The Schuchman Apartments - 126 East 12th Street

 

photograph by Anthony Bellov

Born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany in 1851, John P. Schuchman arrived in New York City in 1868.  He became an attorney and was highly active in the Lower East Side German community, known as Kleindeutschland.  He sat on the Tenement House Committee in the 1890s, which worked to improve the conditions of the working-class.  His involvement in the German community was greatly reflected on April 17, 1894 when he signed a 13-year renewable lease on 190 Third Avenue, known as Scheffel Hall.  In 1891 he was appointed a judge in City Court.

In 1900, Judge Schuchman purchased the two vintage houses at 126 and 128 East 12th Street between Third and Fourth Avenues.  On March 11, The New York Times reported that John G. Prague had filed plans for "a six-story brick and stone flat" on the site.  He pr0jected the construction cost at $60,000, or about $2.37 million in 2026.

The commission was unusual for Prague for several reasons.  The prolific builder-architect worked almost exclusively on the Upper West Side where he created more than 200 private rowhouses, and he most often worked for himself.

Prague was known for his ebullient decorative elements.  Interestingly, for The Schuchman he focused only on the first floor.  Above a short stone stoop, he blended brick and brownstone to create a stark contrast of sharp angles (created by the crisp quoins around the openings) and sensuous Romanesque carved ornaments.  The keystone of the foliate carved, concave-arched entranceway took the form of a female head from which swirling ornaments spread Medusa-like.  Unlike most Medieval inspired carvings of the Romanesque Revival style, Prague's boiled with movement.

The stone carver made the decorations come alive--seeming to spume from the portrait keystone.  The bases of the engaged columns are vibrant with flame-like movement.  photograph by Anthony Bellov

Prague was unexpectedly reserved in the mid- and upper sections.  Faced in yellow ironspot brick, their square-headed openings wore uninspired, flat brownstone lintels.  The top floor sat within molded cornices.

There were four apartments per floor in The Schuchman, which was described by the New York Herald as "a bachelor apartment house."  An advertisement described: "Five rooms and bath; hot water, elevator, steam heat."  

Among the first to move in was its owner, Justice John P. Schuchman.  Other residents were middle-class professionals--at least one doctor and several lawyers.  Another initial tenant was Willis H. Alling, who used his apartment as his studio.  He advertised, "teacher of piano and organ, interpretation in singing, Concert and Studio Accompanist."

Although patent attorney Jacob N. McIntyre was "a sufferer from paralysis," as worded by The New York Times, he continued working and had offices in the Temple Court Building.  He hired Signey C. Olesen as his nurse and housekeeper in 1895.  But when he moved into The Schuchman he dismissed her.  The unemployed woman was infuriated.

On January 3, 1901 McIntyre (who "uses an ear trumpet," according to the New-York Tribune) was arrested.  Signey C. Olesen accused him of stealing a $300 pair of diamond earrings from her.  She also charged, "that through the entire six years of her service, although she was to receive $20 a month, she received only about $50 in all from Mr. McIntyre."  

The two faced off in court on January 11.  Olesen asserted that the 65-year-old had given her the earrings "in lieu of salary."  McIntyre countered that, "he simply let her wear them once, and that he never gave them to her."  The case was dismissed because there was no hard evidence against McIntyre.

photograph by Anthony Bellov

At the time, 58-year-old Dr. David Cory shared a first-floor apartment with a man identified only as "a Mr. Ryan."  The physician suffered with alcoholism.  Were his patients to discover that their doctor had a drinking problem, Cory's career would be ruined.  On July 30, 1901, police found him "in a state of alcoholic coma" on Fourth Avenue at 14th Street.  He was taken to the Belleville Hospital alcoholic ward where he said his name was "John Correy" and his contact was "Mrs. Ryan," at 126 East 12th Street.  He was released the next day.

On August 19, Dr. Cory was found drunk and unconscious again.  Once again he was taken to Belleville Hospital, but this time he died "less than thirty minutes after he was admitted," as reported by the New York Herald.  A reporter visited his apartment at The Schuchman, but "Mr. Ryan was not at home," said the New York Herald.

Justice John P. Schuchman retired from the City Court on January 1, 1902.  Two years later, on the evening of September 28, 1904, he returned home and "met a man on his way out.  The man was carrying the hall carpet on his back," reported The Evening World.  When Schuchman asked Edward Conner what he was doing, he responded that he was merely "taking the floor covering out to dust it."

Using street slang that he no doubt picked up during court cases, Judge Schuchman said, "I think that you intend to dust with the carpet."  ("To dust" meant to hurry off or flee.)  Schuchman attempted to detain Connor, but he "fought vigorously."  The uproar attracted Policeman Kepko who arrested the would-be carpet thief.  In court Connor confessed, "If I'd knowed a judge lived in the house I'd have passed it by.  I suppose I'll have to do me bit now."  (To "do one's bit" was to serve a jail sentence.)

