Square.)

On June 16, 1921, The Christian Register explained that the building would be called the West Side Meeting House for two reasons:

First, the name is in accord with the Pilgrim Congregational tradition of Unitarianism; second, it is planned to keep the building open throughout the week for any activity that tends to improve the personality of man, woman, or child.  Religion embraces not only the worship of God, but also the service of man.

To address the second reason, said the article, "religious, civic, educational, dramatic, literary, musical, recreational, and social gatherings will be held under church auspices and the building will therefore be a meeting-house--a house of meeting--for all who are seeking to build their own characters and to improve the neighborhood and the city."

The West Side Meeting House was completed in 1922.  In the basement was an auditorium-theater.  It was available for civic meetings and would become the home of the church's own theatrical troupe.

from Little Theatres, December 1923 (copyright expired)

Many mainstream Christians viewed Unitarianism sideways.  Its liberal doctrine included the belief in one God while denying the Trinity.  Its focus was on reason and tolerance over restricting creeds.  

Having a theater within the building offended many Christians, who still considered plays sinful.  Rev. Charles Francis Potter had to defend the theater in general.  In his sermon on April 22, 1923, he insisted, "There is more obscenity in the Bible than in any current New York play."

Born in 1885, Potter had degrees from Bucknell University, Brown University and Newton Theological Institution.  By the time the West Side Meeting House opened, science was making discoveries that fundamentalist preachers deemed heretical.  The well-educated and Modernist pastor Charles Potter went on the offensive.

Rev. Charles Francis Potter, Dictionary of Unitarian & Universalist Biography

On March 8, 1924, The Universalist Leader said he had initiated a Modernist Bible class, "whose teaching will be broadcast through the United States by radio at 8 p.m. every Sunday."  The article said it, "is intended to offset the attacks of the Fundamentalists, who have succeeded in excluding the teaching of science and evolution in regard to religion."  Potter told the reporter, "A faith that is disturbed by learning the facts of science is no real faith; it is largely prejudice and superstition."

The following year, Rev. Potter traveled to Dayton, Tennessee to advise Clarence Darrow in the famous Scopes Trial.  Potter was open about his disdain of the Fundamentalist Christians who had initiated the suit.  He scoffed that the "Holy Rollers" might introduced "a bill prohibiting the teaching of geography in public schools because the Bible indicates that the earth is flat."

Potter was replaced by the erudite Rev. Arthur Wakefield Slaten.  He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1916 with a thesis titled, "The Qualitive Use of Nouns in the Pauline Epistles, and Their Translation in the Revised Version."

In reporting on his first sermon, on October 19, 1925 The New York Times said, "Dr. Slaten is an advocate of Humanism, noting, "He was dismissed as professor of Biblical literature and Biblical education by [Rochester Theological Seminary] for heresy, based upon his book, 'What Jesus Taught.'"

Barnard Bulletin, November 13, 1925 (copyright expired)

The year before Rev. Slaten's appointment, the Meeting House Theater troupe was organized.  On October 16, 1926, The Billboard noted that it "has become favorably known for its good work during the last two seasons.  It has won twice successively the cup offered at the little theater tournament of the Metropolitan Federation."  The Meeting house Theater premiered Edna Ferber's $1,200 a Year on October 28 that year.

Like his predecessor, Slaten found himself defending the theater.  The following month, on November 28, he declared in his sermon, "a play is morally bad only when it represents life falsely."  Saying that plays were "valuable contributions to the study of human nature," he insisted, "In no one of these plays is vice made attractive, nor are the facts of life falsely presented."

Slaten continued to raise eyebrows among mainstream Christians.  In his sermon on January 2, 1927, he described the book of Genesis, "One of the folk-lore classics of the world's literature."

Rev. Slaten resigned in January 1929 "because of illness," according to his resignation letter.  Guest preachers took the pulpit of the West Side Unitarian Church for an extended period.

