The Dr. Cyrus Edson House - 54 West 9th Street

 

The balcony, stoop, and areaway railings originally matched those of 56 West 9th Street, at right.

In 1853, builder Reuben R. Wood erected three exceptionally handsome homes at 10 through 14 Ninth Street (renumbered 54 to 58 West 9th Street in 1867).  Their three-step porches were protected by brownstone wingwalls surmounted by beefy iron Italianate railings and newels.  The double-doored entrances and parlor windows sat within fully arched openings.  At the second floor, a common balcony stretched the width of the three homes, its railing matching that of the porches and areaways.  The upper floor windows sat below segmental arches and wore molded lintels.  Separate bracketed Italianate cornices crowned the homes.

Wood sold the easternmost house, 10 Ninth Street to tobacco and snuff merchant Christian H. Lilienthal as an investment property.  He and his family lived directly across the street at No. 11.  Lilienthal leased the house in 1853 to Francis A. Bruguiere, a merchant with offices downtown on New Street.  Soon after moving in, he and his wife had a child.  An advertisement in the New York Herald in 1854 read:  "Wanted Immediately--A healthy young wet nurse, with the best city references, particularly from her physician; one without husband or child preferred.  Apply from 11 till 3 o'clock at No. 10 Ninth street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues."

The young woman would be one of several servants in the house.  On October 8 that year, the Bruguieres were seeking, "A Cook, who understands her business thoroughly; none need apply without a very good city recommendation."

Dr. Morris Leo-Wolf and his wife, the former Rachel Franks Salomon, leased the house beginning around 1858.  Born Moritz Leo-Wolf in Germany in 1803, he Anglicized his first name upon emigrating to Philadelphia with his family.  He and Rachel were married on June 14, 1848, and had one child, Ida Johanna.

Morris Leo-Wolf came from a medical dynasty.  His grandfather was a physician, and his father was Dr. William Leo-Wolf who first practiced in Hamburg, Germany and then in Philadelphia.  All three of Morris's brothers--Joseph, William, and George--were doctors.  

Charles Lilienthal advertised the house for rent again in August 1861:

To Let--The English basement brown stone front House, 10 Ninth street, with all the modern improvements, chandeliers and gas fixtures complete; will be rented very moderate to a small family.  Inquire of C. H. Lilienthal, 221 Washington street.

Lilienthal's renters often stayed only for a few years.  Samuel Mitchell, a publisher of maps, and his family were here in the early to mid-1860s.  Edmund H. Weyman, Jr., a merchant at 302 Broadway, occupied the house from 1868 to 1869.  

The following year police captain John Young moved his family into 54 West 9th Street.  They were not here long before the house was targeted by brazen burglars.  At about 10:00 on the morning of May 7, 1870, while the family was away, three teenaged boys forced open the basement door.  The New York Herald reported they stole "all the chandeliers, gas brackets and faucets, valued at $300."  (The figure would translate to about $7,230 in 2024.)

The thieves managed to get as far as Third Avenue near 13th Street when Officer Dunn became suspicious of the bulky bag carried by 16-year-old Peter Gorman.  As he approached, Gorman's accomplices fled, but Gorman was arrested and the fixtures recovered.

Young had been promoted to detective and was still living in the house in 1872 when it was sold to George Starr for $19,100 (around $472,000 today).  

By 1875, the house was occupied by Dr. Charles P. Russel, an expert on infectious diseases.  In addition to this private practice, he was employed by the city as a medical inspector.  

Tragically (and ironically), the Russels' eldest daughter, Florence, contracted diphtheria and died here on February 25, 1875.  Her funeral was held in the parlor two days later.  The Russels almost immediately left West 9th Street.  An auction was held on April 24, the announcement of which listed:

Elegant Household Furniture. original oil Paintings, Marble statuary, Dancing Girl, &c. at the private residence 54 West Ninth street, the entire elegant drawing room, bedroom and dining room Furniture en suite; four French plate mantel and pier Mirrors; satin, damask and real lace curtains, rich chandeliers, Moquet velvet and Brussels Carpets, dwarf Bookcases, &c.; all in fine order and good quality.

The house saw several tenants over the next few years, including vocalist Auguste Dupin; Stevens Voisin, head of the importing firm Stevens Voisin & Co.; and Edward Holland, a superintendent in the city's street sweeping department.