The young bachelor Charles R. Buffalow lived here as early as 1905.  On February 25, 1907, he gave himself a dinner "on the anniversary of his 22d birthday," as worded by The New York Age.  The article said his twelve guests "were entertained in a most charming manner."  The lifestyles of The Schuchman residents were reflected in Buffalow's menu that evening.  The article listed the "relish course" as including oysters, blue points on the half shell, sherry and salted almonds.  For the soup course there was green turtle soup, deviled crabs, fish, and white wine.  The entree included roast filet beef, mushrooms, petit pols pommes and champagne; and asparagus vinaigrette was the salad course.  The dessert course was "biscuit tortoni and dematasse [sic] cordials."

John Schuchman rented an apartment on January 9, 1908.  He had, apparently, not thoroughly vetted his new tenant.  Schuchman arrived home three nights later to find police in the building.  "What is all this excitement about?" he asked.  "I am John Schuchman, formerly Justice of the City Court.  I own this apartment house and live upstairs."

To his surprise, Police Captain Shaw responded, "I am raiding a poolroom.  These men are prisoners."  (A poolroom was an illegal gambling operation.)  The New York Herald said, "The ex-Justice said he found it hard to realize that such a thing as a poolroom had got into his house."  

Among the prisoners were Dan O'Rourke, alias Diamond Dan, and George Wilson, alias Chick Trigger, both well-known Bowery figures.  The New York Herald said the police "found racing sheets and other things connected with the ponies" in the apartment.  

On May 2, 1908, The New York Sun reported that around 7:30 the previous evening John P. Schuchman was driving a runabout (a light buggy) on Lenox avenue.  Suddenly, "his horse took fright at an automobile near 117th street and dashed into a trolley car."  The impact was significant.  The article said that the horse "hit the car squarely amidship and the Judge was thrown through the side window of the car."  Astoundingly, Schuchman was catapulted through the trolley car window.  "He landed in the aisle, knocking over in his flight Ethel Douglas, 7 years old."  The New York Times remarked, "Mr. Schuchman's entrance caused a panic among the passengers."

The little girl was not injured, however Schuchman was removed from the trolly unconscious.  Shaken up, he was treated for cuts on his head, face and hands on the site.  His horse, sadly, broke a foreleg and had to be shot.

Later that year, John P. Schuchman moved back to Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany.  He died there in 1914. 

This turbulent corner carving is alive with writhing leaves and vines.  photograph by Anthony Bellov

The residents of The Schuchman continued to be professional.  Living here in 1914 was John B. Golden, a Democratic Assemblyman.  He sat on the assembly's committee of Codes and Public Education.

William Boland and his wife, Magdalen, lived here in the post-World War I years.  Born in 1843, Boland served in the Civil War.  In 1924, he was one of the last 300 surviving veterans of that war living in New York City.  During the city's Memorial Day parade on May 29 that year, "Those who had fought in the three wars within the generation's span shouldered guns again," said The New York Evening Post.

Despite his advanced age, William Boland marched with the Lloyd Aspinal Post.  In its extensive coverage of the military event, The New York Evening Post recounted a touching moment.  It said that when his unit reached the reviewing stand, "William Boland, eighty-one...looked searchingly around for a lavender hat.  The owner of that bonnet also was looking for him.  They spied each other at the same time."  The article continued:

Mrs. Magdalen Boland, her little hat bobbing clambered down from the stand as her husband stepped from the ranks.  They stood in front of the reviewing stand and kissed.  Then Boland ran to join his company.

By the Depression years, several of the tenants of 126 East 12th Street showed activist tendencies.  On September 28, 1935, two residents, 21-year-old William Castle and 22-year-old John Lamarr, were arrested as part of a mass demonstration.  The group, the National Students League, had been protesting a motion picture that, according to The New York Times, "shows a radical youth in an unfavorable light in comparison with a conservative American."

The 1936 Official Report of the Special Committee on Un-American Activities listed several residents of 126 East 12th Street as registered Communist Party members.

The arrest on March 6, 1937 by Federal agents of resident See Too, who operated a retail business, was shocking.  That afternoon, the freighter Taybank arrived in Brooklyn from Shanghai with crates consigned to See Too.  Customs officials "seized 600 tins of prepared smoking opium," reported The New York Times.  Agents said that the importance of the raid did not lay in the amount of the drug captured, "but in the fact that the raid had broken the link of a major smuggling ring with world-wide activities stretching from Shanghai to New York."

The New York Times reported, "The dark, chunky See Too sat in the outer room of headquarters of the special agents [and] at 5 o'clock last night he was still there, puffing on a long cigar, his face expressionless."

At around the time of See Too's arrest, the ground floor of 126 East 12th Street was given a coat of stucco.  

image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

A more drastic modernization came in the 1960s or 1970s when the intermediate and terminal cornices were removed.

The cornices were gone as early as 1980.  via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

Happily, a restoration initiated in 2017 included the installation of approximate replicas of the cornices, the removal of the ground floor covering, and the cleaning and repairing the masonry.

many thanks to historian Anthony Bellov for suggesting this post

The Peter R. Bonnett House - 6 East 12th Street

 

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Around 1846, two nearly identical, 25-foot-wide Greek Revival homes were completed at 154 and 156 Twelfth Street (renumbered 4 and 6 East 12th in 1855).  Similar to mansions erected on the north side of Washington Square a decade earlier, their wide stone stoops rose to handsome porticos supported by fluted columns with palm leaf capitals.  The floor-to-ceiling parlor windows were, most likely, fronted by cast iron balconies.  The encroaching Italianate style was reflected in a tiny detail--the foliate brackets that co-existed with the Greek Revival dentils of the cornices.