Two years later, the congregation merged with the Community Church and moved into its facility on Park Avenue and 34th Street.  In the meantime, the auditorium, known as the Community Church Centre, continued to be the scene of lectures and meetings.  On the evening of February 3, 1933, Dr. Gustav F. Beck addressed an audience of about 100 on the topic "A Philosopher's View of Immortality."  In discussing whether there was an afterlife, Beck said it "was a mystery which could not be proved or disproved."  The New York Times reported, "Several persons in the audience arose to give their views."

One man, who was around 55 years old, "jumped to his feet and, speaking with a foreign accent, started a fervent comparison of Oriental and Western philosophy," said the article.  The impassioned man contended, "When you are dead, you are dead.  If these were my last words, I would still maintain it."  Ironically, a few seconds later he grasped his chest and fell dead, apparently from a heart attack.

Frank Wilson headed the cast Black, which opened here on May 15, 1934.  His career had skyrocketed after starting out in vaudeville.  He was in the 1925 Broadway revival of The Emperor Jones, and was part of the original 1927 cast of Porgy.  Two years prior to his performance here, he made his film debut in The Girl from Chicago.

image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services

The building was leased to Congregation Ramath Orah, a Modern Orthodox congregation.  It was founded in 1942 by Dr. Robert Serebrenik, who had been Grand Rabbi of Luxembourg from 1929 to 1940.  He had assisted approximately 250 Jews in escaping Luxembourg following the Nazi invasion in 1940.

A troubling incident here in 1944 was made even more so given Rabbi Serebrenik's background.  On April 12, The New York Times reported, "A swastika was found crudely painted on a wall outside the Congregation Ramath Orah at 550 West 110th Street yesterday morning."  The hateful graffiti was discovered by two police officers passing by in a patrol car.  The cops not only reported on the vandalism, but "then helped remove the marking with turpentine and a steel brush," said the article.  Rabbi Serebrenik was surprisingly charitable, saying he presumed "that children probably drew the symbol."

The following year, the congregation purchased the building.  The dedication ceremony was held on February 11, 1945.  Among the speakers was Edgar L. Nathan, the Manhattan Borough President.

Rabbi Robert Serebrenik died of a heart attack at the age of 62 on February 11, 1965.  In reporting his death, The New York Times recalled, "After the Nazis occupied [Luxembourg], he stayed on until 1941, when he was seized by the Gestapo and beaten unconscious.  After that attack he escaped by way of Lisbon and came to this country."

photograph by Beyond My Ken

Congregation Ramath Orah continues to occupy the building.  Other than the stained-glass windows added in 1955, it survives essentially unchanged after nearly a century.

The 1910 John M. Bowers House - 45 East 65th Street

On July 16 1909 Benson B. Sloan sold the old brownstone house at No. 45 East 65th Street "and part" of the four-story house next door at No. 63 to John Meyer Bowers.   The portion of the abutting property would make possible a more commodious, 28-foot wide new dwelling.  The architectural firm of Hoppin & Koen was hired to design a six-story brick and limestone residence at a cost of $50,000, or about $1.45 million today.

Born in Cooperstown, New York in 1850, Bowers was a noted lawyer.  The house in which he was born, Lakelands, was built in 1804 and sat on property granted to Henry Bowers by the British Crown.   John Bowers's wife, the former Susan Dandridge, had a Colonial pedigree as well.  She was descended from Alexander Spotswood, a Colonial Governor of Virginia, and Martha Dandridge, who married George Washington.  The couple had five grown children.

Sadly, Susan Bowers would never see her new home.  On September 14, 1909, one month before the plans were filed, she died at Lakelands.

The 65th Street house was completed the following year.  Hoppin & Koen had produced a dignified neo-Georgian residence.  A rusticated limestone base upheld four stories of red brick.  A full-width stone balustrade gave the impression of a balcony at the second floor.  Two intermediate cornices, one quite prominent with stone brackets, framed the fourth floor.  Another balustrade introduced the mansard level with its three copper-clad dormers.