Then, around 1888, another esteemed physician moved in.  Dr. Cyrus Edson was the son of the former mayor, Franklin Edson.  His wife was Virginia Churchill Page, grandniece of the Duke of Marlborough.  Her father, William Rufus Page, was a shipbuilder and U.S. Consul to Turkey and Egypt.  The couple had five children.

Dr. Cyrus Edson (original source unknown)

Born in Albany in 1857, Edson graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1881 and the following year was appointed Assistant Sanitary Inspector of the New York Health Department.  Before the end of the year, he was made Commissioner of the Health Department.  The promotion came during a cholera epidemic.   New York, The Metropolis: Its Noted Business and Professional Men commented:

The appointment of Dr. Edson to be Health Commissioner of the city of New York in this crisis has been hailed with delight by all citizens, in the first place, for no one is more deserving and better qualified, and in the second place, for the purely selfish reason that he above all others is better fitted to fight the cholera, whose advent is so dreaded and expected.

On July 31, 1891, the Wilmington, Delaware Evening Journal reported on the death of Virginia Edson at the age of 37.  The article mentioned, "Four [sic] little children are left motherless by the death of Mrs. Edson.  Cancer was the immediate cause of death."  The funeral was held in the house on August 1, The Press noting, "Several of Dr. Edson's associates on the Board of Health were present.  Many beautiful floral tributes were received."

Interestingly, Cyrus Edson packed up his five children and sent them to his parents' country home.  It appears he almost immediately went looking for a new wife.

On March 31, 1892 (before the doctor's official mourning period had elapsed), The Evening World reported, "It is announced that Dr. Cyrus Edson, Chief of the Bureau of Contagious Diseases...is to wed Mrs. Mary E. Quick, widow of William H. Quick, Dr. Edson's bosom friend, who died four years ago."  The pair's connection went far beyond merely Edson's friendship with Mary's deceased husband.  They were second cousins and, according to The Sun, "Dr. Edson has known Mrs. Quick ever since she was a little girl."  The Evening World mentioned, "Dr. Edson's children have been at the home of his father, ex-Mayor Franklin Edson, Fordham, since the death of their mother."

Edson and his bride enjoyed a wedding trip to Washington.  But shortly upon his return he was faced with another crisis.  He and his team were called to the boarding house at 42 East 12th Street where "several cases of typhoid fever" were reported.  According to Howard Markel in his 1997 Quarantine! East European Jewish Immigrants and the New York City Epidemics of 1891:

In one room alone, Edson reported finding fifteen immigrants prostrated with high fevers, delirium, excruciating headaches, pains, and the tell-tale mulberry rash of typhus, rather than typhoid fever.  This was not a lightly made diagnosis; typhus fever was regarded in 1892 as "one of the most highly contagious of febrile affections."

Edson acted decisively and swiftly.  First, the building and one other were quarantined, and then all the tenants--whether they exhibited symptoms or not--were evacuated and sent to North Brother Island.  A potentially devastating disaster was averted, with only 50 resultant deaths.

In April 1900, 54 West 9th Street was sold to Captain French Ensor Chadwick.  He had commanded the U.S. Flagship New York during the Spanish-American War and had just been appointed president of the Naval War College.  

It does not appear that Chadwick ever lived here, but leased the house.  George Ethridge and his wife occupied the house in the first years of the 20th century.  He was the head of The George Ethridge Company on Union Square, an advertising firm.  His wife found an interesting outlet for her time beyond teas, dinner parties, and benefits.  On November 8, 1903, the New-York Tribune reported on the women's class of the Fencers' Club, noting, "Mrs. George Ethridge, of No. 54 West Ninth-st., is chairman of the women's class."

Art collector and banker Chester Dale lived here in the post-World War I years.  He was, as well, a director in the Montana, Wyoming & Southern Railroad Co.  His wife was painter and art critic Maud Murray.  They filled the house with a superb collection of 19th and 20th century art.  Living with them was Maud's son, Murray Thompson.

