The 1907 Hendrik Hudson - 380 Riverside Drive

 

image via streeteasy.com

On July 21, 1906, the Real Estate Record & Builders' Guide titled an article, "To Be the Largest Apartment House in Manhattan."  It reported that the architectural firm of Rouse & Sloan was designing the Hendrik Hudson apartments for Hendrik Hudson Co.  Facing Cathedral Parkway, or West 110th Street, it would engulf the Riverside Drive blockfront to 111th Street.

The journal said, "The facade in scheme will be that of an Italian villa, built of French Pierre de Lena limestone, brick and colored terra cotta, with [a] wide projecting Spanish tile roof, supported by large ornamental bronze brackets."  Notably, upon the roof on the Riverside Drive side would be two towers connected by a pergola.  All the windows facing Riverside Drive would have "wrought iron balconies, with window boxes for flowers in summer."  The article predicted that the Hendrik Hudson, "with its scheme of highly colored terra cotta, red tile and use of foliage," would "harmonize effectively with the picturesque surroundings of the Drive."

Rouse & Sloan released this rendering in 1906.  Record & Guide, July 21, 1906 (copyright expired)

The Hendrik Hudson was completed in October 1, 1907.  There were 14 apartments per floor, consisting of seven through nine rooms with two or three baths.  The rooms were "grouped around the foyers," according to the Record & Guide, and each apartment had a separate service entrance.  

The woodwork in the bedrooms in each of the 72 apartments (other than the servants' quarters) was painted in white enamel and the mahogany doors throughout had glass knobs.  Rents ranged from $1,500 to $3,000 per year, of about $4,300 to $8,600 per month in 2026 terms.

Apartment Houses of the Metropolis noted, "A billiard parlor as well as cafe for the convenience of tenants is maintained in the basement; also a first-class barber shop and ladies' hair dressing parlor."  

photograph by Irving Underhill from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York

The Hendrik Hudson filled with affluent families.  Among the initial residents was Dr. Julian P. Thomas, who could afford an automobile.  That vehicle and Thomas's lead foot got him into trouble on August 5, 1908.  The New York Times reported that he had been charged "with running at the rate of thirty-six miles an hour and giving a motorcycle policeman a chase of two miles at top speed."

Residents' names more often appeared because of social functions.  Such was the case on March 27, 1910 when The New York Times reported, "Mrs. Sydney B. Wight of 380 Riverside Drive gave an affair at her home on Tuesday for the benefit of the Fourth Presbyterian Church."  

Sydney Buckminster Wight, original source unknown

Ellen Chipman Wells Wight's husband, Sydney Buckminster Wight, was with the New York Central Railroad.  Born in Detroit, Michigan in 1856, he was educated in France and Germany and started his career with the railroads in 1891. 

Prominent residents were Professor Rudolf Tombo, Jr. and his second wife, Lorraine Bowes.  Tombo and his first wife, Adelaide Cooper were married in 1901, but she had the marriage annulled in 1911.  He and Lorraine were married in 1913.  Living with the couple was Tombo's daughter from his first marriage, Marion.

Rudolf Tombo Jr. The New York Times December 21, 1913 (copyright expired)

Tombo was born in Germany in 1875.  His father, Rudolf Tombo Sr., brought the family to New York City where he accepted a professorship at Columbia University.  Not, surprisingly, the younger Rudolf attended Columbia, earning his Masters of Arts in 1898, a Master of Science in 1899, and a Ph.D. in 1901.  Like his father, he was appointed an instructor of Germanic languages at Columbia University in 1900.  He was, as well, the director of the Deutsches Haus at that institution.  In 1901 he published his first work, Ossian in Germany.

In 1914, The New York Times described Tombo as being "well known in this country and in Germany as a lecturer on dramatic literature."  Early that year, he was considered for the presidency of the College of the City of New York.  In April, however, he "suffered a nervous breakdown from overwork," reported The New York Times.  The following month, on May 5, Lorraine told reporters that "she thought her husband had improved slightly and that if he could regain sufficient strength for the trip, he would be taken abroad for complete rest."

Despite Lorraine's optimism, Rudolf Tombo Jr. died in their apartment on May 21.  In reporting his death, The New York Times remarked that he had "a wide reputation in German-speaking Europe."

No doubt embittered by his first wife's having their marriage annulled, in his will Tombo directed that J. Boyce Smith, Jr. be made guardian of Marion Adelaide, who was now 11 years old.  The will said that because of the annulment, "Marion had no mother under the law and was now an orphan."  Surrogate Court Judge Cohalan did not agree.  On June 28, 1914, he ruled that because her biological mother, Adelaide Cooper Tombo, was alive, Marion would have to live with her.

A parlor in an unidentified apartment.  The dining room can be glimpsed through the wide doorway at left.  from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York

All the residents of the Hendrik Hudson maintained a domestic staff.  Henry C. McClure's indiscretion in blurring the employee-employer relationship with one servant caused problems in 1918.  McClure was the general manager of Associated Newspapers.  He and his wife, Frances, were already embroiled in a domestic dispute on July 15 that year when she hauled her maid before Justice Finch to testify that McClure had kissed the young woman.

McClure had earlier accused Frances of infidelity, charging that he had "found Mrs. McClure in a compromising position."  Frances said the allegations were "preposterous, perjured and false."  Now she countered with her own divorce proceedings based on the maid incident.  The Sun reported on July 16, 1918 that although Henry McClure "admits that he kissed a pretty maid servant in his apartment at 380 Riverside Drive, he maintains stoutly that he only did it as a 'lark' and that there was nothing in his relations with the young woman to cause Mrs. Frances C. McClure to become in the least jealous."

