The Lost Railroad Branch YMCA - Madison Avenue and 45th Street

 

via King's Handbook of New York City, 1893 (copyright expired)

By 1875 Cornelius Vanderbilt II, the favorite grandson of Commodore Vanderbilt, had risen from a clerk in the treasury department of the New York Central Railroad to a position of major importance.  He was also active in St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church and sat on the board of directors of the Young Men's Christian Association of New York.  That year he received a visit from General John H. Devereaux, the president of the C. C. C. & I. Railroad, who lived in Cleveland.

Three years earlier the first Young Men's Christian Association for railroad workers had been formed in Cleveland.  Now Devereaux explained the organization to Vanderbilt, who quickly embraced the idea.  The concept of a Y.M.C.A. expressly for railroad workers had advantages to both the men and to the system.   The employees would have a comfortable place to relax while in New York City, one which offered a variety of pastimes.   On the positive side for the railroads, the men were not tempted to get drunk or jailed and therefore unable to return to work, and morale would be greatly uplifted, as well.

Vanderbilt began with a basement space in Grand Central Depot.  In 1900 Railroad Men magazine, would recall, "the first Railroad Branch at the Grand Central Station, New York, began with a single room, a canary bird, a few volumes of U. S. Reports, and a secretary."

The detractors who warned that "The men won't have it" were soon proved wrong.  The Railroad Branch of the Y.M.C.A. was a success and in 1886 Vanderbilt acquired land at the northeast corner of Madison Avenue and 45th Street as the site for a permanent building.  Ground was broken on September 20, 1886 and construction was completed exactly a year later, in September 1887.  The building rose three stories at the corner, with a two-story extension that ran 45 feet along the avenue.  Vanderbilt personally paid for the construction, which cost him $100,000--about $2.95 million today.

R. H. Robertson of the architectural firm of Robertson & Potter, had designed the structure in a toned-down version of the Romanesque Revival style.   While there were no chunky, undressed stone blocks and no medieval inspired carvings and gargoyles, so often seen in more aggressive Romanesque structures, it featured arcades of fully arched openings, a regimented corbel table below the roof, and steep hipped roofs covered with "Spanish Akron glazed tiles," according to the New-York Tribune.  The Real Estate Record & Guide noted, "The basement is of Scotch sandstone, the superstructure of red brick, red terra cotta and tawny brown brick."  The "tawny brown" bricks were Tiffany bricks, so named because they were recently used in the construction of the Louis Tiffany mansion.

The formal opening was held on October 3, 1887 "with appropriate ceremonies," according to the New-York Tribune.  The newspaper said the building was "designed to be a 'place where railroad men may spend pleasant hours.'"  In the basement were the "appliances for the physical improvement of the members," according to the article.  These included a gymnasium, bowling alleys and a six-foot deep "plunge bath," or swimming pool.  

On the main floor was the impressive library of 6,400 volumes.  "It is a general and miscellaneous library," said the New-York Tribune, "intended to instruct, amuse and divert the railroad men."  The branch's general secretary, George A. Warburton, confided a secret about the arrangement of the books:

Our library has this peculiarity, we have placed the works of instruction on the lower shelves, where they will be easy of access.  The novels and lighter literature we have put up in the gallery, where those who want to read them will have to climb up stairs for them.

Also on the main floor were the reading room, furnished with easy chairs and outfitted with 100 daily, weekly and monthly newspapers; the social room were members could play chess, checkers and other games; the general secretary's office; and the "committee of management" room.

On the second floor was a 66-foot-long hall capable of seating 400 persons.  Drop-down partitions enabled it to be divided  into classrooms, "or the separated part can be used as a dining room during entertainments," suggested the New-York Tribune.  There were also "beautifully finished" committee rooms on the second floor.  In the tower were the kitchen and pantry, a janitor's apartment, and a lunchroom for the members.  The New-York Tribune said the latter was "admirably furnished with lounges of an enticing character, while in the centre of this room is a table where hot coffee is served to members free of charge."

