The David and Emily Kearr House - 397 Manhattan Avenue

 

Real estate developer Edward Cunningham purchased the western blockfront of New Avenue (renamed Manhattan Avenue the following year) between 116th and 117th Streets from John M. Pinkney in February 1886.  A partner in the contracting firm of Cunningham & Henderson, he seems to have acted as his own architect in filling the plots with 11 three-story houses before the year was out.  A medley of Queen Anne designs, the houses--some faced in brick, some in brownstone, and others in both--created a charming streetscape.

No. 397 Manhattan Avenue was faced in brownstone at the basement and parlor levels.  Beefy cast iron newels and railings flanked the stoop, which led to the double-doored entrance beneath a generous transom and intricate carvings.  The paired parlor windows sat within an arch, its transom filled with colorful stained glass.  The upper two floors, outlined in stone quoins, were clad in brick.  Additional quoins framed the second floor windows and their carved panels above.  A pressed metal cornice with a fanciful fascia completed the design.

The house was sold to newlyweds David Kearr and the former Emeline Irene Russell.  Kearr was a butcher and real estate operator who had previously lived in Islip, Long Island.  He had operated a butcher stand in the Washington Market since 1859.  The couple was married on June 23, 1887.

They were not in the Manhattan Avenue house long before scandal arose.  On July 25, 1888, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported that Jennie Scammel had sued Kearr for $100,000.  Her suit maintained that between 1885 and 1886 he had promised to marry her and "that relying on such promises she consented to live with him in his home at Islip, and that there her child was born."  

Additionally, she accused him of physical abuse, including an incident on August 30, 1887 when, according to The Evening World, he "assaulted her and threatened to cut her throat."  In addition to the breach of promise amount, she requested an additional $115,000--$5,000 for each assault.  (The damages would total more than $7 million in 2024 terms.)  The Brooklyn Daily Eagle commented, "Whether Kearr is able to pay a tenth of that sum does not appear."

The readers of newspapers across the country who followed the story for weeks were even more titillated when a second breach of promise suit was filed in February 1889.  This one, filed by Margaret Louise Williams, was even more startling.  Margaret was the sister of Kearr's first wife, and at the age of 15 "she was led astray" when Kearr began "an intimacy with her that extended over a number of years."  When his wife died, she claimed, he promised to marry her and they lived together.  She told the court on February 11, 1889 that she discovered love letters from Jennie Scammel and he promised to give Jennie up.  Margaret's suit asked for $100,000 damages, but she was awarded $3,500--about $120,000 today.

Through it all Emily remained with her husband.  In the meantime, the case brought by Jennie Scammel dragged on for months.  Although the Kearrs retained possession of the Manhattan Avenue house, they quickly moved out.  

Their tenant, Conrad Schlotterer, also brought notoriety to the address.  The volatile bachelor went through "a long succession of...housekeepers," according to The Star on March 23, 1889, "nearly all of whom have had trouble with him before retiring from his household."

The day before the article, his latest housekeeper, Amelia Hagan, had accused him in court of assault.  She sought $1,000 in damages.  She testified, 

I was his housekeeper.  On October 15 he called me names, struck me and told me to get out.  I said I'd go when he paid me my wages.  He struck me with his hand, took hold of me and threw me out of the room, then tried to throw me down stairs.  I cried for help and he struck me again, put his hand on my mouth and threw me against the wall.  I then went to my room and he ordered me to leave there, saying that it was his.  He again put me out.  Then I went to a house of a lady friend.

Another servant, Maria Alberts, was brave enough to testify on Amelia Hagan's behalf.  Schlotterer was found guilty and fined $50.  Amelia Hagan was not awarded any damages.

The names of the Kearrs' tenants continued to appear in newspapers for legal troubles.  The widowed mother of George W. Bloomfield followed Schlotterer in the house.  Upon the death of her husband in 1891, Mrs. Bloomfield inherited "about a million dollars," according to The Sun.