A central light court and side courts supplied natural light to almost every room.  Apartment Houses of the Metropolis, (copyright expired)

Criminality among the Hendrik Hudson residents had never been more serious than vehicular speeding and kissing one's maid until 1925.  On February 26, police knocked on the door of Joseph C. Cooper, president of the American Bankers' Corporation at 65 Wall Street.  They asked to talk to 14-year-old Roy Cooper.  Initially, Cooper refused to let them enter but, according to The New York Times, "After they identified a radio set there as a stolen one, Mr. Cooper accompanied them to the police station."

Also at the police station was 16-year-old Robert Garrabrants.  Roy said he had received the radio, but did not know it was stolen.  He told detectives, "he had been intending to pay his friend Robert for it.  In a separate room, Garrabrants confessed to "a series of radio shop robberies" that he and Roy Cooper had committed.  Joseph Cooper provided bail for his son.  He told reporters that night that Roy "was not implicated in the theft of the radio apparatus."

Joseph Cooper's influence may have gotten his son off the hook.  On February 18, Roy was paroled in his father's custody and was now considered a material witness.

A month later, Roy Cooper and three other teens were arrested in Nyack for "stealing four bicycles at Fort Lee and several blankets at Nyack, attempting to enter a clothing store [in Nyack] and rifling a poor box in a church near Croton," as reported by The New York Times on March 28.  Roy Cooper was removed from his cell when his father arrived at the Nyack jail.  While Joseph Cooper was talking to Chief of Police Furey, Roy "released his three companions from the jail" and the group fled.

The newspaper reported, "The four New York boys who broke jail...eluded a score of pursuing policemen and were arrested yesterday at Poughkeepsie."  Because they were all under 16 years old, they were charged only with juvenile delinquency.

Roy Cooper's young criminal career continued.  Three years later, on March 20, 1928, The New York Times reported that he had been arrested in the Bronx with another teen for stealing an automobile.  Cooper had a loaded pistol on him.  Police said the pair "confessed that they had committed several robberies in the Bronx recently."

Much more respectable were Dr. William Carr and his wife, the former Sarah Renelshe.  Carr was a founder of the College of Dental Surgery of New York City.  He died on October 25, 1925 leaving more than $100,000 to charitable institutions.  The generous bequests would translate to nearly $1.8 million today.

Also living here at the time was Louis E. Miller and his wife, Dr. Helena Miller.  Born in Russia, Louis Miller was a moderate Socialist.  He had founded at least six Jewish newspapers, including the Jewish Daily Forward and the New Warheit, the latter of which he launched in 1925.

Other Russian immigrants in the building were concert violinist, composer and director Maurice Nitke and his wife, Ethel.  Born in 1879, he first played in Carnegie Hall in 1907.  He was appearing in the Cort Theatre in August 1927 when disaster happened.  

On the night of August 23, Nitke entered his dressing room only to discover that his 300-year-old Guarnarius violin, valued at $5,000, had "disappeared."  An investigator told reporters that the thief "apparently had entered the room with a key," since there was no access by the window.

Four nights later, John Shea returned to the scene of the crime, this time to steal a valuable cello.  Unaware that Detective Charles Dugan had been detailed to watch the theater, Shea (who was a truck driver) attempted to climb the fire escape in the alley leading to the stage entrance.  He was quickly nabbed.  At the West 47th Street station house, he confessed to stealing Nitke's violin.

The New York Times reported that Shea "led them to the home of a negro to whom he had sold it for $5."  The buyer, who was a musician, was not home.  Happily for Nitke, the violin was.

An interesting resident was Dr. Wesley M. Coates.  A graduate of the University of California, he and his wife, Sylvia, arrived in New York City and the Hendrik Hudson in 1936.  The 28-year-old physicist and inventor worked in the Crocker Research Laboratory of the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, which was devoted to cancer research.  He was described by its head, Dr. Francis Carter Wood, as "a brilliant electrical engineer."

While working here, Coates developed a new type of high-power vacuum tube.  The New York Times explained, "By the use of the tube, it was announced, X-rays were produced from mercury, instead of by the customary method."  

Tragically, at 5:00 on the afternoon of March 20, 1937, Coates brushed against a high-tension electrical conductor while adjusting an X-ray machine in the laboratory.  For nearly half and hour, physicians attempted to revive him, but the engineering prodigy was announced dead around 5:30.

A celebrated resident was comedian Frank Moulan, who lived here with his third wife, Elsie.  Born in Greenwich Village in 1872, Moulan made his stage debut with the Calhoun Opera Company.  He was described by The New York Times as the "leading comedian of innumerable Gilbert and Sullivan revivals and of Roxy's Gang on the radio."

Frank Moulan, The Theatre magazine, June 1903 (copyright expired)

In 1936 alone, he appeared at the Majestic Theatre as Lord Chancellor in Iolanthe, as Sir Joseph Porter in H.M.S. Pinafore; and as Major General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance.  He personally staged all three productions.  Moulan died in his apartment here at the age of 67 on May 13, 1939.

The post-World War II years were unkind to the Hendrik Hudson.  When manager Fred W. Peavy pleaded guilty to 14 violations of the Office of Price Administration in November 1945, The New York Times described the building as "a rooming house."  Peavy rented rooms out by the week and the Government charged that he "had made overcharges to roomers of 50 cents to $4 a week."

In January 1946, the Hendrik Hudson Holding Corporation filed eviction procedures against "240 occupants of furnished rooms and small furnished apartments," as reported by The Times.  The attempt failed and nine years later, in February 1955, the building was purchased by the Eastpearl Realty Corporation.  Once home to refined families in commodious apartments, the building now held 536 rented rooms.