The eastern house was erected by Peter Riker Bonnett, a wealthy grocer whose operation was at 202 Front Street.  Born in 1801, he married 20-year-old Maria Saltonstall in August 1835.  The couple would have eight children: Charlotte Augusta, Louisa, Daniel (who died in 1843 at the age of four), Daniel Blake, Mary Jane, Lucretia Saltonstall, Charles Pierre, and John Bingham.

Sadly, the family had just settled into their new home when John died on May 21, 1846, just two months after his fourth birthday.  His little casket sat in the parlor until his funeral on Saturday afternoon, May 23.

Margaret Targee lived with the couple in the 1850s.  Born in 1814, she was the daughter of the well-known silversmith John Targee, who died in 1850.  Never married, it is unclear whether she boarded with the Bonnetts or was simply a close friend.  She died at the age of 45 on May 25, 1859 and her funeral was held here two days later.

Peter Bonnett died on September 4, 1871 at the age of 70.  Interestingly, his funeral was not held in the parlor, but in St. George's Church three days later.

Maria Bonnett left 6 East 12th Street in 1878.  She rented the house for two years to metal dealer George A. Crocker, starting that year.  Then, in 1881, Reverend Philip A. H. Brown, minister-in-charge of St. John's Chapel, leased the property.  He also sat on the executive committee of the New York Protestant Episcopal City Mission Society, which was listed here.

By 1885, Brown shared the house with the offices of the Young Women's Christian Association.  Its "industrial department" gave lessons on sewing, which provided them a means to earn a living.  On March 25, 1886, The Christian Union announced:

The Young Women's Christian Association, now at 6 East Twelfth Street, New York, has an industrial department, where sewing of all kinds is given out to competent workers who are compelled to be self-supporting.  Orders will be received by mail, materials as well as labor furnished.

The Evening Post, December 12, 1885 (copyright expired)

Operating from a residence quickly revealed its shortcomings.  On January 11, 1886, the officers of the Young Women's Christian Association met at the house of "Miss Stokes."  The New-York Tribune explained, "The meeting was held at a private house, as the accommodations of the rooms now occupied by the Association are too small for the officers and their friends."  The article continued, "All the classes connected with the institution have been given up this winter, as there is not room for them in the present quarters at No. 6 East Twelfth-st."

The association moved into new, larger accommodations and Reverend Brown remained here at least through 1890.  By 1895, Reverend Howard Duffeld of the nearby First Presbyterian Church occupied 6 East 12th Street.  The erudite clergyman was a member of the elite Century Association.

Reverend Duffeld left in 1896 and the house was next rented to the socially prominent Augusta Lovett Kingsland Jones.  Born in 1839, her husband, Herman LeRoy Jones died in 1880.  (The Jones family had been at the pinnacle of New York high society since the early 19th century and were reputedly the inspiration of the term, "keeping up with the Joneses.")  Living with Augusta was her son, Herman Jr., and her daughter and son-in-law, Mary Kingsland Jones and William Bradford, Jr.

That the Bradfords lived with Augusta is somewhat surprising.  Mary had wed Bradford in 1891 "without the knowledge of her mother," said the New-York Tribune.  When the extended family moved into 6 East 12th Street, the Bradfords' only son, William Jr., was three years old.

In what must have been an unwelcomed case of déjà vu for Augusta, on March 12, 1896, the New-York Tribune began an article saying, "Society was treated to a mild sensation yesterday by the announcement of the marriage of Mrs. Margaret Dunscombe Hone to Herman Leroy Jones."  The couple was married on February 16 and, according to Herman, they had told their families only a few days before the article.

Herman, assuredly, would have faced a confrontation had he informed his mother before marrying Margaret.  Although she had a sterling social pedigree, being the eldest child of former Mayor Philip Hone, she came with what many socialites would consider unforgiveable baggage.

Known to her friends as Rita, she married Archibald Kennedy Kearny Mackay in 1890.  The event was "one of the fashionable affairs of the winter season," according to the New-York Tribune.  Only weeks later, in May, she divorced him and within one or two days after the divorce was granted, she married an actor, Paul T. Wilkes.  In 1894, Rita divorced Wilkes and, as if society was not already sufficiently shocked, she "appeared on the stage under the name of Virginia Paul," as reported by the New-York Tribune.

The newlyweds moved into the East 12th Street mansion.  Having two Mrs. Herman Leroy Jones at the address caused some confusion.  Newspapers that reported on an incident that took place in the winter of 1899, for instance, did not distinguish which Mrs. Jones was involved.  

On December 7, the New York Herald reported that Mrs. Jones engaged a cab "to do some shopping."  The cabbie, John Downey, became frustrated with his female client.  The newspaper said, "after driving to half a dozen stores his actions became so disagreeable that Mrs. Jones called a policeman and caused his arrest."  The incident drew attention nationwide, partially because well-bred women went to lengths to keep their names out of newspapers for reasons other than social events.