By social protocol Bowers's period of mourning extended to fall 1910.  Only months afterward, on July 28, 1911 The Evening World reported "To friends in New York and other cities the news will come as a surprise that John M. Bowers of the legal firm of Bowers & Sands...is to marry again.  In Christ Episcopal Church, in Cooperstown, N. Y., to-morrow morning he will make Miss Kate Starkweather his bride."

The newspaper said that the bride "belongs to one of the oldest and most prominent families in that part of the State" and pointed out "She is about half the age of Mr. Bowers and is very pretty and popular in society."

The newlyweds were entertaining in the 65th Street house that winter season.  On February 19, 1912 they hosted a dinner followed by dancing with John's son William as guest of honor.

Already well known in upstate society, Katharine Bowers became prominent in Cooperstown.  On July 6, 1913, for instance, the New-York Tribune reported "Mrs. John M. Bowers has been giving a round robin tennis tournament at Lakelands every morning and afternoon this week."

Lakelands, the 1804 Cooperstown country home.  from the collection of the Library of Congress

Although Bowers was already well known within the legal community, he garnered national attention in 1915 when he defended former President Theodore Roosevelt in a libel suit brought by politician William Barnes.   Roosevelt had publicly accused Barnes of being "a corrupt, obnoxious political boss."  Barnes sued for $50,000 in damages--more than $1.3 million today.

The highly publicized, five week trial began on August 19, 1915.  Bowers did not deny that his client had made the remarks, or say that they were expected campaign rhetoric.  Instead he explained in clear detail that the accusations were factual.  Bowers was triumphant and the former President was acquitted.  The New-York Tribune said Bowers's defense "is described by all who heard it as a 'masterly oration.'"

With World War I raging overseas, in 1917 Congress enacted a "draft law."  John M. Bowers was appointed to do the legal work in forming the Selective Service.  It was a daunting project with limited time to complete.  On March 9, 1918 The Sun reported "Another distinguished civilian has given his life for his country just as truly as though he had been killed in action as a uniformed soldier fighting the German foe.  John M. Bowers, one of the leaders of the New York bar, is dead as a result of overwork in connection with the selective draft."  

Bowers was 68 years old.  He left an estate estimated at around $17 million in today's dollars.  Before the year was up Katharine had sold the 65th Street house to lawyer Thomas Ewing.  On December 7, 1918 the Real Estate Record & Builders' Guide reported that he "contemplates the erection of a private residence" on the site.

Attorney Thomas Ewing original source unknown

As it turned out, any plans to demolish the eight-year old residence were discarded.   The names of Ewing and his wife, the former Anna Phillips Cochran, would appear in social columns not only for their entertainments, but for the marriages of their maturing children.  The first to leave home was William Francis Cochran Ewing.  The 24-year old was married to Emily Fordyce Dodge in Mount Kisco, New York in June 1923.  The groom's brother, Thomas, Jr., was his best man and his sister, Ellen, was a bridesmaid.

The year 1925 was a busy one for the Ewing household.  On January 6 the New York Telegram and Evening Mail announced that Thomas and Anna had hosted a dinner at Pierre's "for their son, Mr. Sherman Ewing, and his fiancée, Miss Mary Peavy Heffelfinger."  

That winter was Ellen's debutante season; but before those events came parties that followed the announcement of Gifford Cochran Ewing's engagement to Frances Leverich Riker in November.

Ellen finally got her time in the spotlight.  On December 5 her mother gave a debutante reception in the 65th Street house, and the following week, on December 12, she was given a dinner and a dance at the Colony Club.  The Yonkers Statesman reported "At the dinner were about seventy-five friends and relatives."