Trainmen stopping over in the city could take advantage of ten free sleeping rooms in the attic floor, furnished with brass beds and "fine clean linen."  The New-York Tribune assured, "Like all the other floors it is finished in excellent taste."  The newspaper commended Cornelius Vanderbilt, saying his intention "has evidently been, throughout, to give the railroad men the best that could be obtained without regard to cost."  And, in fact, Vanderbilt felt that the initial budget of just $35,000 would not be sufficient, and directed Robertson to improve and expand the plans, ignoring the original figures.

Among the first events held in the hall was "an instrumental and vocal concert" on October 27.  The New York Times said, "The crowd of invited guests could not get into the big meeting room, but contented themselves by packing the staircases and the approaches and there catching what they could of the music."  Of great interest was the hall's volalion organ, a free-standing reed instrument.  The New York Times said, "The audience was surprised apparently that, from an instrument seemingly not large nor built into a wall, such a rich volume of tone could be produced, united with a sweet and harmonious blending of reed and pipe sounds."  There were also performances by a 30-voice choir, a pianist, and vocal soloists.

The branch offered many opportunities to the members, who paid 10 cents per month dues.  There were classes in mechanical drafting, stenography, penmanship, and vocal music, as well as regular lectures.  

So successful was the Railroad Branch that Robertson was called back to enlarge the facilities.  On May 20, 1893 The Railway Review reported, "The large increase in the membership of the club has made it necessary to enlarge the present quarters."  Once again, Cornelius Vanderbilt paid for the annex and the furnishings, which were projected to cost $80,000.  The article said in part:

Every department of the club will have larger quarters.  The gymnasium will be increased so that its dimensions will be 29x50 ft.  The library, which contains 7,000 volumes and the most complete collection of railroad books in this country, will be enlarged by an extension of 8x18 ft.  A bowling alley and a large set of baths will be added to the present equipment of the building.

The addition to the rear effectively doubled the size of the original building.  Annual Report of the Young Men's Christian Associations, 1909 (copyright expired)

The addition to what was now known as the Railroad Men's Building was completed in time for the 19th anniversary of the Railroad Branch of the Young Men's Christian Association.   Cornelius Vanderbilt addressed the ceremony on January 8, 1895, noting "the gratifying fact that an addition to the building had been necessary."  In the past year, there had been 33,070 lodgers, 1,272 members had taken books from the library and, as reported by the New-York Tribune, "1,664 baths have been given."  On an average day, between 530 and 640 men took advantage of the facility.

Cornelius Vanderbilt II died on September 12, 1899.  His will left $100,000 to the Railroad Branch of the Young Men's Christian Association--a significant $3.7 million today.  The club continued to offer comfort and education to its members.  In his 1904 The Better New York, Its Sights and Insights, Allen Beekman Sutcliffe noted, "Everything is done to attract and make comfortable the railroad men.  All classes of railway men meet as equals here, whether they be clerks, yardmen, baggage men, brakemen or the highest officials of the road."

As technology advanced, the Railroad Branch offered courses to keep its workers up to date.  On September 29, 1905, The Railroad Gazette reported that three courses "of study for railroad men in electricity as applied to railroads" were being offered here.  The article said, "Trainmen and other railroad employees are invited to join the classes with a view of preparing themselves for efficient service when the steam locomotive shall be superseded by electric locomotives on the lines running into Grand Central Station."

The planned expansion of the Grand Central Station complex in 1912 included the Madison Avenue corner.  On February 23 The Sun explained, "The rebuilding of the Grand Central Station  made necessary a change of site for the Y. M. C. A. building.  It was said on authority yesterday...that the new building will be on Lexington avenue at about Forty-eighth street, and that it will be the finest railroad Y. M. C. A. building in America."

The designers of the new Grand Central Station, Warren & Wetmore, designed the new home of the Railroad Branch Y.M. C.A. on Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets.  Vanderbilt's brothers Frederick W., Alfred Gwynne and William Kissam, donated $100,000 each towards its construction.  

Warren & Wetmore's 1913 building has also been demolished.  Record & Guide, December 6, 1912 (copyright expired)

The Madison Avenue building was demolished in 1917.

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The 1907 House of Relief Stables -- No. 7 Jay Street

photo by Alice Lum

In 1894 the New York Hospital, located on 15^th Street, opened a downtown facility, the House of Relief, on the corner of Hudson and Jay Streets.  The five-story structure--the only medical facility in lower Manhattan--offered free emergency and clinical services for the downtown area.