The change of ownership did not improve the conditions.  On December 2, 1958, city inspectors combed through the Hendrik Hudson.  The Deputy Commissioner of the Building Department Bernice P. Rogers said the "lobby was the last visible vestige of quality."  She and her inspectors called the building, "a slum with a view" and she remarked, "This type of living may be legal, but it's wrong morally, socially and ethically."

Only four days later, on December 6, a 14-year-old boy was fatally crushed in one of the elevators.  It began to fall with the door still open at the seventh floor.  The car stopped halfway past the sixth floor and Stanley Guinn lifted a little girl onto the sixth floor and to safety.  Then the car started to fall again and Guinn's head and shoulders "became trapped between the top of the elevator and the edge of the landing."  Later that week, the District Attorney's Office deemed his death a homicide and held the building's owners responsible.

The incident prompted the sale of the building and a renovation in 1959.  The New York Times noted, "The new owners had to persuade the old tenants--some of them prostitutes, narcotics addicts and other undesirables--to move.  On April 17, 1960, the newspaper reported, "The conversion of one of the city's worst slum buildings into a modern apartment house is nearing completion at 380 Riverside Drive.

The renovations, which cost $750,000 (equal to nearly $8 million today), created small apartments.  They, unfortunately, also removed much of the architectural features of the facade, including the northern tower.  The Hendrik Hudson was converted to a co-op in 1971.  

Among the early owners were Sho Onodera and his wife, Michiko.  Onodera was an actor, one-time journalist and Japanese-English interpreter.  He was known to television audiences for his roles in the Teahouse of the August Moon on "Hallmark Hall of Fame," and in the "Philco Playhouse" and "Robert Montgomery Presents" shows.  His motion picture credits included The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.

photo by Scott Bintner/Property Shark

Despite the late 20th century brutalization of Rouse & Sloan's design, the Hendrik Hudson survives as a reminder of the grand apartment buildings that lined this area of Riverside Drive at the turn of the last century.

The 1911 Riverside Mansions Apts. - 410 Riverside Drive

image via apartments.com

In 1888, the mansion of George Noakes was erected at the northeast corner of Riverside Drive and 113th Street.  The lavish private homes facing Riverside Park were being replaced by luxury apartment buildings by the first years of the 20th century, however, and on January 1, 1910, just 22 years after the Noakes family moved into their mansion, the Real Estate Record & Guide reported, "The Einsworth Construction Co. will soon begin work on the new 12-story elevator apartment house on the north corner of Riverside drive and 113th st."  The article noted that construction, "is estimated to cost $750,000."  The figure would translate to $25.5 million in 2026.

Two months later, on March 6, the New York Herald said The Riverside Mansions building "will be ready for occupancy, according to the builders, next October."  Interestingly, the article explained that of the 35 apartments, 14 would be cooperative.  They would be priced from $16,000 to $20,000, or approximately $545,000 to $680,000 today.  The remaining 21 apartments would be rentals.

Architects Neville & Bagge designed the 13-story-and-attic structure in the Chateauesque style.  The three-story base was clad in undressed granite.  The seven-story midsection, which sat between scalloped intermediate cornices, was clad in beige Roman brick.  Stone-and-iron balconies at the fourth, sixth and eleventh floors sat on corbel tables that matched the intermediate cornices.  Neville & Bagge embellished the top floor and attic with Loire Valley inspired gables and crockets and a steep mansard.

The World's New York Apartment House Album, 1910 (copyright expired)

There were three apartments per floor with either eight or nine rooms with three baths.  The well-heeled residents would enjoy "uniformed hall and elevator service day and night," according to The World's New York Apartment House Album, and there were a "separate entrance and elevator for service."

The irregular footprint presented the architects a challenge in laying out the apartments.  The World's New York Apartment House Album, 1910 (copyright expired)

Among the initial residents were the families of Henry Field, Edward A. Mays, Hugo Schweitzer, and Harry McDonald.  The Mays' and McDonalds' apartments were on the ground floor and only months after moving in that caused a problem.

On the evening of February 25, 1911, Edward A. Mays and his wife were hosting a dinner party.  The guests' coats and purses were placed in a bedroom.  While the group was at dinner, a burglar entered a window in that room.  He fled with a $300 fur overcoat and a silver toilet set.  The New York Times reported, "The thief overlooked a wallet containing $1,500 in cash, which was in one of the bureau drawers."

About the time that Mays and his guests discovered the theft, Harry McDonald arrived home.  His wife and daughter had been out all afternoon.  He told a reporter from The New York Times, "his apartment had been stripped."  Among the items stolen were "$600 worth of clothing, silverware, and decorations."

Henry and Mary Fields had two daughters, Rosalynd and Sylvia.  All the residents of The Riverside Mansions employed at least one servant and the Fields family employed 23-year-old Lydia Johnson, whom they said had "long been a faithful employee."  On August 31, 1911, The Evening World said, "For several days the servant had been acting queerly."  But the family "decided to humor her and kept her at her usual duties."

In fact, Lydia Johnson was having a mental breakdown.  On the afternoon of August 30, when Mary Field entered the kitchen, Lydia attacked her.  Mary screamed and her 18-year-old daughter, Rosalynd, rushed in.  "She pulled her mother from the servant's grasp, blocked several wild rushes and succeeded in getting Mrs. Fields into the hallway," reported The Evening World.  Then Rosalynd grappled with Lydia until she could get safely into the hallway and slammed the door.

The women's loud commotion had attracted "two painters at work in the building, two bellboys, two expressmen and the superintendent."  Policeman Best also ran into the building and "all made a rush for the raving negress," as worded by the article.  Lydia Johnson had been worked up into a frenzy, and she took Best's night stick from him and tore his uniform.  The painters came to Johnson's aid, but "the combined strength of the three was no match for that of the woman."  She was overpowered only when all eight men "made a concerted rush and dragged her to the floor."