On November 14, 1892 she answered the door to find her son and his wife, Caroline, there.  Caroline said (according to George), "I won't bother him any longer.  You take care of him."  The two had been married for about ten years.  In 1891 George suffered "paralysis" (possibly the result of a stroke) and had "almost completely lost the use of his right side," according to The Evening World.   They lived nearby at 313 West 116th Street.  

In December 1893, Caroline sued for legal separation and temporary alimony.  She denied that she had taken George to his mother's house, and said, instead, that he "deserted her and went to live with his mother at 397 Manhattan Avenue."  George protested that Caroline grew tired of caring for him since his affliction.  He added that he could not pay, saying, "all the money he has is $10 a week allowance from his mother."  The Evening World reported, "He says he pays $5 a week of his allowance for board."

In 1941, while the house was operated as a rooming house, the stained glass and original stoop newels survived.  image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

Finally, in 1902, a Kearrs' tenant appeared in newsprint for noncontentious reasons.  On March 9, the New York Herald reported, "Thirty of the friends of Miss Grace Halleck, of No. 397 Manhattan avenue, were present yesterday afternoon at an enjoyable musical tea which she gave from three until six o'clock.  The decorations were in white and green."

Around 1905, Dudley Returned Horton and his wife, the former Florence Cromwell, leased the house.  The couple was married on October 17, 1903.  Horton had four children from a former marriage, Fannie C., Florence E., Dudley, Jr., and Cromwell S.

Horton was born in New York City on December 17, 1854 and studied under a private tutor before entering Cornell University.  He graduated from Columbia Law School in 1879 and was admitted to the United States Supreme Court on May 28, 1900.  The family remained here through 1909, when Emily Kearr leased the house to "a Mrs. Goldie," according to The Evening Post on August 28.

After David and Emily Kearrs' deaths, their estate continued to manage and lease 397 Manhattan Avenue for years.  Although it was operated as a rooming house by the World War II years, it was never divided into apartments.   Still a single-family home, at some point the stained glass transom in the parlor was removed and the robust stoop newels replaced.

photographs by the author

Edward Cunningham's 1886 395 Manhattan Avenue

 

In 1886, developer and architect Edward Cunningham purchased the vacant lots on the western side of New Avenue (renamed Manhattan Avenue the following year), between 116th and 117th Streets.  A partner in the construction firm Cunningham & Henderson, in April that year he filed plans for 11 houses along the avenue and three others on West 116th Street.  The project, according to the Record & Guide, would cost $135,000 to erect, or just over $4.5 million in 2024.

Similar to the houses of developer-builder-architect William J. Merritt being erected in the district at the time, Cunningham's row was a harmonious row of Queen Anne style homes--each a bit different from the other.  Among them was  the brownstone-faced 395 Manhattan Avenue.  Three stories tall above a rough-cut stone basement level, the cast iron stoop railing with urn-shaped balusters descended to beefy newels.

The parlor floor openings were framed by quoins and topped with Renaissance inspired, rounded pediments.  Cunningham gave the second floor windows graceful, scalloped lintels, and paired the top floor openings with a shared frame and single molded cornice.

Cunningham put the titles to the homes in the name of his wife, Jane.  The couple initially leased 395 Manhattan Avenue.  In June 1893, Jane sold the property to real estate operator Robert Black.  He, too, leased the house before selling it in 1906 to Solomon Schinasi, who had begun buying up houses along the row.  Among his initial tenants were the Thompson family.  Gertrude Thompson died here on October 25, 1908.

On August 28, 1910, Schinasi advertised 395 Manhattan Avenue for lease again.  The rent was listed at $75--an affordable $2,500 per month by today's terms.

Three years later, The Sun reported that Schinasi had sold 395 Manhattan Avenue to Wilhelmina Walther, noting, "This is the third house sold of a row of six lately taken in exchange from Solomon Schinasi."  Walther, like all of the owners to date, was a real estate operator.  She continued leasing the house until selling it in June 1918 to Ezekiel Fixman.  In reporting the sale, the New-York Tribune described the house as "a three-story flat," reflecting its operation as unofficial apartments.