The following day, The Chicago Tribune wrote, "Mrs. Herman Leroy-Jones, society woman, of 6 East Twelfth street...was courageous enough to appear today in the Jefferson Market Police Court."  The article revealed that Mrs. Jones was not only courageous, but sympathetic.  As she noticed tears running down Downey's checks, she paused by him.

"Please, ma'am," he said.  "Do be merciful.  It is the first time I have ever done such a thing, and it will be the last time, believe me, ma'am."

Mrs. Jones first turned to the magistrate and said, "He has been punished enough.  I will not prosecute him."  Then she turned back to Downey and said, "Now, here is the dollar I owe you.  Let this be a lesson to you and all cabmen who are rude to women."

On March 20, 1900, seven-year-old William Bradford Jr. died and, once again, a funeral was held in the parlor of 6 West 12th Street.

Although she provided a home to her children and their spouses and despite her personal wealth, it appears that Augusta Kingsland Jones intended that they stand on their own financial feet.  On January 14, 1903, The New York Times reported that Herman Leroy Jones, "a well-known society man," had filed for bankruptcy, "with liabilities of $87,965 and assets nominal."  (The debt would equal $3.2 million in 2026.)

At the time, the ladies' tailor Haas Brothers had been attempting to receive payment of his wife's bills.  Now with Jones in bankruptcy, the firm sued Margaret directly.  Mentioning that she lived in "the old Jones mansion," on December 15 The Evening World reported that Margaret "failed to appear for examination in supplementary proceedings to-day."  Her bill, which stretched back to 1897, would equal about $30,000 today.  The article commented, "The Herman Le Roy Joneses are conspicuous in fashionable society."

The pressure apparently took a toll, and Margaret suffered a breakdown.  She was committed to a sanitarium for nervous exhaustion until May 6, 1904.  The Evening World reported that upon her release, "She was under rigid restraint and surveillance in her mother-in-law's mansion, at No. 6 East Twelfth street...She was allowed to go nowhere without some member of her immediate family or a servant in her company."

Ten days after Margaret returned home, Herman thought a trip to the races would do her good.  And so, on the afternoon of May 16, 1904, the couple accompanied millionaire Robert L. Cutting to the races at Morris Park.  What Herman expected to be a pleasant afternoon turned to anything but when Margaret disappeared.

After the first race, Herman and Cutting left Margaret in their box to go to the betting ring.  When they returned, she was gone.  When she did not return after a considerable period, the two men became alarmed.  They searched the ground and the clubhouse and made repeated inquiries, but no one had seen her.  Finally giving up, Herman returned home around 6:00.

About half an hour later, a boy rang the bell with a note from Margaret, written on stationery of the Brevoort Hotel just four blocks away on Fifth Avenue.  In it, according to Robert Cutting, she "declared her intention of leaving her husband and working for her own living."  The two men rushed to the hotel, but the clerk said a woman matching Margaret's description had merely stopped in and used the writing room.

On May 26, Jones received information from a woman who lived in a 22nd Street boarding house that his wife was living there.  He and Cutting went there and examined the room and Jones recognized some of Margaret's clothing.  They waited in the parlor until she returned.  She arrived at about 6:00 that evening and Herman brought her back to 6 East 12th Street.  Neither he nor Cutting would discuss the incident.

The Joneses moved out in 1907 and on April 9 that year, The New York Times reported that the Bonnett Estate had leased the house to Samuel Medlin for five years.  By then, the Lower Fifth Avenue neighborhood had drastically changed as millionaires migrated northward and commerce invaded the once exclusive district.

Medlin converted the basement for commercial use.  In 1909, Morris F. Pfaelzer operated his fur business, M. F. Pfaelzer & Company, here.  He would remain here until 1913 when M. L. Weiss, "dealer in cornices and skylights," moved his operation in.

After being in the family for more than seven decades, on February 19, 1918, the New York Herald reported that Charles P. Bonnett had sold 6 East 12th Street to M. L. Weiss, "who occupies the lower floor of this building."  Weiss resold the house to Thomas Snell who leased it and the house next door at 4 East 12th Street to the Winifred Warren Company in 1919.  The New-York Tribune reported that the firm "will alter the houses into studio apartments."

Among the first tenants was Jessie Franklin Turner, a fashion designer, here in 1919.  Turner established workrooms and showrooms in both houses.  

An advertisement in the New-York Tribune on September 26, 1920, offered an available apartment in 6 East 12th Street: "Two large rooms with bath in Colonial house for studio or professional offices."

In 1925, Belfast-born poet Joseph Campbell and Michael Walsh established The School of Irish Studies in the building.  Among the initial courses it offered were the "History of Ireland from the Earliest Times to the Latest Developments," and "Irish Literature from the Ancient Hero-Tales to Post-James Joyce."  It additionally presented lectures on Irish history, language, literature and art.  It would operate here through 1927.

The canopy of the Blue Heaven Restaurant that resulted from the 1936 renovation can be seen in this 1940 photograph.  via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

An renovation by architect Hans C. Volz in 1936 resulted in a restaurant, the Blue Heaven, in the basement and one apartment per floor on the upper portion.  It was likely during this remodeling that the upper floor windows were enlarged.  The configuration lasted until 1945 when the basement was converted to an apartment.