Lydia Johnson was placed in an improvised straitjacket and taken to J. Hood Wright Hospital.  The day after the incident, The Evening World reported that Mary Fields, "is under the care of a physician to-day from the shock."

More typical of events within The Riverside Mansions were glittering dinner parties, teas and receptions.  On the evening of September 6, 1912, for instance, Dr. and Mrs. Hugo Schweitzer hosted a dinner "for forty, in honor of the official delegates of Germany, France, and Great Britain," as reported by The New York Times.  (The men were attending the Eighth International Congress of Applied Chemistry.)  

Dr. Hugo Schweitzer was born in Pitschen, Silesia in 1861 and came to America around 1885.  He married Adela Hammerslough in 1892 and the couple had one son, Edward Stephen.  Hugo Schweitzer studied chemistry in four German universities and was a member of the Society for Chemical Industry, the American Chemical Society, Engineers' Club of Boston, Cosmos Club of Washington and was president of the Chemists' Club of New York.

The international harmony seen at the Schweitzer's dinner table that September evening in 1912 was about to be shattered world-wide.  Following the outbreak of world war in 1914 and several years before America became involved, Schweitzer ardently sided with Germany.  He was a delegate of the German-American Alliance meeting in Utica in 1915, and that autumn announced that he would publish "a New-York daily newspaper of pro-German proclivities, to be used in propaganda," according to The Evening Post.

Dr. Schweitzer died of pneumonia in the apartment on December 22, 1917 at the age of 56.  In reporting his death, The Evening Post commented that in the early days of the war he "had been the centre of much attention because of his pro-German sympathies."

In the meantime, the Fields family appeared in society columns.  On June 22, 1914, for instance, The New York Times announced that Mary and Rosalynd "who sailed on the Vaterland last Tuesday, are to visit Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, and Holland."  The article added, "Mr. Fields, who is a brother of Lew Fields, with his youngest daughter, Miss Sylvia Fields, will join his family abroad in August."

The following year, on October 21, 1915, Mary and Henry announced the engagements of both of their daughters.  More surprising was that the sisters would be marrying brothers.  The New York Times reported that Rosalynd and Sylvia were engaged to Meyer and Jacques Ginsberg, respectively.

On January 21, 1916, the newspaper reported on Rosalynd's and Meyer's wedding in The Riverside Mansions apartment.  The article said the newlyweds left for their honeymoon, "but will return on Sunday to act as attendants at the wedding of Miss Sylvia Fields and Jacques Ginsberg."

In the meantime, the family of Farron S. Betts occupied an apartment here.  He was the president of F. L. Schafuss Co., maker of greeting cards and postcards.  Living with the family was Betts' widowed mother-in-law, Alma E. Byxbee.  

When Betts sailed to Europe on business in July 1914, he took along his chauffeur, Ernst Theodor Edward Fischer.  The young man was the son of Brigadier General Carl Heinz Fischer of the German Army.  They were in England when war was declared and Fischer "was promptly taken into custody by agents of the British Secret Service," reported The New York Times.  He was held in prison for several weeks before Betts could get him released.  The article said the chauffeur pledged, "not to try to get back to Germany, but to return to the United States."  Betts and Fischer returned to New York.  However, like Hugo Schweitzer, the chauffeur "admits that he is anxious for the kaiser to win," reported The New York Times.

Nine months after the Fields sisters' weddings, on October 19, 1916 Jenesse Alma Betts was married to Ernst Theodor Eduard Fischer.  Alma E. Byxbee died in the Betts apartment at the age of 89 on February 18, 1918.  Her funeral was held in the parlor the following afternoon.

Once America entered World War I, Ernst Fischer's outspoken favoritism to the German cause could not be ignored.   On July 4, 1918, The New York Times reported that he had been arrested by agents of the Department of Justice.  Although he had not committed a crime, the Department said his family "is one of the best known fighting families in Germany."  Ernst Fischer was imprisoned as an enemy alien, "for the period of the war," said the article.

A war of a different type was playing out in the apartment of Edwin Clifford and Louise McCullough.  McCullough was the head of E. C. McCullough & Co., which imported cigars and tobacco from the Philippines.  He had a personal fortune of $2 million according to Louise (or about $23.7 million today).  Louise was, according to the New York Herald, "a musician of ability and a linguist, speaking German, French and Spanish, as well as English."

Clifford met Louise at her dancing school when she was 15 years old and he was 25.  They eloped on April 23, 1893 and had a son and daughter.  According to Louise, their marriage was happy until McCullough "began to tell her of his affairs with other women, wives of his social and business friends."  When he began coming home early in the morning three or four days at week, according to Louise, he said "he was entitled to live his life in his own way."

On June 27, 1920, Louise, her 15-year-old daughter, also named Louise, and a cousin, Edwin Elser, were riding in the McCullough's large touring car in Westchester County, driven by their chauffeur, Pietro Holanda.  The teen badgered her mother to allow her to drive and finally, after luncheon, she let Louise get behind the wheel.  The girl slammed the car into a tree on Pelham Parkway.  The crash killed the young driver and severely injured her mother and the other occupants.

Ten days after the accident, Louise was back home, incapacitated with two broken legs and other injuries.  Edwin walked out, telling her that she "could communicate with his stenographer."  He took their son with him.

The following year, on March 26, 1921, Louise began separation proceedings, charging Edwin with abandonment and "poisoning her son's mind" against her.  Edwin denied the charges, saying that his wife was "temperamental."  Louise was awarded alimony the following year.