Living here in 1929 was Mary Marcus, who did bacteriological research for Dr. Joseph L. Wathick.  On October 25, 1930, he described Mary in a letter to Agnes H. Brock saying, "Her personal character is beyond reproach.  She is reliable, ethical, honest and of good habits; zealously guarding her reputation."

Dr. Wathick's letter was a result of a tangled legal case in which Mary Marcus had become embroiled.  (Agnes H. Brock was a probation officer.)  In 1930, Mary bought a dress and as she left the store, was arrested by store detectives who testified they did not see her purchase anything.  Her attorney argued, "There is no argument but she bought it that day; she paid for it.  She couldn't have walked out with this dress.  That in itself shows that there is a contradiction in the testimony of the Officers."  Nevertheless, Mary was convicted of shoplifting and her employer's letter attesting to her character was important in her appeal.

Interestingly, while the Harlem neighborhood by now had morphed into the center of Manhattan's black community, one tenant of 395 Manhattan Avenue around this time was an Irish immigrant.  Patrick O'Neill was born in Ireland in 1850.  According to the Mount Vernon, New York newspaper the Daily Argus, O'Neill first had returned to Ireland in 1900 when he retired as a sergeant in the U.S. Army.  After that trip, he returned to his native land every summer.

The substantial cast iron stoop newels survived in 1941.  image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

In August 1938, O'Neill was enjoying his 38th trip to Ireland.  He was scheduled to return to New York on the President Harding on August 20, but a few hours before boarding he suffered a fatal heart attack.  The 88-year-old's body was placed on the liner Manhattan a week later.  The Daily Argus reported, "It is understood that a United States Army escort would receive the body at Governor's Island."

Benjamin F. Thomas married Ann E. Branson on December 23, 1943.  The newlyweds moved into 395 Manhattan Avenue.  Ann, who was the widow of H. J. Branson, was "very active in the social activities of the community," according to the New York Age.  Thomas was prominent in the Harlem community.  The former proprietor of the Hotel Maceo and the Broadway Auto School, he was one of New York State's first automobile inspectors.  He was, as well, treasurer of the Harlem Children's Fresh Air Fund and a director of the Association of Trade and Commerce.

The 18-foot-wide house has never officially been converted to apartments.  Nevertheless, there are three rental units in the building today.  Externally, (other than the loss of the stoop newels) the house is little changed after nearly 140 years.

photographs by the author

Edward Cunningham's 1886 385 Manhattan Avenue

 

In February 1886, John M. Pinkney sold the vacant lots that made up the western blockfront of New Avenue (renamed Manhattan Avenue the following year) between 116th and 117th Street to developer Edward Cunningham.  Cunningham was also a partner in the contracting firm of Cunningham & Henderson, and appears to have acted as his own architect.  Before the year was out, he had filled the block with 11 three-story homes.  A medley of Queen Anne designs, the houses--some faced in brick, some in brownstone, and others in both--created a charming streetscape.

The parlor level facades of the mirror-image houses that anchored the corners were clad in brownstone.  Stone quoins framed the openings and ran up the corners.  Large arched openings with stained glass transoms faced the avenue and side street, and decorative chimney backs carried on the Queen Anne motif.

The original appearance of 385 Manhattan Avenue can be seen in its mirror-image on the opposite corner at 405 Manhattan Avenue.  image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services

Rudolph and Minnie L. Schneider purchased 365 Manhattan Avenue in 1887.  The couple operated a "brewers' materials" business at 211 East 94th Street under the name M. L. Schneider.  The Schneiders sold the building on January 29, 1904 to William Levers.

It is unclear whether Levers ever moved into the house or merely rented it.  In 1905 and '06, Eugene Bernstein listed his address here.  A German immigrant, he was an active member of the Tonkünstler Society, a German musical group.