By 1905 the facility was taxed and an annex building was planned.  The anticipated structure would serve as a stable and storage area for the ambulance vehicles and horses.  On the upper floors a modern laundry operation would handle the heaps of bed linens, towels and other items from the hospital.

Directly behind the House of Relief stood the old three-story house at 9 Jay Street where, in the 1870s, Margaret M. Krekeler had run her boarding house and restaurant.  The hospital purchased the site from the Edward C. Center estate in April 1905.  The architectural firm of Robertson & Potter was given the commission to design the new building.

Completed in 1907, the orange brick structure was based essentially on a firehouse design.  The architects reined in costs by using brick for most of the decorative elements—quoins at the corners and around the windows and bursting voussoirs above.

Creative brickwork provided most of the detailing.  The lion heads along the metal cornice closely resembled those on the House of Relief -- photo by Alice Lum

The first floor was girded in a series of brownstone bandcourses, a pressed metal cornice was adorned with lions heads and dentil molding, and on the Staple Street side a terra cotta cartouche on the third floor displayed the entwined monogram of New York Hospital.  The corner site allowed for a second vehicle entrance to the rear of the building.

Stealing the spotlight from the building proper was the graceful street bridge that connected the third floors of the House of Relief to the stable and laundry building.  The inventive overhead shortcut allowed workers to rush laundry back and forth without going to ground level or being exposed to the elements.

A graceful street bridge connected the hospital with the laundry level of the annex -- photo by Alice Lum

On the ground floor horses were groomed and fed; and ambulances were maintained.  Above, workers sweltered in steamy conditions as bundle after bundle of linens were laundered, ironed, and folded.

In 1915 the City of New York assessed the “three story brick stable” at $40,000—over half a million in today’s dollars.  But the Society of the New York Hospital was about to leave its downtown facilities.  On October 25, 1919 The Sun reported that “The New York Hospital has been acquired by the Government…and the sale also includes 9 Jay street, northwest corner of Staple street, a three story building.”

A handsome terra-cotta cartouche bears the monogram of the New York Hospital -- photo by Alice Lum

The buildings were used by the Public Health Services for years.  In the 1990s the Hospital building was filled with, appropriately, medical offices.   The ambulance and laundry building on Jay Street was being used as manufacturing space at the time.

In the mid 1990s Zoran Ladicorbic, Ltd., produced wearing apparel here.   The operation came to an abrupt halt when the U.S. Government filed suit again the manufacturer for violations of the Care Labeling Rule, violations of the Textile Act, violations of the Wool Act, and Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices in Violation of the FTC Act.

In 1998 the building was converted to a single-family residence.  The main bay doors have been replaced with modern, attractive replacements.  But otherwise the building that housed horse-drawn ambulances below and laundry facilities above is highly intact—including the picturesque street bridge.

photo by Alice Lum

Thanks to Jim Walther for suggesting this post.

The 1904 Auchincloss House -- No. 33 E. 67th St.

The wide service passage allowed for a rare side elevation -- Architecture, January 1904 (copyright expired)

In 1897 Hugh D. Auchincloss and his wife, Emma purchased Hammersmith Farm—the two million square foot estate and villa in Newport built in 1887 by John W. Auchincloss.  The New York Times said at the time that the mansion was “regarded as one of the most valuable here.”  They added a Tuxedo Park, New York estate to their residential holdings before the turn of the century; and then in 1902 began considering their city living arrangements.

Auchincloss was descended from Hugh Auchincloss of Paisley, Scotland who arrived in America in 1801 and established an importing business.   Now Hugh D. Auchincloss and his brother ran the firm as Auchincloss Brothers.  He was also a Director in the Farmers’ Loan and Trust Company, the Bank of the Manhattan Company, the Bowery Savings Bank and the Consolidated Gas Company.

In the early part of 1902 he purchased the high-stooped houses at Nos. 31 and 33 East 67th Street from Dr. George A. MacDonald and D. L. Newborg, respectively.  He paid a total of $126,500 for the properties--just over $3.8 million in today's money.  As happened to so many of the outdated brownstones at the turn of the century, he demolished them to built a modern residence on the site.