On Christmas Eve 1921, Farron S. Betts was in his automobile in the Bronx (driven by his new chauffeur).  The New York Herald reported that Betts "felt a bump in the West Drive, and getting out to investigate found an unconscious man."  The victim was Edward McConnell, who lived at 54 West 98th Street.  Betts and his chauffeur lifted him into the automobile and took him to Reconstruction Hospital, "where it was said he had a fractured skull."  Both Betts and his driver insisted that they had not originally struck McCullough, but merely ran over him.

At the time, rents at 410 Riverside Drive ranged from $3,100 and $3,500 a year--equal to $4,000 to $4,500 per month today.

Among the residents during the Depression years were prominent attorney and railroad man Walter J. Bartnett and his wife, the former Frances G. Vaux.  Married in 1895, they had three daughters, one of whom, Joanne, who was unmarried, lived with them.  Born in California, Bartnett received his law degree from Hastings College of Law in 1890.  

Walter J. Bartnett in his younger years.  from the collection of the Western Pacific Railroad.

He organized the Western Pacific Railroad Company in 1903 and became its first president.  He organized the Central California Traction Company and built an interurban system between Sacramento and Stockton, California.  He was, as well, a founder of the World Federation League.

In 1941, the roof cresting had been removed.  Cast iron sconces with milk glass globes still illuminated the entrance area and the balconies were intact.  via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

An interesting resident at the time was Dr. Raphael Constantin, who lived here with his wife, Florence M.  Born in Armenia, Constantin received his medical degree in 1893 from the University of Edinburgh.  He came to America in 1902 and turned his focus from medicine to industry.  He became the president of the Obelisk Waterproofing Company, which waterproofed structures like the obelisk in Central Park, St. Paul's Chapel, and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Riverside Park.  He was also highly involved in Armenian-American affairs and was president of the Armenia-American Society and the Constantinople Armenian Relief Society.

Millionaire Ida M. Valentine was a resident in the second half of the century.  Never married, like many wealthy employers, she developed a close connection with her loyal servants.  Upon her death on July 28, 1962, she bequeathed the bulk of her large estate to three charitable institutions.  But she did not forget her chauffeur of 23 years, Louis Reale.  Mr. Reale, who lived on West 191st Street, received "a tax-free bequest of $200,000," according to The New York Times, as well as "jewelry and personal property."  The cash inheritance would equal $2 million today.

image via streeteasy.com

By the mid-1980s, Columbia University had acquired 410 Riverside Drive as apartments for "postdocs, faculty and staff."  In 1999 the school restored the upper portion of the building, including the eye-catching gables.  Nina Siegal, writing in The New York Times on November 21, 1999, said, "The structure had needed repairs badly, and instead of just patching it up, the university hired a respected preservation firm, Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates."  The architects used extant details to copy missing ornaments "and restore the roof to its original grandeur," according to Siegal.  It may have been during this renovation that the balconies were removed.

The St. Francis Court - 583 Riverside Drive

image via eqarchitects.com

On September 29, 1905, the architectural firm of Neville & Bagge filed plans for a six-story "brick and stone tenement" at the northeast corner of Riverside Drive and 135th Street.  (The term "tenement" at the time referred to any multi-family structure.)  Designed for developer J. V. Signell & Co., it would cost $150,000 to erect, or about $5.5 million in 2026 terms.

Completed in 1906, Neville & Bagge's overall neo-Colonial design included a two-story limestone base that supported four floors of variegated Flemish bond brick.  Charred header bricks gave the illusion of age.  Turret-like rounded bays gave dimension.  A handsome stone balustrade sat atop the bracketed cornice.

Apartment Houses of the Metropolis, 1908 (copyright expired)

The St. Francis Court had six apartments per floor ranging from five to eight rooms.  The 1908 Apartment Houses of the Metropolis noted that the finishes were "in hardwood, oak, mahogany and curly birch," and the bedrooms "in white enamel [with] mahogany doors."  

Apartment Houses of the Metropolis, 1908 (copyright expired)

Because electrical service was not reliable, the apartments had both gas and electric lighting.  The upscale amenities included "long distance telephone in each apartment."  Rents ranged from $720 to $1,500 per year, or $4,400 per month for the most expensive by today's conversion.

Among the initial residents were the Powers family, who had recently relocated from Maysville, Kentucky.  Mrs. Powers, who was a widow, lived here with her young adult children, Mary and John J.  

Mary Powers attended the exclusive Brantwood Hall girls' finishing school in Bronxville, New York.  She graduated in June 1910.  A classmate, Eda Bigger, was also from Maysville, Kentucky.  Rather than immediately returning home, Eda spent the summer in the Powers apartment.  The New York Times remarked, "Both are members of prominent Kentucky families, and were well-known in the social circles of Lawrence Park, Bronxville, during the school season."  

On July 9, Mary and Eda took a train to Bronxville to have lunch with two classmates.  The four young women chatted after lunch until Mary and Eda realized they were in danger of missing the 4:19 train back to New York.  As they neared the station, the southbound train was already at the platform.  The New York Times reported, "although the gates were down, and despite the cries of many commuters who were horrified to see a northbound train approaching on the other track, they ran around one of the stanchions holding an arm of the gate."   Mary and Eda, who were 20 and 22 years old respectively, were struck by the northbound train.

Eda Bigger was thrown 20 feet while Mary Powers was caught underneath the engine and dragged several hundred feet.  Her left leg was severed below the knee and her skull fractured.  The New York Times wrote, "The shoes of both young women were torn from their feet, and their costly Summer gowns were almost torn into ribbons."  The train crew treated the two women and then rushed them in automobiles to the Lawrence Hospital.