Anna Ewing had little time to rest.  The following year on December 28 son Thomas was married to Lucia Hosmer Chase in Waterbury, Connecticut.  Guests came from as far away as Chicago, Cincinnati and Washington, D. C.  Eleanor Taft, daughter-in-law of former President William Howard Taft, was the maid of honor.

In November 1929 the Council on Foreign Relations purchased No. 45 East 65th Street.  The New York Times remarked "This modern six-story house will provide a permanent home for the council.  One of its features will be a reference library on international affairs, and it will provide facilities for the carrying on of the council's research program as well as for its conferences and round-table meetings."

With the world having experienced a catastrophic world war, the focus of the Council on Foreign Relations was "the scientific study of foreign relations."  It backed the publication of the Quarterly Review of Foreign Affairs, the Annual Survey of American Foreign Relations, and the Political Handbook of the World.  Its co-presidents were Elihu Root and John W. Davis.

On November 28, 1930, following interior alterations by the architectural firm of Delano & Aldrich, the organization moved in.  In his remarks Elihu Root said in part, "The establishment of this building and the centering of the work of the Council on Foreign Relations here indicates the appreciation of a truth very widely neglected and that the work of improving the foreign relations of the civilized man is necessarily very slow and laborious and difficult."

The title to the property was transferred in 1945 to the Woodrow Wilson Foundation.  Founded in 1921 for the "perpetuation of Wilson's ideals," it provided grants to groups and individuals.  The organization remained in the former mansion until 1963 when it moved to Princeton University.  In October that year The New York Times announced that the Foundation had sold the property to realty investor Fred H. Hill.

No. 45 East 65th Street now became home to the Institute for Rational Living.  Renovations were made which resulted in "psycho-therapy-educational classrooms" and a "school for emotional education" in the basement through third floor.  The floors four through six became residential space for two families.

The former Bowers mansion was sold again in February 2013 for around $20 million.  A renovation completed in 2018 returned it to a single-family home.

photographs by the author

The 1903 James F. D. Lanier House - 123 East 35th Street

photo by Beyond My Ken

James Franklin Doughty Lanier II grew up in a lavish brownstone mansion on East 37th Street, just steps from the J. P. Morgan residence.  His American pedigree was impressive--his earliest ancestor Thomas Lanier having arrived with his friend, John Washington, in Virginia in 1655.  Washington's great-grandson, George, would become America's first President.  James's grandfather had founded the banking firm Winslow, Lanier & Co., of which his father, Charles D. Lanier, was now the head.

Lanier graduated from Princeton University in 1880 and joined the family firm.  In 1885 he married Harriet Bishop and the couple remained in James's childhood home at No. 30 East 37th Street with his parents.  The newlyweds had a son, Charles Day Lanier the following year and another, Reginald Bishop Lanier, in 1888.

Harriet Bishop Lanier, photo by James L. Breese, from the collection of the New-York Historical Society

On April 10, 1901 Lanier purchased two 1854 brownstones two blocks from his parents' home for a total of $31,000--or about $962,000 today.  He hired the architectural firm of Hoppin & Koen to design a modern residence on the combined sites.  Both Francis Laurens Vinton Hoppin and Terence A. Koen had studied in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and had worked for McKim, Mead and White before embarking on their own. 

The 33-foot wide Beaux Arts mansion was completed in 1903.  A rusticated limestone base supported two stories of red brick, the bays of which were separated by double-height fluted Cornithian pilasters.  A full-width stone balcony with intricate iron railings fronted the fourth floor.  The architects capped the design with a copper mansard with three stylish dormers.

The American basement plan placed the entrance just a few steps above sidewalk level, fronted by a deep stone porch flanked by pierced limestone railings.  Four stone pedestals which doubled as newel and gate posts upheld classical urns.

American Architect & Architecture, 1904 (copyright expired)

The family's tremendous wealth was reflected, as well, in their country homes.  In 1891 the Laniers had erected a Georgian Revival mansion in Westbury, Long Island, designed by James Brown Lord.  In 1905 they commissioned Francis Hoppin to design their Newport estate, Gravel Court, in Newport.