Famed artist George Bellows painted this portrait of Chester Dale in 1922.  from the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

Early on the morning of February 4, 1920, fire broke out next door at 52 West 9th Street.  The Dale family fled their home, fearing the worst.  The New-York Tribune reported, "The smoke was so dense that it spread to the home of Chester Dale, at 54 West Ninth Street, forcing Mr. Dale and his stepson, Murray Thompson, to lead Mrs. Dale, who was ill, over several slipper ice-coated roofs to the home of a neighbor."  Luckily for the Dales, the fire did not spread to their home.  Tragically, however, their next door neighbors Edith Morgan and her 14-year-old daughter Ellen perished in the blaze.

The family had an impressive houseguest seven months later.  On September 23, 1920, the New-York Tribune reported, "Henry Woodford, secretary of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Regents Park, London, who is arriving on the Mauretania Saturday, will visit his cousin, Chester Dale, 54 West Ninth Street, while in New York."

Within three months, the Dale family moved out.  On December 11, The Billboard reported, "Tony Sarg, whose marionettes will be seen in a series of thirteen matinees at the Punch and Judy Theater beginning Monday, December 13, has leased a house at 54 West Ninth street as his headquarters.  The building has been remodeled to suit Mr. Sarg's needs and contains a model theater, studio and machine shop."

Tony Sarg was married to the former Mary Eleanor Norcliffe.  In addition to his puppetry, he was a painter, illustrator and "man of letters," according to The International Blue Book in 1926.  Born in Cobán, Guatemala, he was a regular contributor to the Saturday Evening Post.  He designed animated toys, lectured on artistic topics, and created the marionettes that made him famous.  The Sargs maintained a country home on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts.

Tony Sarg, from the collection of the Library of Congress

In 1921 Sarg created the animated film The First Circus.  It would lead to his Marionette and Shadowgraph films and a series of cartoons known as Tony Sarg's Almanac.

Sarg leased rooms in the house to other artists.  Living here in 1920 was painter Louise Janin, and in 1922 illustrator Ethel L. Armstead rented space.  Her works included fashion illustrations and magazine covers.

In 1928 Sar partnered with Bill Baird, another puppeteer, to build massive helium-filled balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.  He was still living at 54 West 9th Street in 1935 when the department store hired him to do the puppet-related work of its elaborate Christmas display windows.

A 1937 postcard depicted Sarg's Nantucket Sea Serpent.

In 1939 Sarg devoted nearly all his time to the New York World's Fair, creating its maps, and promotional items like scarfs, handkerchiefs and table linens.  Despite that profitable commission, Sarg declared bankruptcy that year and was forced to give up his lease on 54 West 9th Street, on which he owed significant bank rent.

In 1941, the original ironwork survived.  image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

The house remained a single-family dwelling until 1961, when it was converted to one apartment per floor.  It was possibly at this time that the Italianate balcony, stoop and areaway railings were replaced with more modern examples, and the molded lintels and sills of the openings shaved flat.

photograph by the author

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The Justice William Mitchell Mansion - 60 West 9th Street

 

Little remains to suggest the nobility of the former mansion.

In 1839, William Beach Lawrence completed construction of three upscale Greek Revival homes at 8 through 12 Ninth Street (renumbered 60 through 64 West 9th Street in 1868).  Faced in red brick, they rose three stories above rusticated English basements.  Wide brownstone stoops rose to the entrances.  The 25-foot widths of the homes suggested the affluence of their intended owners.

The easternmost house became home to Dr. Benjamin William McCready.  Born in New York City in 1813, he started his medical practice in 1835.  One of the founders of Bellevue Hospital, the St. Paul, Minnesota Daily Globe would later call him "one of the most eminent physicians in the country."

In 1858, McCready sold 8 Ninth Street to Judge William Mitchell.  Born on February 24, 1801, he and his wife, the former Mary Leverich Penfold Berrien, had seven children: Edward, Cornelius Berrien, Elizabeth, William Jr., Grace, Marcey, and John Murray.  (John was a newborn when they moved in.)

Mitchell's father, Edward, was a leading Universalist preacher who came to New York from Northern Ireland.  Mary, on the other hand, had deep American roots.  Her Huguenot ancestors settled at Newton, Long Island in 1656 and several of her relatives "were conspicuous patriots in the Revolutionary War," according to New York State's Prominent and Progressive Men in 1900.

William Mitchell had graduated from Columbia College in 1820.  An attorney, he was appointed a justice of the State Supreme Court in 1849 and a year before moving into the Ninth Street house, was made Presiding Justice.  