The ever-changing basement became the Peridot Gallery, headed by Lou Pollack in 1949.  (It was likely during this renovation that the stoop was removed.)  The gallery featured avant-garde and Abstract Expressionist art.  In the 1960s, writer Robert Phelps and his artist wife Rosemarie Beck occupied an apartment here.  An Abstract Expressionist, Beck's works likely appeared in the gallery downstairs.

The top floor windows would have originally be squat, matching those of No. 4 next door.

The basement level was renovated again in 2009 when it became part of a duplex apartment with the parlor level.  

photographs by the author

Albert Wagner's 1896 37 East 12th Street

 

In 1895, the old building at 37 East 12th Street underwent a flurry of sales.  Emil Bloch purchased it from John W. Condit "for a sum less than $150,000," according to the Real Estate Record & Guide.  Shortly afterward, on October 11, he resold it to Jacob Hirsh, "for improvement."  And a month later, Hirsh sold the property to architect and builder Albert Wagner.  On November 30 the Record & Guide reported that Wagner "will improve the plot by erecting an eight or nine-story modern business structure."

Wagner was already responsible for many mercantile and loft buildings throughout the city.  For this eight-story structure, he turned to the Italian Renaissance for inspiration.  The two-story base was clad in cast iron and encrusted with intricate arabesques.  

Wagner used terra cotta to lavishly embellish the upper floors.  The three-story mid-section featured a centered, full-height, engaged Ionic column.  A complex band framed this area, which was flanked by two pairs of three-story, barley twisted colonettes.  The dramatic treatment of the top three floors included shell-carved pediments supported by Corinthian columns at the sixth floor, and an arcade of deep-set windows at the eighth.

The building was completed by December 1896 and it filled with garment manufacturers.  Among the first was Henry Cohen & Co., makers of ladies' silk waists, or shirtwaists.

In March 1902 Fromberg & Goldstein moved in, doing business as the newly-formed Fashion Cloak and Suit Company.  It was not long before the fledgling firm was in trouble.   In September Siegel Brothers had not been paid for 13 pieces of cloth, valued at $233 and filed a complaint.  But, according to The New York Times on September 12, when Assistant Deputy Mayforth went to the factory, he "found it closed, and was informed that it had been cleaned out on Saturday last."

The firm's creditors did not wait for authorities to find the missing owners.  The Fur Trade Review reported, "On September 18 a petition in involuntary bankruptcy was filed against the concern."

In the meantime, other apparel firms fared much better.  Operating from the building at the time was Edelman Bros., makers of "misses' and children's cloaks and suits."  In its January 1904 issue, Cloaks and Furs remarked, "Every season they turn out many new and exclusive styles for the young folks which make 'hits.'"

Cloaks & Furs, January 1904 (copyright expired)

Other apparel-related tenants were cloak manufacturer Moses Natelson; Horwitz & Goodman; A. Lehman & Co., makers of tailored suits; and La Mode Skirt Co.  

A. Lehman & Co. catered to the carriage trade.  An advertisement on September 9, 1908 touted its "Exceptionally attractive Designs made in the latest Fall models.  Critically correct to your measure."  The prices ranged from $15 to $35--the more expensive equal to about $1,000 today.

During the 1910's the building was home to D. Kaplan, makers of shirtwaists.  The firm employed two men and 26 women.  Other tenants were Nelson and Ladin, another shirtwaist manufacturer; A. Ratkowsky, "medium-priced furs;" and Kurshan Bros., importers of "venetians" (worsted fabrics used in suits, coats and dresses).  

The Depression years saw a change in the tenant list.  While at least one garment firm, Benjamin Margolis, maker of pajamas and blouses, moved in in 1931, a variety of industries were now represented.  That same year the Crown Footstool Corporation leased a floor.  They were joined by the Joy Packaging Co., Inc., which sold and distributed candy.

Most notable, however, was the Communist-based The Workers School Forum, which leased space on the second floor by 1932.  

from the Daily Workers, October 8, 1932

A tenant with a similar political bent, the newspaper L'Unita Oberaia, set up its operation here in 1935.   The two-year old publication was run, according to The Daily Worker on February 7, by "revolutionary Italian workers."  The article explained...

this Italian language newspaper has conducted the most relentless struggle against the penetration of Italian fascist propaganda and against the persecution of Italian workers in this country by the agents of Mussolini.  It has been the best guide of the Italian workers in all their daily struggles against the attacks of capitalism upon their standard of living and against the deportation weapon of the bosses.

The newspaper did not go unnoticed by the Federal Government.  The Massachusetts House Committee on Un-American Activities report of 1938 described it as "An Italian monthly which the Communist Party admits is under Communist influence."

Other tenants were decidedly less political, like the Clyde Furniture Co., here at the same time.  After mid-century the Acme Bulletin & Directory Board Corp. leased space in the building.

But the last quarter of the century saw significant change in the district, and around 1975 the Kenshire Galleries moved in.  In its December 7, 1987 issue, New York Magazine mentioned that "Nineteenth-century Italian gilt armchairs, $6,000 a pair, and an antique French Aubusson fire screen, $2,200," were available here.  The upscale store remained until around 2015.