A vintage postcard shows the Lanier Old Westbury estate after they had sold it to Charles Steele.

Both James and Harriet were active in society.  James was a founder of the Meadowbrook Hunt Club and an early "automobilist."  Harriet entertained frequently, giving a series of "French conferences" in the house in 1904, for instance.

Because the Laniers would be away from New York during the winter season of 1907, they leased their home.  On September 9 a dispatch to The New York Times from Washington D.C. said "Washington society lost not only a popular hostess but the prospect of a ducal wedding.  Both are transferred to New York where Theodore P. Shonts has leased the residence of James F. Lanier, at 123 East Thirty-fifth Street, for the coming winter."

Shonts was president of the Interborough-Metropolitan Company.  He and his wife, Milla, had two young daughters who had just been introduced to society the previous season.  The girls had been presented at Court in London that spring and they and their mother then spent the summer on the northern coast of France.  It was there that they became friendly with the Duchesse D'Uzes, sister of Duc de Chaulnes.

Now New York society hoped for a titled wedding in its midst.  The duke, rumor had it, had been unrelenting in his attentions to Theodora Shonts.  But there seemed to be some family tension regarding the match.  The New York Times commented on September 9, 1907 "The cause of the delayed announcement, it may be said now with authority, is Mr. Shonts, and his reason for opposing the match is that he wants his daughters to marry in their own country."

Nevertheless, the women in the family got their way and on November 21 The New York Herald broke the news that the duke and Theodora were to be married.  It was the sort of coup that society mothers like Milla Shonts dreamed of.  "The young Duke belongs to a family of ancient lineage and is the ninth in succession to bear the title," said The Times.

Somewhat surprisingly the ceremony took place within the 35th Street house.  On February 22, 1908 Town & Country reported:

Mr. and Mrs. Theodore P. Shonts have hearts almost too big for their house.  Consequently, there was a crush at the marriage of their daughter, Miss Theodora Shonts, to the Duc de Chaulnes at 123 East Thirty-Fifth Street, New York.  After the ceremony, guests entered the drawing room to present themselves to the bride and the receiving party. Waiters with trays holding glasses of the wit-inspiring beverage came out into the hallway in search of any timid guest.  In the breakfast room, the candle light shone through white shades on which the crest of the Duc de Chaulnes was worked out in blue, and even the bonbons had his crest.

It may have been that Theodore Shonts's opposition to the marriage went beyond geography, as publicly stated.  Despite his title, the duke had no real income and, worse, had a serious drug addiction.  An agreement was reach only after Shonts had spoken to close friends and arranged for the duke's employment as the general European representative of the Erie Railroad and the Wells-Fargo Express Company.

On April 25, 1908, just ten weeks after the couple sailed to Paris, The New York Times reported the shocking news that the Duc de Chaulnes was dead.  "Some of those who knew the Duke best say that the immediate cause of death was an overdose of morphine, to the use of which drug the Duke had been addicted."

The newspaper reported that "friends tell of times when he had remained under the influence of the narcotic for days at a time."  The duke had gone to bed early the previous night and when Theodora retired he was in a deep sleep.  But she woke around midnight "by a convulsive grip on her arm."  Her husband was unresponsive so she turned on the light and "found her husband in the last extremity."

Servants called a doctor, but the duke was dead before he arrived.  Efforts to cover up the potential scandal were immediate.  The doctor ruled the cause of death a heart attack.  The police ordered an autopsy, but, according to The Times, "this formality was later waived."

The Shonts family sailed immediately to Paris and, once there, Theodore reworked the entire story.  No longer was Theodora awakened by her husband's drug-induced death grip.  Instead, "The Duke and my daughter were kneeling at prayer in their bedroom about 9 o'clock, when he suddenly gave a groan and fell on the floor at my daughter's feet...There was never any question about drugs or anything else.  He died from heart disease."  