The New York Times reported that Mary's mother was notified by telephone.  She "went from New York on an express train.  She was on the verge of collapse and was looked after by friends," said the article.  Two days later, the newspaper reported that Mary had died.  "Her body will be shipped to Maysville, Ky.," said the article.  It noted, "Miss Eda Bigger...passed a favorable night, but the heat had a bad effect and last night her condition was far from favorable."

Frederic and Elise Timme were also early residents.  Elise was born in Germany in 1837 and she married Frederic in 1908.  Frederic was her second husband; her first, Charles Boettcher, was deceased.  Elise died on November 10, 1911 and her will raised eyebrows.  Her estate was valued at about $4 million in today's money, "principally of realty," according to The New York Times.  She left $10,000 (about $340,000 today) to the German Hospital and Dispensary "in memory of her former husband."  She additionally left the equivalent of $954,000 to Charles Boettcher's nieces and nephews.  The New York Times reported that she "divided her furniture...between Lizzie Brown and Agnes Fuechsel."  (What Frederic Timme was going to sit and sleep upon is unclear.)

Elise did not ignore Frederic in the will.  He inherited a life income of a $25,000 trust fund and "a talking machine appraised at $100."

Unmarried resident Isabel Rea, who lived here in 1912, typified the progressive young women of her generation.  On November 10, The Sun reported on the 20,000 women who participated in the suffrage parade on Fifth Avenue.  The lengthy article said in part:

The sidewalk crowds said a mighty "A-ah!" and thousands of hands clapped as Miss Isabel Rea of 583 Riverside Drive now came along as Joan of Arc astride a white horse panoplied in crimson plush.  Joan of Arc wore glittering armor and carried a long sword.  She led the Joan of Arc's division with President Nellie B. Van Slingeria of the league heading the long columns of foot soldiers.

At one point, Isabel suffered a brief wardrobe malfunction.  "At Thirty-fourth street Joan of Arc had trouble with her sword, but again Inspector Lahey came to the rescue and recovered it," said the article.

Clara Skolnik moved into the St. Francis Court in 1913 after leaving her husband, violinist Gregor Skolnik.  The couple was married in 1907 when Gregor was 19 and Clara was 31.  Shortly afterward, Gregor realized he had made a mistake.  On September 13, 1913 he filed for separation.  His complaint said in part: "Since the marriage [he] has never eaten a meal at home cooked by anyone other than himself, the defendant absolutely refusing to cook or provide for the plaintiff in any way."  

Gregor's weight dropped from 175 to 130 pounds, partly, said the complaint, "to the mental strain" from "language with which his wife addressed him on his return home from late rehearsals."  Her jealousy extended to his 18-year-old sister, a violin prodigy whom he was training.  When he suggested that he would have the marriage annulled, Clara told him "she would shoot him if he tried to do so."

Clara insisted that he give up music and go into business.  That resulted in disaster.  The New York Times reported, "he lost several thousand dollars."  When he was at the verge of bankruptcy, Clara left him and moved into the St. Francis Court.  She earned $100 a week as a dress designer (about $3,250 today).  Skolnik said she "was in a position to bear part of his business losses" but "refused to do so."

As it turned out, Clara's walking out had positive results.  On September 14, 1913, The New York Times reported that Gregor Skolnik "will be concertmeister of the Chicago Opera Company during the coming season."

Mrs. Abbie Manion had an extra bedroom in her apartment in 1913.  She rented it to Leopold Sulzberger, described by The Sun as "a quiet man of 45 years."  As it turned out, Sulzberger chose the St. Francis Court location because he "was very much in love with a young woman of the neighborhood," as reported by The Sun.  He would be called a stalker today.  

Sulzberger sat for hours every day on a bench in Riverside Park.  He confided to a policeman named Manning that he suspected the young woman he loved "of accepting the attentions of other men."  He explained that he would sit there "to see who her callers were and to learn whether she was in the habit of going out with other men."

On the morning of January 2, 1914, Mrs. Manion smelled gas coming from Sulzberger's room.  She found a policeman, who coincidentally was Officer Manning.  He broke open the bedroom door and immediately recognized the unconscious Sulzberger as the man to which he had spoken in the park.  He was taken to the Knickerbocker Hospital where, although his condition was deemed serious, he was held as a prisoner, charged with attempted suicide.

At the time, Clifford L. C. Porter shared an apartment with his widowed mother, Katherine, and his maternal grandmother, Lucy Paget.  The 19-year-old was studying law while also working for the publishing firm George H. Doran Company as a proof reader.  The New-York Tribune said, however, "What they didn't know was that he had great ambition to excel as a writer himself, and that when he went home at night he would sit up until 3 o'clock in the morning, sometimes, toiling at his writing."

At 3:00 on the afternoon of July 1, 1915, two shots rang out in the Porter apartment.  The New-York Tribune reported that Lucy Paget was home, "but, old and deaf, she heard nothing."  But the building's superintendent, August Carter, heard the shots.  He called the manager, and they went to the apartment.

The men forced young Porter's door, which was locked, and found [Clifford] lying on the floor, fully dressed, with two bullet holes in his head.  A 32-calibre automatic Colt revolver lay beside him.

Clifford Porter, who was now 20 years old, had ensured that his suicide would be successful.  The New York Herald reported that before shooting himself, "he had taken fatal doses of aconite and gelsemium."  Porter's supervisor at work said he "could think of no reason for the deed."  Lucy Paget told reporters that the young man "had been studying too hard."  She insisted that he was not in love.

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

A celebrated tenant at the time was playwright Howard Prentiss Taylor, who lived here with his wife, the former Agnes Chalmers.  Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1839, he went to San Francisco as a boy where he got a job as a "printer's devil" at the newspaper The Argonaut.  (A printer's devil was an apprentice who did tasks like mixing inks and retrieving type.)