In February 2015, The New York Times journalist Vivlian Marino reported on Edward J. Minskoff's upcoming conversion of 37 East 12th Street to residential space.  The president and founder of Edward J. Minskoff Equities, he announced that there would be just six units, pointing out "the room sizes are big and the ceiling heights range from 13 to 16 feet."

The renovation, which was completed in 2016, resulted in one apartment per floor from the second through sixth, and a four-bedroom duplex on the top two floors.  A three-bedroom, two-story maisonette (called The Townhouse by realtors) has a private entrance on the ground floor.

Albert Wagner's striking facade remains unchanged and is worth a pause to adequately appreciate.

photographs by the author

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The Joseph Tuckerman House - 2 East 12th Street

 

Only traces of the elegance of the former mansion survive today.

Joseph Tuckerman, Jr. was described by The Biographical Dictionary of America as "a millionaire of Newport, Massachusetts."  He descended from an old New England family.  The first John Tuckerman arrived in Boston from England in 1650.  Joseph's father, who died in 1840, was an eminent clergyman and author.  

In addition to the Newport estate, Tuckerman owned 2 East 12th Street in Manhattan.  Situated steps from Fifth Avenue and two blocks south of the mansion-lined Union Square, the 25-foot wide residence sat within an exclusive residential neighborhood.   Three stories tall above an English basement, its Italianate design included fully arched openings and a three-sided parlor floor bay.  Most likely the attic level took the form of a mansard with dormers.  Behind it, a private stable faced East 11th Street.

Tuckerman was married to the former Lucy Keating Tuckerman, sister of diplomat and author Charles Keating Tuckerman, and of writer and critic Henry Theodore Tuckerman.  The couple had one son, Ernest Paul Rene.  As was the case with all high society families, the society columns followed their movements.  On August 18, 1866, for instance, The New York Times announced that the Tuckerman family had sailed for Liverpool on the steamship Persia the previous day.

In the early 1860's, as Ernest reached adulthood, he and his father were both members of the exclusive Union League Club.  He studied art and in was listed in directories as "artist."  His passion extended to collecting, as well.  In 1862, for instance, he purchased Gilbert Stuart's portrait of Sarah Wentworth Apthorp Morton from Stuart's widow, Jane.

Ernest Tuckerman painted The Tomb of Sidi Abderrahman Alger in 1878.  image via fineartamerica.com

Ernest moved to France in 1868 where, according to The Biographical Dictionary of America, he became "a well-known artist in Paris."  That same year his parents moved permanently to Newport.

Tuckerman sold 2 East 12th Street to attorney Henry Austin Tailer and his wife, the former Sophia Clapham Pennington.  The couple had five children, Edward Loring, Sophia Pennington, Emily Erving, Henry Pennington, and James B.  

Born in 1833, Tailer graduated from Columbia College in 1852, then continued his education at the Universities of Bonn and Heidelberg.   By the time he purchased the Tuckerman house he was a partner in the law firm of Eaton, Davis & Tailer and a director in several banks and corporations.  The New York Times said he was "a staunch friend of the public schools, for the welfare of which he devoted much thought and labor."  He was a trustee of the public schools for years.

Early in 1878 Henry Tailor fell ill and he died on March 15, 1878.   Sophia and the children remained in the East 12th Street residence.

In 1889 Sophia turned her attentions to daughter Sophia's coming out.  On the evening of December 22 she gave "a small dance," according to The Evening Telegram, in the house.  

Two years later Sophia's social plate was more than full.  On November 1, 1891 The Sentinel wrote, "There are to be no fewer than three weddings in the same family in the short space of three months...as the wedding of Mr. Henry P. Tailer, son of Mrs. Henry A. Tailer, and Miss Clara Wright, of Hempstead, is to take place early in June."

The weddings were actually a bit more spaced out than three months.   On April 22, 1892 The Press reported, "Miss Emily Langdon Erving, daughter of Mrs. Henry A. Tailer, and Dr. Valentine Mott were married yesterday afternoon at St. George's Church."  (Emily's groom should not be confused with the more famous Dr. Valentine Mott, who died in 1865.)

Although Emily left East 12th Street following her marriage, the population of the Tailer residence was not diminished.  Henry and and his bride moved into the house with Sophia and his sister and brother.

For the summer season of 1892 Sophia leased a home in Roslyn, Long Island.  The Evening World said "she, with her daughter, Miss Sophia, is residing in the Parke Godwin mansion."  Around 2 a.m. on August 18 Sophia was awakened by a noise in her bedroom.  In the dark she could make out the form of a man standing by her dressing table.

"Mrs. Tailer screamed and the intruder escaped as he had entered, by way of a window opening out on the veranda," reported The Evening World.  "The burglar had stripped the jewel cushion, but a valuable solitaire ring had rolled off the table and been overlooked."  Despite not losing her ring, Sophia lost $2,000 in jewelry--around $57,800 in today's money.

Roslyn, Long Island would also be where Henry Pennington Tailer and Clara erected their country estate, Caprice.  He had graduated from private schools and entered the banking firm of Vermilyea & Company.  The couple had two children, William Hallet, born in 1895, and May Wright, born on January 31, 1899.