Seven months later the 19-year old widow's name was back in the newspapers.  On November 17, 1908 The New York Times reported, "The Duchess de Chaulnes, who formerly was Miss Theodora Shonts of New York, gave birth to a son at her home to-day."

The 35th Street house returned to normal with the Laniers' return the following winter season.  Both Charles Jr. and Reginald graduated from Harvard in 1910.  In 1913 Harriet founded the Society of the Friends of Music and would be its president for decades.

American Architect & Architecture, 1904 (copyright expired)

The Laniers traveled extensively.  On August 26, 1914, for instance, The New York Press reported Mr. and Mrs. James F. D. Lanier, who will arrive the latter part of this week from Europe, will go directly to Grand Court, their Newport villa, to remain until they open their town house, No. 123 East Thirty-fifth street, in October."

In 1918 an influenza pandemic swept the globe.  Estimates place the death toll at 50 million worldwide and 675,000 in the United States.  On December 7 the New York Herald reported that Charles, Jr. had died three days earlier of influenza in Omaha, Nebraska, "where he had gone on business."  Charles was 32-years old.

Reginald seems to have been in no hurry to marry.  But on December 11, 1921 the New-York Tribune reported on his upcoming wedding to Helen Cameron in the Huntington Memorial Chapel of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.  If Reginald's social lineage was impressive, his bride's was no less so.  The Sun noted she "is a granddaughter of the late Frederick W. Rhinelander.  She also is a niece of Mrs. Le Roy King of Newport."  The newlyweds moved into the 35th Street house.

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

James F. D. Lanier died on May 16, 1928 at the age of 69.  His will left the $10 million estate (nearly $150 million today) to Harriet with the stipulation that upon her death it would go to Reginald.

Harriet spent the summer season of 1931 in Europe.  Upon her return she took an apartment at the Savoy-Plaza Hotel while the 35th Street house was prepared for re-opening.  On October 27 she died suddenly in her suite there.  

Reginald and Helen had two children, Diana and James Franklin Doughty Lanier.  The family remained in the 35th Street house and maintained a country estate in Bernardsville, New Jersey.  Diana was married to W. Ogden Ross in the Church of the Incarnation in April 1947.

As her mother-in-law had done, Helen entertained often.  On April 24, 1950 she hosted a tea "to mark the opening of the twenty-ninth annual New York Book Week of the American Merchant Marine Library Association," according to The New York Times.  

In 1947 the Laniers had employed a servant, Vincent Kayes.  Things did not work out with the 27-year old and he moved on to become a bus driver.  No doubt by 1954 the family had completely forgotten about him.  But he had not forgotten them.

At 6:30 on the morning of May 25 a special delivery letter arrived at No. 123 East 35th Street which read in part:

We owe society a debt, may, but society is going to pay a little of our expense.  You were chosen from society's phone book to pay only $5,000 to us.  Remember you only get this one note.

The message threatened that if the police were notified there would be "three wooden overcoats in your house," referring to the coffins that would be necessary for Reginald, Helen and James.  Not intimidated, Reginald went to the police.  At the appointed hour he dropped a package of "money" into a specified trash receptacle.  Meanwhile the street was bustled with activity--a street sweeper, a truck driver, and several package delivery men.  The Democrat and Chronicle added "Still others were just loiterers.  All kept an eye on the wire basket."  They were all detectives.

Kayes was there, too.  He pretended to be making repairs under the hood of his automobile.  And he was cautious.  He waited a full 30 minutes before casually walking over to the waste basket and reaching inside for the package.  The detectives pounced.  Charged with extortion and blackmail, he explained that he owed $4,000 "to bookmakers and moneylenders."

photo via the collection of the Digital Culture of Metropolitan New York

The Laniers left the house not long afterward.  Their striking home, which remains a private residence, is one of the architectural treasures of Murray Hill.