In 1862, Cornelius Berrian Mitchell graduated from Columbia.  Immediately afterward, he joined the Anthon Battalion Light Artillery and the next year, in 1863, joined the 84th Regiment of the National Guard of the State of New York.  He survived the Civil War, returning to 60 West 9th Street with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

On August 20, 1866, one of the Mitchells' servants, Bridget Coogan, went to the third floor where, according to The New York Times, she saw "two thieves running about from one room to another."  Bridget stealthily crept back down the stairs and ran to the street for a policeman.  One burglar escaped, but Judson Oliver was arrested.  The newspaper said, "Wearing apparel of the value of $100 had been bundled up ready for removal, but was not carried off."  Oliver as sent to the State Prison for two-and-a-half years.

By 1867, Cornelius was a successful merchant and Edward and William were attorneys working in their father's law office.  Like his father and brothers had done, the youngest son, John Murray Mitchell, graduated from Columbia in 1875.  He, too, joined his father's law firm.

William Mitchell died on October 6, 1886 at the age of 85.  On October 10, The New York Times reported, "The funeral of ex-Judge William Mitchell, of the State Supreme Court, was attended yesterday morning by a throng that completely filled the Church of the Ascension at Fifth-avenue and Tenth-street."  Among the pall bears were Professor Barnard of Columbia University, former U.S. Secretary of State William M. Evarts, and Judge Addison Brown.

On New Year's Day 1895, Mary Penfold Berrion Mitchell died in the house at the age of 79.  As had been the case with her husband, her funeral was not held in the parlor, as was expected, but at the Church of the Ascension.

By now, her sons had made names for themselves.   Cornelius was a highly successful merchant.  He married Mary Elizabeth Davis in 1880 and was, according to one source, "an active member of many civic and religious organizations."  Although William Jr., Edward and John Murray formed a law firm in 1889, it would not last long.  William became a United States District Attorney under President Benjamin Harrison, and in 1894 John was nominated as a candidate to Congress.

United States Attorney General William Mitchell around 1905.   from the collection of the Library of Congress. 

John Murray Mitchell married Lillian Talmage in 1896.  The couple remained in his childhood home.  That same year he was elected to Congress.  In 1900, New York State's Prominent and Progressive Men recalled, "The activity and enthusiasm with which Mr. Mitchell tackled the subject of sound-money reform...is evidenced by the fact that on the birth of his son, during the session of Congress, it was unanimously resolved by the committee that the boy should be named 'Currency Bill' Mitchell."  Born in 1898, the boy's name was, in fact, John Murray Mitchell, Jr., but, according to the article, "A copy of the resolution, engrossed, attested, and appropriately framed, adorns the walls of the youngster's nursery."

Congressman John Murray Mitchell, New York State's Prominent and Progressive Men, 1900 (copyright expired)

By now only John and his family, and Grace Mitchell lived in the West 9th Street house.  John's influence went beyond politics.  New York State's Prominent and Progressive Men said, "Mr. Mitchell has long been interested in electrical matters, and built the first five electric railroads in the United States."  The couple's significant wealth and social status were reflected in Mitchell's exclusive club memberships--the New York Athletic, the St. Anthony, and the Metropolitan among others.  The owner of the yacht Bedouin, he was vice-commodore of the American Yacht Club and a member of the New York Yacht, the Corinthian Yacht and the Seawanhaka Yacht Clubs.

Like all monied New York families, the Mitchells summered away from the heat of the city.  On June 6, 1897, for instance, the New York Journal and Advertiser reported, "Congressman John Murray Mitchell and Mrs. Mitchell and family, of No. 60 West Ninth street, New York, will occupy one of the General W. H. Catling's collages on Pine Island [New York]."  

The family later owned a cottage at Tuxedo Park.  It was there, on May 31, 1905, that John Murray Mitchell died.

Grace Mitchell never married.  She lived on in the house in which she had grown up until her death at the age of 81 on February 23, 1936.  Her funeral was held in Grace Church on February 25.