On January 17, 1896 The New York Times reported, "One of the largest weddings of the mid-Winter season took place in Grace Protestant Episcopal Church yesterday afternoon...when Miss Sophia Pennington Tailer, a daughter of Mrs. Henry A. Tailor of 2 East Twelfth Street, was married to S. Breck Parkman Trowbridge."  The article noted, "There was a small reception at the home of the bride's mother after the church ceremony."

Samuel Breck Parkman Trowbridge traced his impressive English lineage to the 16^th century Peter de Trowbridge.  Born in New York City, the architect had studied at Trinity College, Columbia University’s School of Architecture, the School of Classical Studies in Athens, and the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, graduating from that school in 1890.  

At the time of the wedding, all of the Tailer brothers still shared the East 12th Street house with their mother.  Although her children all had country homes, beginning around 1902 Sophia preferred to spend her summers at Richfield Springs, New York, in a fashionable resort hotel.

It seems that the family worried about their aging mother's independent spirit.  In September 1909, as the summer season drew to a close, The Richfield Springs Mercury reported, "J. B. Tailer, of New York, arrived at the Berkeley-Waiontha [Hotel] Thursday morning.  Mr. Tailer came to accompany his mother, Mrs. Henry A. Tailer, on her return to New York last evening.  Mrs. Tailer has been at the Berkeley-Waiontha throughout the greater part of the season."

The following year, on October 18, 1910, Sophia died at the age of 73.  Her funeral was held in the 12th Street home.  

On January 22, 1918, Henry Pennington Tailer died at his Roslyn summer home.  Somewhat ironically, the townhouse had been sold just a week earlier to John Fogliasso.  In reporting the sale the Real Estate Record & Guide noted that the house had been in the family "for several generations."  The article added, "The new owner will convert the property into studio apartments."

Fogliasso hired architect Frank E. Vitolo to renovate the former mansion.  The stoop was removed and the entrance moved to the basement level, the cornice eliminated, and the attic raised to a full story.

The apartments were upscale, as evidenced by two new tenants in the summer of 1921, Baron Grivot de Grandcourt and his wife.  While serving in the British army during World War I, the baron had contacted "trench fever," a louse-born disease rampant amount troops.  He was taken to a private hospital in London run by an American socialite.  Volunteering there was Patricia O'Connor, who had given up her stage career to become a nurse at the outbreak of the war.

Baron de Grandcourt later told a reporter, "While convalescing I met Miss O'Connor...On being transferred to another hospital in the country I asked that she might attend me and the request was granted."  The titled soldier and his nurse were married in December 1917.

Now the allure of the footlights drew Patricia O'Connor back to New York.  The New York Herald quoted the baron on August 24, 1921: "My wife, being anxious to resume her career on the stage, accepted an engagement in 'Aphrodite.'  While she is here I will remain in New York and continue my literary work."

Decades later another well-known English native lived at 2 East 12th Street.  After recovering from tuberculosis, Gladys M. Park had gone into nursing.  In 1926 she became associated with the New York Tuberculosis and Health Association, eventually rising to the position of director.   She retired in 1965 and died at the age of 80 on October 23, 1972 while living here.

The 1918 renovations made 2 East 12th Street, once the home of two of the wealthiest and most prominent families in New York City, easily overlooked and as easily dismissed.

photographs by the author

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The 1873 French Flats at 15 East 12th Street

 

In 1873 a high stoop rose to what is today a centered window above the store.

Maria Titus owned the 25-foot wide house at 15 East 12th Street in 1870.  It sat within a fashionable neighborhood, just two blocks south of Union Square and half a block from Fifth Avenue.  On April 28 that year she sold the "elegant residence" to Thomas O'Connor for $18,000.  (The price would equal about $368,000 today.)  O'Connor renovated it into a French flat.  The term was used to differentiate upscale apartment houses--still viewed skeptically by most families--from tenement buildings.

The stoop was moved to the center of the building and stores installed on either side at ground level.  Stylish neo-Grec stone lintels now graced the openings.  The date of construction was announced within the pediment of the pressed metal cornice.

There were just three apartments in the building--one per floor.  O'Connor and his wife moved into one of them.  The suites were large enough for one tenant to sublet part of theirs.  An advertisement in the New York Herald on April 13, 1874 offered details of the apartments:

To Let--Part of a French Flat (four rooms) unfurnished, with use of kitchen, range, hot and cold water, washtubs, privilege of bath, water closet, elevator and all conveniences to a gentleman and wife; rent $35 per month; only one other family of two in the house, with other.

One of the ground floor spaces was initially leased to a grocery store.  Although it went out of business in the spring of 1874, it was immediately replaced by another.

On April 4, 1887 O'Connor sold the property to Katharine Best Prochazka for $30,500.   Born in Hessen, German in 1829, the widow had three grown sons, George, Ferdinand and John.  At least one of them, Ferdinand, shared the owner's apartment with his mother.

The Prochazka brothers were an interesting bunch.  George A. Prochazka was born in 1855 and at the age of just 12 studied chemistry in Germany.  He earned his Ph.D at the University of Heidelberg in 1874.  In 1881 George joined the dyestuff maker Heller & Merz and four years later married Henry Merz's daughter, Emilie.