He later erected the Grand Opera House in San Francisco and was its manager for many years.  He later worked closely with Sam Clemens and collaborated with him in converting A Connecticut Yankee at the Court of King Arthur into a stage play.  Among the numerous plays he wrote were The Little Pauper, Nell Gwynne, The Pulse of New York, and The Jolly Widow.  His final book was The Idiosyncrasies of Mark Twain.

In 1910, Taylor began suffering from rheumatism.  He died in his apartment here at the age of 78 on July 7, 1916.

America's entry to World War I made heroes of at least two residents.  On July 12, 1918, The New York Times reported on the ceremony on the grounds of a château on the banks of the Marne--"the first large presentation of distinguished service crosses awarded to members of the United States Marine Corps for their heroic deeds in the fighting northwest of Château-Thierry in the month of June."  Among the marines so honored was the St. Francis Court resident Surgeon Ray C. Farwell.

The following month, on August 18, The Sun began an article saying, "Christopher W. Ford of 583 Riverside Drive, New York, a Lieutenant in the Lafayette Escadrille, fast is approaching the 'ace' class of American aviators."  In the past four months, Ford had shot down four German aircraft and had been awarded the Croix de Guerre.

Lieutenant Christopher W. Ford, The Sun, August 18, 1918 (copyright expired)

Oil salesman John N. Redmond, who lived here as early as 1919, arrived in New York City in 1914 from North Dakota.  He

first caught the attention of law enforcement in September 1919.  Several brokerage firms had received bomb threats and on September 10 The Sun reported that they "were traced yesterday by the police to John N. Redmond, 38, of 583 Riverside Drive."  The article said he was committed to the psychopathic ward of Bellevue Hospital for observation.  Detective Sergeant John F. McCoy explained that Redmond "believed himself to have been victimized by Wall Street brokers and 'defrauded of millions.'"

Redmond somehow escaped prosecution, but he was soon back in jail.  On April 8, 1920, he was arrested in the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark, New Jersey.  For the past five years he had been sending "amatory" letters to a socially prominent Newark woman--more than 500 of them.  Oddly enough, said the article, "he never has met the woman, nor she him."  The New-York Tribune described the letters as "obscene" and The Sun added that they caused the woman to have a nervous breakdown.

New York Herald, August 24, 1922 (copyright expired)

Resident Delores Dixon shocked the nation when she filed suit against baseball star Babe Ruth on March 13, 1923 for $50,000 "on the ground that he is the father of her child," as reported by The New York Times.  The newspaper described Dixon as "19 years old, an orphan, without brothers or sisters," and was "being kept in seclusion."  Her lawyer had notified Ruth of the accusation in November.  After the "home run king" conferred with his wife, they agreed to fight the case in court.  Babe Ruth called Dixon's allegations "blackmail."

Delores Dixon's attorney told reporters that she had met Ruth in the spring of 1922.  "He used to be with her four and five times a week, taking her out frequently in his car."  But the two would not face off in court.  A month later, on April 28, The New York Times reported that Dixon's suit had been withdrawn.  Babe Ruth's attorney, Hyman Bushel, explained to reporters that Delores "admitted that the suit was the outcome of a 'frame-up.'"

Living here in 1956 was Robert Moscowitz, who was 70 years old and blind.  Around 7:00 on the night of June 29, he left 583 Riverside Drive heading to Lena Trunk's "cider stuble" at 221 East 83rd Street.  (A cider stuble was a bar that served only cider.)  Just before he arrived, 28-year-old Edward Sobek barged in and flourished a toy pistol.  He demanded that Lena Trunk give him $50.  Instead, Lena "dashed out the door and called the police."  Unaware of the situation, Moscowitz walked in.  Edward Sobek beat and robbed him of his $1.65 and inexpensive wristwatch and fled.  He did not get far.  Shortly after police arrived, they captured Sobek.

George Xavier lived here as early as 1976.  The 23-year-old worked as a parking lot attendant.  On the night of October 16 that year, he was playing cards with several men in front of 236 West 52nd Street.  An argument ensued and Xavier was fatally stabbed.

A renovation completed in February 2003 resulted in the Dorothy Day Apartments.  It was likely at this time that the stone balustrade was removed from the roofline.  The building now holds 70 affordable apartments for families in need.  It also provides an early childhood education center and on-site employment office.  Also in the building is the Rio II Gallery.

The Lost Hudson River Yacht Club - Riverside Drive and 92nd Street

The enclosed portion of the lower veranda was possibly part of renovations in 1902.  Note the skylight that lit the staircase inside.   photograph by P. L. Sperr, from the collection of the New York Public Library

Two of the most popular summer activities for wealthy Manhattan men were the breeding of thoroughbred horses and yachting.  Multiple yachting clubs were formed in the 19th century, not only at summer resorts like Long Island and Newport, but in Manhattan.  In 1873 the Hudson River Yacht Club was formed.  Its two-story clubhouse was erected on the shore of the Hudson River at 74th Street.  A wooden piazza provided both refreshing river breezes and a vantage point from which to watch the club's annual regattas.

On May 31, 1890, The City Record reported that the Department of Docks had granted the Hudson River Yacht Club "permission to remove their club-house from the foot of West Seventy-fourth street, and locate the same at the foot of West Ninety-second street."  (The request for the move was necessary because the Department of Docks owned all the shoreline and structures like the yacht club sat on rented property.)  The clubhouse was raised and relocated nearly 20 blocks to the north.