The Mitchell estate sold 60 West 9th Street to Samuel Ferster.  He hired architect Frederick S. Keeler to convert the dignified mansion to apartments.  The alterations, completed in 1938, removed the stoop and lowered the entrance to the former basement level, shaved the window cornices flat, and added a floor with artist's skylights.  Despite the illustrious figures who had occupied the house, The New York Sun said "The Greenwich Village home of the late Mayor John Purroy Mitchel...was remodeled to provide four apartments and two studios."  The newspaper had inexcusably confused "the boy mayor" with John Murray Mitchell.

The configuration lasted until 2011, when the once opulent mansion was reconverted to a single-family home.

photographs by the author

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The James H. Sanford House - 31 West 9th Street

 

Dennis McDermott broke ground for three four-story rowhouses on West 9th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue in 1854.  Their architect was quite possibly James Renwick, Jr., who lived half a block away, at 21 Fifth Avenue.  The 17-foot-wide homes were completed in 1855.  Their Anglo-Italianate style placed the entrances a few steps above the sidewalk.  Above the rusticated first floor, a full-width cast iron balcony fronted floor-to-ceiling windows at the second, and bracketed cornices crowned the design.

It appears McDermott originally leased the center house, 19 Ninth Street (renumbered 31 West 9th Street in 1868).  The lessee operated it as a boarding house, advertising in The New York Times on April 6, 1855:

Rooms and Board.  A second story front room and bedroom to let, separately or together, furnished, or unfurnished, to a gentleman and wife; also rooms for single gentlemen.  Apply at No. 19 9th-st., between 5th and 6th avs.

That no single women were accommodated testifies to the high-class nature of the boarding house.  Living here in 1856 were Cyrus Y. and Harvey S. Bradley, who were in the clothing business on Murray Street; Julius Catlin, Jr., a clerk; printer William C. Martin; and Benjamin K. Phelps, an attorney.

The "first class four story and basement house with the modern improvements" was offered for rent again in April 1857.  It became home to Irish-born actor, poet, author and theater manager John Brougham and his actress wife, the former Annette Hawley.

John Broughman, from the collection of the Library of Congress

Brougham had relocated from London to New York City in 1842, debuting at the Park Theatre.  He opened his own theater, Brougham's Lyceum, in 1850; wrote plays; and edited a comedic paper, The Lantern.  

Annette Brougham had two stage names, Mrs. Annette Nelson and Mrs. Coppleson Hodges.  The Broughams left the West 9th Street house in 1860, returning to London.

The house next became home to merchant Charles J. Spence, whose family would remain here until about 1864.  A daughter dropped a piece of jewelry in the fall of 1863.  Her parents' notice in the New York Herald on October 21 read,

Lost--On Monday afternoon, the 19th inst., between Ninth street, Fifth avenue and Twenty-first street, a child's Gold Armlet, marked (inside the clasp), C.R.S.  The finder will be suitably rewarded by leaving it at 19 Ninth street.

Dr. Morrie Leo Wolf lived here for a year, between 1865 and 1866, after which James H. Sanford purchased the house.  A printer with offices at 644 Broadway, he sold the 31 West 9th Street on April 26, 1870 to Rodney W. and Agnes Looke for $25,000 (about $600,000 in 2024).

Rodney W. Looke was the yard master of the Long Island Railroad's repair yard at Hunter's Point.  He was, as well, a partner with Robert G. Farmer in the Farmer & Looke saloon at 711 Eighth Avenue.  He and Agnes had four children.

In the summer of 1870, Looke was involved in a disturbing incident.  The Long Island Railroad repair yard was "being constantly invaded by river thieves," according to John B. Schmelzer, the railroad's general ticket agent.  Within the past year, $15,000 worth of iron had been stolen.  On the night of August 6, yard workers became aware that men were carrying away iron towards a boat.  Looke joined Schmelzer and a few other workers in chasing the crooks.  Schmelzer handed Looke his handgun and later testified, "The workmen threw stones, and Mr. Looke fired two shots."

Rodney Looke's testimony was slightly different.  The New York Times related, "He fired two shots at the boat, when, not understanding the revolver, he handed the weapon to a canal-boat Captain, who fired two more shots.  The remaining two shots were subsequently fired at a freight car by Mr. Schmelzer."

The reason the men were testifying before a coroner's jury was that one of the burglars, John Smith, was hit and subsequently died.  The New York Times reported, "The jury rendered a verdict of justifiable homicide, though they were in doubt which of the two men fired the fatal bullet."