Auchincloss hired the architectural firm Robertson & Potter for the project.  During the past decade an interest in things Colonial had erupted; a trend reflected in part in the red brick and limestone neo-Georgian mansions that cropped up among the Beaux Arts and Italian Renaissance palaces near Central Park.  Robertson & Potter would follow suit.  Their plans, filed on May 9, 1902, called for a five-story brick structure to cost $62,000 (interestingly, less than half the price Auchincloss had paid for the site).

The firm created a dignified neo-Georgian mansion five stories tall.   A service passage allowed for windows on three sides—an exceptional luxury even among Manhattan’s wealthiest.  Completed in 1904, the house sat back from the sidewalk, protected by a decorative iron fence with stone posts.  The stylized carved pineapples atop the fence posts signified hospitality—however the sharp, spiky points of the ironwork announced that the hospitality went only so far.

photo by Alice Lum

A graduate of Yale, Auchincloss had a sizable fortune and was a member of the Metropolitan and New York Yacht Clubs, the Century Association and the New England and St. Andrews Societies.  The couple had three children—Hugh Junior, Esther, and Annie Burr Auchincloss.

The Library carried on the Colonial American theme -- photo from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York

Six years after moving into the new home, Hugh Auchincloss became ill.  A combination of diseases troubled him for three years until on the afternoon of April 21, 1913 he died in the 67^th Street mansion.  The New York Times reported that “the direct cause was a stroke of apoplexy.”

The scope of the Auchincloss wealth was evident in Emma’s property taxes the following year—over $100,000 or around $2.5 million in 2020 dollars.

Emma Auchincloss married crystal lighting fixtures, colonial chairs and bear rugs in the stair hall -- photo from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York

Like his father, Hugh Auchincloss, Jr. attended Yale and on November 13, 1915 his mother and her friend, Elizabeth F. Gallaudet, headed to New Haven to the Yale-Princeton football game.  Things went wrong in the Connecticut countryside.

They “had been making good time, when the chauffeur was forced to make a sudden turn to avoid crashing into a vehicle coming down a side road,” reported The Times.  “The limousine ran onto the unmetaled road and capsized.”

Residents of a nearby farm rushed to their assistance and carried the socialites into the farmhouse.  The chauffeur telephoned for help.

The sister of Emma Auchincloss, Annie Burr Jennings was at her summer house in Fairfield.  She arrived first.  Before long Esther J. Auchincloss and Hamilton F. Armstrong arrived, followed by Emma’s brothers, Walter and Oliver Gould Jennings, and Otto T. Bannard. 

The Connecticut farmer found his house crowded with New York millionaires.

Dr. Walter B. James, Emma’s brother-in-law, traveled from Manhattan to tend to her broken collarbone and two ribs, and treat Miss Gallaudet’s injuries.

The architects employed carved band courses, inset panels, splayed lintels and an intricate cornice -- photo by Alice Lum

Perhaps the upheaval of football games and overturned limousines taxed Emma's nerves; for in March she arrived at the Greenbrier resort “to take the cure,” as reported in The Times.  She took her daughters along with her.    It was the beginning of a particularly busy season for Emma.

As the summer social season began, the Auchincloss family was, of course, in Newport.  On July 3 Emma announced the engagement of Esther to Edmund Witherell Nash, “a guest now at Hammersmith Farm,” noted the newspapers.   The following month was young Hugh’s eighteenth birthday, celebrated by a dinner for 40.

Emma's French drawing room included a polar bear, black bear and tiger skin rug -- photo from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York

Esther’s wedding in the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church on February 17, 1917 was a society affair and The Times was taken with the floral arrangements.  “Pots of growing daisies arranged in rows set the pulpit end of the church aside like a garden, and tall palms and Easter lilies filled the space back of the pulpit, while clusters of white Spring blossoms marked each pew.”  Following the ceremony guests were received at the Auchincloss mansion where the newlyweds would live following their honeymoon.

Two years later, on October 31, Esther gave birth to a baby boy in the house.