John Prochazka also studied chemistry in Germany, while Ferdinand turned his attention to architecture, specializing in monument design.  His firm, Hoffman & Prochazka, moved its offices into one of the commercial spaces in 15 East 12th Street.  (Family ties briefly pulled Ferdinand away from monument design in 1889.  When his mother erected a water tank on the roof that year, the plans noted, "architect, F. Prochazka.")

Katharine's tenants were professional, like decorator Paul Sarazin  and his wife, who were among the original 1873 tenants.  The New York Times said that he lead "a quiet, orderly life and seem[ed] to have all the work he needed to live comfortably.  In 1888 Sarazin's wife fell ill.  Her condition deteriorated until he neglected his commissions so he could take care of her.  "The effort ran him down and got him into debt," explained The New York Times.

Sarazin's devotion to his wife took such a toll that soon after she was taken to the French Hospital, he, too, was admitted.  His wife died in the hospital and although he recovered and was released, his spirit was drained.  The New York Times reported, "Having no family and almost friendless he seemed to lose interest in affairs.  He spurred himself to sufficient energy, however, to clear off his debts, but his neighbors saw less and less of him.  From having been strong and industrious he became sickly and indifferent."

Sarazin mostly stayed in his apartment.  Other than going out to buy food and other necessities, he showed little interest in anything, including his work.  He walked out of the East 12th Street building on September 28, 1889 and never returned.  A week later The New York Times reported, "Since his disappearance Ferdinand Prochazka, the architect, whose mother owns the house, has tried to find him, but without success."  Ferdinand told reporters Sarazin possibly wandered off, "possibly finding shelter, but more likely in want, as he could not make himself understood in English, and, even if demented, his pride would probably restrain him from seeking alms."  The New York Times concluded its article saying, "If he may have died Mr. Prochazka would like to know that fact."  (It does not appear the decorator was ever found.)

Thomas O'Connor proudly placed the date of his renovations above the neo-Grec style cornice.

Another tragic tenant was John Townsend, who arrived from England around 1891 and took the third floor apartment.   He had brought $3,000 with him to start his new life--a comfortable $88,000 in today's money).  But instead of finding a career, according to The Evening Post on October 28, 1892, "Townsend played the races."  The newspaper said he had squandered his entire savings.

When he was not heard from for several days, a friend went to the 12th Street building and Katharine Prochazka opened his door with her passkey.  The Standard Union reported, "Too proud to appeal to his friends for help, John Townsend, a young New York sporting man, would have died in his boarding house had he not been accidentally discovered by one of his former associates.  He was dangerously sick with peritonitis, hungry and without medicine to relieve his intense suffering."  He was taken to St. Vincent's Hospital where his condition was reported as serious.

In 1892 the grocery store closed and the space was taken by the New York office of British publisher Ward, Lock & Bowden.  In 1895 the firm began publishing Windsor Magazine, as well.

The New York Sun, April 18, 1896 (copyright expired)

The size of the commodious apartments was revealed in an advertisement in 1901:  "Nine rooms; rent $45; only three families in house."  The rent would equal about $1,400 today.

Katherine Prochazka died on November 13, 1904.  The East 12th Street property was inherited equally by her three sons.  Within the year, in August 1905, Ferdinand transferred his one-third share to his brothers (who, incidentally, had founded the Central Dyestuff and Chemical Company of Newark in 1898).

Ferdinand cut ties with his former partner before the year's end.  On January 1906 The Reporter announced "Ferdinand Prochazka has purchased his partner's interest in the firm of Hoffman & Prochazka and will continue it alone under the name of Ferdinand Prochazka Monument Architect."  He moved his office out of 15 East 12th Street.

The former upscale apartment building was converted to lofts.  Space was leased in August 1905 to the Bach Fur Company for a term of six years.  The firm obtained a license "to scrape and store skins" in the space.  

A. A. Vantine & Co.'s "The Oriental Store" took another space.  Exotic gifts like Chinese porcelains, Japanese tea sets, Turkish rugs and lacquered ware, described as "Oriental delicacies," were sold here.    The Oriental Store moved to Union Square in 1912, and the space became home to Swiss Colours Company.  The dyestuff firm was most likely well known to their landlords, the Prochazka brothers.

In 1933 the building was renovated.  It was probably at this time that the stoop was removed.  There was now a single store on the first floor and apartments above.  A another remodeling completed in 1955 resulted in a luncheonette on the ground floor and two apartments each on the upper floors.

That configuration lasted until 1993 when the store became home to the Marquet Patisserie, the second floor was converted to offices, and there were now just one apartment each on the third and fourth floors.

Lynne and Jean-Pierre Guillot had opened the original Marquet Patisserie in Brooklyn several years earlier.  Florence Fabricant advised in The New York Times on January 13, 1993, "The new shop sells the fine French pastries and breads made in the Brooklyn store.  The bright, airy but narrow shop has a few temporary tables in front and back."  The café operated in the space into the early 21st century.

In 2017 Villanelle opened.  Once again Florence Fabricant reported on the opening, saying the restaurant's proximity to the Union Square Greenmarket was convenient for executive chef Nick Licata, "given his vegetable-forward menu."

photographs by the author

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