Although the clubhouse was not yet ready to open, the annual Hudson River Yacht Club Ladies' Day and Parade went on in 1891.  On August 8, the New-York Tribune reported, "Twenty-one sloops, steam yachts and catboats, comprising about three-fourths of the fleet of the Hudson River Yacht Club, started up the Hudson yesterday morning at 11 o'clock."  The fleet stopped at 1:00 for lunch at Powder Dock, "after which the young men and women danced for about an hour," before returning to the clubhouse.

The relocation, of course, also necessitated a new boathouse and piers.  Approval for that construction was given in October 1892.  Additionally, a large deck upon which yachts could be repaired was constructed.  It cost $1,000 (equal to about $35,600 in 2025).  

Finally, on May 9, 1893, The New York Times reported, "The clubhouse of the Hudson River Yacht Club, at the foot of West Ninety-second Street, is now open for the season," noting, "The clubhouse is very prettily situated."  The New-York Tribune added, "Over $1,500 was spent last fall in improving the club's headquarters in many ways, one of the most important of which was the addition of a new marine railway."

On the ground floor, said The Times, was a "large storeroom for spars and sails.  It is fitted with lockers, in which the members keep their yachting clothes and small articles used on their yachts."  On the northern end of the building was a "good-sized cafe," and on the second floor was a "large parlor, furnished very cozily with chairs, tables, and a piano."  

The development of Riverside Park, begun in 1872, was inching up this far north at the time.  On May 9, 1894, the Department of Parks granted a request from the Hudson River Yacht Club, "that an opening be left in the wall on Riverside Park opposite Ninety-second street to afford access to their premises."

High tide surrounds the clubhouse in this photo.  Behind can be seen the steep wooden staircase from Riverside Drive.  New-York Tribune, October 14, 1900 (copyright expired)

Opening the season each year involved pageantry.  On May 31, 1896, The Journal reported that the "handsome house of the Riverside Yacht Club presented a gala appearance" for the occasion.  "The gun from Commodore Diefenthaler's flagship announcing the entry of the club into commission for the season was responded to by more than fifty pleasure vessels, which swung at their moorings.  The entire bay, as well as the clubhouse, presented a kaleidoscopic view of multi-colored flags."  A stringed orchestra played music throughout the afternoon.

The Hudson River Yacht Club was unique in that it operated a "training ship."  Inexperienced young men were trained in sailing by a veteran member.  On May 5, 1896, The Journal mentioned, "nearly all of the middle-aged members have received their first tuition on this remarkable vessel."

During the winter of 1902, architect Louis C. Mauer filed plans "for the alteration of the frame house of the Hudson River Yacht Club."  The "interior and exterior alterations" most likely included the enclosing of the southern portion of the lower piazza.

On June 14, 1902, members and their families gathered here and "danced and feasted," according to the New-York Tribune.  "A number of the children of the members stole from the clubhouse, and wended their way to a float," said the article.  At the time, several of the members were seated on the second floor of the piazza, including Commodore Dr. Frank J. McLaren.  Suddenly, the cry of "Boy overboard!" was heard.

McLaren did not pause to remove any of his clothing, plunging into the river and swimming to the drowning boy.  "He caught hold of him as he was sinking, and with a few dextrous [sic] strokes managed to reach the float with the unconscious boy," said the New-York Tribune.  It was only then that McLaren realized that the boy was his own six-year-old son Frank.  He was carried into the clubhouse where a physician, "who was hastily called," revived him.

Saying that the Hudson River Yacht Club "has been a prosperous and growing organization from the start," on July 10, 1904 The Motor Boat noted, "every convenience is provided both for boating and social club life."  The article mentioned that its members had kept up with the times, embracing changing trends.  "When the power boat became an established adjunct to yachting, the Hudson River Yacht Club was one of the first to take it up."

Among the members who embraced motor boating was August Kratenger.  On October 21, 1917, he took his wife and their 9-month-old baby on "a long ride up the Hudson," as reported by The New York Times.  They were returning back to the clubhouse when the motor stopped at around 117th Street.  Kratenger was standing over the engine attempting to repair it when a heavy swell rocked the boat and knocked him into the water.  Aware that he could not swim, his wife frantically attempted to throw a rope to him, while the current took the boat farther away.  "Finally he went down," said the article.

Mrs. Kratenger screamed for help as the current continued to take the disabled craft down river.  Finally, at around 96th Street, the captain of a coal barge yard heard her and rescued the mother and baby.  August Kratenger's body was never found.

When P. L. Sperr took this photograph on April 29, 1934, the fate of the clubhouse was already sealed.  from the collection of the New York Public Library

The first threats to the Hudson River Yacht Club's clubhouse came in the summer of 1928.  On August 31, The New York Times reported on the "long-sought beautification" of the river's shoreline.  The article said, "the plan of beautification would require filling in front of the Hudson River Yacht Club at Ninety-second Street."  

After what Park Commissioner Robert Moses accused the club officials of "stalling," on April 19, 1934 he issued an eviction notice--giving the club two weeks to leave.  The New York Times said he warned if, "your property is not removed by [May 1], it will be treated as abandoned property."  The club's commodore, Dr. John A. Harris, complained, "This order is brutal.  There is no justification for it.  We haven't had time to consider what we shall do."

Moses was unrelenting, telling reporters that the club had "no lease, no permit, no anything" and "was in no position to make any conditions or try to dictate to him," reported The Times.

Expectedly, the club overstayed the May 1 order.  On June 28, 1934, The New York Times reported that "flames of undetermined origin destroyed the Hudson River Yacht Club."  The fire left "only a charred skeleton for the wreckers," said the newspaper later.

The Hudson River Yacht Club, now one of the oldest operating yacht clubs in United States, operates today from the foot of Avenue U and Bergen Avenue in Brooklyn.