Esther lived on in the house with her mother after she married -- photo Library of Congress

1920 was another busy year in the Auchincloss residence as preparations were made for the debut of Annie Burr.     As the summer season ended, plans for debutante events were laid.  On September 26 Emma announced plans for a dance at the Ritz-Carlton to be held on January 3 for Annie; and on December 3 Emma gave a tea in the 67^th Street house “to introduce her daughter.”

In 1925 the house was abuzz again with wedding plans.  The engagement of Hugh Auchincloss to Maya de Chrapovitsky had been announced in April 1924.   Now the wedding in the Russian Cathedral on East 97^th Street was slated to take place on June 4.  The bride, born in St. Petersburg to Russian nobility, fled with her mother when the Revolution broke out.  Her father had died in the Russo-Japanese War.

The first floor hall featured beautifully-paned French doors and windows--and a bear rug. -- photo from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York

The wedding was impressive even by New York society standards.   The bride was escorted by several ushers including two Russian barons; “preceded by the icon bearer, little Prince Gagarin, son of the Prince and Princess Gagarin of Russia,” reported The Times.

The couple moved to Washington DC where Hugh became a special agent of the Department of Commerce.   They were back in New York in January 1928 for the wedding of Annie Burr Auchincloss to Wilmarch S. Lewis.  Hugh gave his sister away, as he had done for Esther.

Near tragedy struck six months later when Hugh and Maya took a few friends for a pleasure flight from the Naval Air Station.  After the craft had landed on the beach at the air station, Maya Auchincloss stepped from the airplane and hurried to the other side to thank the pilot.  She walked directly into a spinning propeller.

The unconscious woman suffered a skull fracture and a deep head cut.  “Her hat was cut in two by the force of the blow,” The New York Times felt compelled to report.  The newspaper added “Dr. James F. Mitchell then performed an operation, and her condition tonight was reported as critical with but slight chances of recovery.”

Maya did recover and four years later moved to Reno in order to divorce Auchincloss on grounds of incompatibility.

Delicately carved balustrades, an exquisite plaster ceiling and brocade wallpaper decorated the 2nd floor stairhall.  In the room at the far end is a bear rug. -- photo from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York

In the meantime, about the time of the accident, Emma Auchincloss sold the 67^th Street mansion she built with her husband.   It was purchased by wealthy financier W. Thorn Kissel.

While Maya Auchincloss was filing for divorce in Reno, the Kissel’s were dealing with a burglary epidemic on East 67^th Street.    While the Great Depression raged on, the homes of Manhattan’s millionaires were a temptation for thieves.  Four homes on the block would be hit by burglars within the first six months of that year—among the first was the Kissel residence.

On January 4 The New York Times noted that “A sneak thief pried open the window of the home of Mrs. W. Thorn Kissel, wife of the Wall Street banker, at 33 East Sixty-seventh Street, and stole two diamond brooches and a cigarette case valued at $10,000.” 

Mrs. Kissel was the great granddaughter of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, a fact repeatedly dredged up by the press on occasions like the wedding of the Kissel’s son, W. Thorn Kissel, Jr., on June 17, 1943.  Young Kissel was married in his naval uniform, cutting a dashing image leaving St. James Episcopal Church with his bride, Barbara Eldred Case.   The Harvard graduate honored his father by asking him to serve as best man.

Shortly after the Kissel’s other son, Peter, married Phyllis Ashburn in August 1949 (Peter’s first wife tragically died) the family left the East 67^th Street house for good.  In September 1950 the New York Labor Israel, Inc. purchased the home.

The mansion was converted to offices—up to 15 per floor.   The new owners established offices for the National Committee for Labor Israel here, as well as for the Histadrut Foundation, a Jewish educational group.

By 1986 the house was owned by the Italian Trade Commission, also known as the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade.  The organization promotes Italian trade, business and industry with other countries. 

After nearly two decades in the mansion, the Trade Commission was ready to move on and put the house on the market in the spring of 2011 for $32.2 million.   On September 7 that year a closed bid auction was held for the property.

Robertson & Potter’s exceptional neo-Georgian mansion is outwardly little changed from its 1904 appearance—a wonderful example of a time when early 20^th century Americans reflected on their country’s origins.

photo by Alice Lum