The parlor of 31 West 9th Street was the scene of the funeral of the Lookes' youngest son, Rodney James, on September 25, 1872.  The boy had died two weeks after his 14th birthday.

Charles Sanford had provided the mortgage on the house to the Lookes.  In 1875, with $18,000 still outstanding, he lost patience and evicted them.  Sanford held a mortgage sale of the "household furniture, piano, French plate mirrors, velvet and Brussels carpets, &c.," on July 8.  Three months later, on October 12, a foreclosure auction of the house was held.

It was purchased by John E. Forbes, a stockbroker, and his family.  Living with them was John's widowed mother, Laura S. Forbes.  The Forbes' residency would be relatively short.  They sold the house in November 1880 to coal mogul Washington Lee.  It appears the purchase was a gift for his daughter Josephine and her husband Bruce Price.  

Born in Maryland in December 1845, Price opened an architectural office in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania where he met Josephine Lee.  The couple was married in 1871.  They moved to New York City in 1877 with their five year old daughter, Emily.   

Bruce Price, image via baltimorearchitecture.org

Among the structures Price designed while living at 31 West 9th Street were the James Alfred Roosevelt estate at Cove Neck, Long Island; the Charles T. How cottage "Cleftstone," in Bar Harbor, Maine; and the sprawling Rumson, New Jersey estate "Seacroft."  The Prices sold the West 9th Street house in March 1894 to W. H. C. Barlett for $21,000 (about $767,000 today).

The Barlett family lived here through 1903, then leased the house to Rafael R. Govin and his wife in 1904.  Govin was a banker at 15 Wall Street.  

Bertha K. Barlett and her sister Helen M. Post had inherited 31 West 9th Street by 1911, when they leased it to Theodore Bromley.  Born in Cornwall, England, he was long involved in the theatrical community.  In 1874, he was made treasurer of Booth's Theatre, later becoming the business secretary of the Actors' Fund of America.  He died in the West 9th Street house on February 4, 1914.

Somewhat surprisingly, on September 26, 1916, The New York Sun reported that the house had been leased "to the Delta Sigma Pi Fraternity for a long term of years."

The Barlett family sold 31 West 9th Street to Emanuel C. de Bonilla in October 1922.  By 1936, it had been converted to unofficial apartments.  Among the residents in 1936 was Charles L. Trout, the head of Charles L. Trout Company, Inc. described by the North Shore Daily Journal as the "widely known jewelry firm."

By 1941, the window details had been removed.  image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

On the morning of February 4, 1936, the 70-year-old failed to show up at work.  Employees were concerned and sent Harold Sensing to the apartment to check on him.  The North Shore Daily Journal reported, "When Sensing arrived there he found the jeweler clad in pajamas, dead in the bathtub of his two room apartment.  In his right hand was a revolver.  In his right temple a wound."

Contract bridge expert Josephine M. Culbertson lived here at mid century.  Born Josephine Murphy, she was hired as the secretary to bridge expert Wilbur C. Whitehead in 1920.  Through him she not only learned the game, but quickly mastered it.  By 1922, she was teaching the game and met Ely Culbertson, "an up-and-coming young bridge player," as described by The New York Times.  The couple was married the next year.

The Culbertsons taught, lectured and wrote about bridge, earning each of them $100,000 per year by 1936, according to The New York Times.  Although they divorced in 1938, they remained close friends and in 1954 Josephine edited a book on contract bridge by her former husband. 

Josephine Culbertson was living here on March 24, 1956 when she died at the age of 57 after suffering a stroke.

In 1987, the house was officially converted to apartments, with a doctor's office on the first floor.  Although the window details have been shaved off, 31 West 9th Street is the best preserved of the original row.

many thanks to reader Ari Heckman for requesting this post.

photographs by the author

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A 1935 Remodel - 29 West 9th Street

 

As the upscale tenor of Fifth Avenue spilled over to the side blocks in the decade prior to the Civil War, builder Dennis McDermott erected a trio of handsome residences on the north side of West 9th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in 1854-1855.  

Designed in the Anglo-Italianate style, their entrances within the rusticated first floor were a few steps above the sidewalk.  A full-width cast iron balcony fronted floor-to-ceiling windows on the second floor, and bracketed cornices crowned the design.