Lever sold 365 Manhattan Avenue to Solomon Schinasi in May 1906.  Schinasi converted the parlor level for commercial use and created a second residential entrance around the corner at 355 West 116th Street.  The upper floors were adapted for apartments.  

In 1915, the shop space was leased to Drs. William Boehm and John Luks, who opened the Harlem Health Institute.  A notice in The Columbia Spectator on April 7 that year described the facility as "an institution of interest to all Columbia University students in need of health-baths of all kinds."  Among the services offered were "scientific massage, corrective gymnastics, and physical culture in all its branches--(X-Ray and all modern Electrical apparatus used)."  The institute remained through 1917.

An advertisement in 1921 offered furnished or unfurnished apartments.  It read, "Large rooms, kitchen, shower bath; parquet floor; electricity, gas included; or furnished; reasonable."

Not all the residents of 385 Manhattan Avenue during the Depression years were law-abiding.  Carl Taylor lived here in 1936 when his criminal endeavors nearly cost him his life.  On July 21, the Elmhurst, New York Daily Register reported,  "Captured after a wild chase in which shots were fired, Carl Taylor, 34, a negro of 385 Manhattan avenue, Manhattan is in St. John's Hospital today suffering from bullet wounds received when he was pursued by Newtown police early this morning after the attempted burglary of a Jackson Heights apartment."

Born in Virginia around 1868, Thomas Lyman lived here in 1940.  Crowded into the apartment with him were his 39-year-old daughter, Ellen Ash, and her three teenaged children, Vivian, Robert and Alfred.

At the time, the store was occupied by the grocery of brothers Louis and Michael Ronan.  On the afternoon of December 28, 1946, Harrison Wilson, James Lewis and Leonard Lappeire barged into the store brandishing handguns.  The young men (Wilson and Lappeire were both 22, and Lewis was 26), were dangerous and had committed ten armed robberies within the past month.  During one of the heists alone--at the Club Car at 924 Fifth Avenue--they made off with "cash, furs and jewelry with a total value of $9,100," according to The Sun.  (The Club Car was a private night club within the former mansion of George Henry Warren.) 

The hoodlums were not expecting this caper to be any different from their others.  But, as reported by The Sun, "Michael [Ronan] obeyed the 'stick 'em up' command, but Louis ducked under a counter and grabbed a gun."  A shoot-out commenced during which Ronan wounded one of the would-be robbers in the hand.  In the meantime, a passerby saw what was going on and notified two policemen.  They captured Harrison Wilson, the injured man, as he was exiting the store.  The others were tracked down within 24 hours.

A grocery store occupied the shop space in 1941.   image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services

It may have been the harrowing incident that prompted the Ronan brothers to leave 365 Manhattan Avenue.  The following year the store was home to Miguel Aviles's delicatessen.

Beulah Brown lived here in 1963 and worked in the Hotel Ebony on West 112th Street.  She became a key witness in the capture of a serial murderer that year.  James Foster was a 36-year-old trucker's helper who would later admit that he had "nursed a grudge against all women for the past 21 years," according to The Record of Hackensack, New Jersey.  Within a two-week period beginning at the end of April, he strangled three women to death in Harlem hotels, and on the morning of May 12 strangled a 15-year-old girl in her mother's home.  That night, detectives broke into a room in the Hotel Ebony where Foster had just registered with another women.  The raid no doubt saved that woman's life.

A year later Foster went to trial.  On April 25, 1964, the New York Amsterdam News reported, "During the two-week trial, Foster was identified by Mrs. Katherine Owens of 150 West 140th St., and Mrs. Beulah Brown of 385 Manhattan Ave., as the man who registered with Miss Lewis."

Around 2009, a second store was carved into the rear portion of the building.  Kuti's Place, a takeout restaurant opened there in 2010.  The New York Times food columnist Dave Cook described the offerings as a marriage of "West African and Middle Eastern flavors."

More than a bit battered today, 365 Manhattan Avenue nevertheless retains much of its 1886 appearance.

photographs by the author

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