Dr. William E. Parsons, described by The New York Times as "one of the most prominent and wealthy dentists of New York," purchased 17 West 9th Street (later renumbered 29) as an investment.  His tenant seems to have operated it as a high-end boarding house in the 1850s.  Among the residents in 1856 and 1857 were Robert B. Clerk, who was appropriately a clerk; William Clibborn; and merchant John Dean.  

In the late 1860's, Dr. Caleb C. and Dr. Phoebe A. F. Dusenbury lived here.  The unusual husband-wife medical team were described by The American Spiritualist as "Doctors of Magnetics."  Adherents of the "Magnetic Movement Cure," they used "vital magnetism, electricity, baths, &c." to eradicate disease "without stimulants or drugs."  The American Spiritualist touted, "No drunkards or cripples made here."

In the meantime, Dr. William E. Parsons and his family lived at 86 Christopher Street.  He and his wife Louisa had five children.  Trouble within the family came around 1869 when Parson's brother Rueben died leaving a fortune of $75,000 to William's children.  (The inheritance would translate to about $1.7 million in 2024.)  Parsons, who "wanted the money himself," according to The New York Times, managed to overturn his brother's will and receive the entire amount.

The resulting furor within the family prompted Louisa to leave her husband and move into the West 9th Street house with her adult son, Rev. Reuben J. Parsons.  The New York Times reported, "With this money and that which he had of his own, Dr. Parsons retired from active life and went to Pound Ridge, in Westchester county to live."

Reuben J. Parsons was born in 1841 and ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1866.  The American Catholic would later say he was "the son of a mixed marriage, his father Protestant, his mother one of the old faith."  He would be best remembered as a church historian, producing both books and articles for decades.  While living here in 1872, his first book, A Biographical Dictionary was published.

Although Louisa Parsons and Rev. Parsons left 29 West 9th Street in 1875, the drama of the Parsons family played out in newspapers for years.  The day after Louisa died in 1892, Dr. Parsons married his housekeeper, Miss Pullen.  The couple already had a child, Jessie K, who was 17 years old at the time.  At some point William E. Parsons rewrote his will, leaving his entire estate to Jessie and ignoring the children he had with Louisa.

Parsons died on April 11, 1897.  William E. Parsons Jr. and his sister Emily Parsons Wagstaff sued to overturn the will, asserting their father "was unsound, mentally, for years before his death and when the will was made," according to The New York Times.  The Washington D.C. newspaper The Times reported, "The suit was hotly contested, but in the end the courts upheld the will, and the young woman was left in absolute possession of the money.  Since then she has lived an aimless life."

Jessie Parsons came to New York City on November 1, 1897 and checked into the Manhattan Hotel "where she was known as a frequent guest," according to The Times of Washington D.C.  Three days later the newspaper reported, "At noon yesterday her body was found in the bed.  She had shot herself in the mouth."  William E. Parsons Jr. was not sympathetic, telling a reporter from The New York Times that she most likely killed herself "because she knew she hadn't done right."  The Parsons siblings renewed their fight in court to obtain their father's fortune.

Sisters Josephine I. Parsons and Emily H. Parsons Wagstaff had purchased 29 West 9th Street from their father in November 1890 for $17,400--about $586,000 today.  They leased it to Judge Robert Ludlow Fowler and his wife, the former Julia Groesbeck.  The couple, who were married in 1876, had four children, William Slocum Groesbeck; Robert, Jr.; Mary and Elizabeth Burnet Groesbeck.

A judge in the Surrogate Court, the erudite Fowler had published Our Predecessors and their Descendants for the Fowler family a year before moving into the West 9th Street house.  Julia busied herself with charitable work, donating items like blankets and yard goods to organizations like the Utica State Hospital and the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

Like her neighbors, Julia Fowler maintained a domestic staff.  On September 20, 1896, she advertised, "Wanted--Butler and cook; man and wife; with first-class reference."

On the evening of September 30, 1900, what turned out to be a minor incident resulted in chaos and panic on the block.  The New-York Tribune reported, "A little wind blew a curtain against a lighted gas jet on the third floor of the home of R. L. Fowler, at No. 29 West Ninth-st., last evening.  The fire was extinguished in a few seconds without more than slight damage to the curtain." 

But before the flames were put out, a passerby saw them and ran down the block to send in an alarm.  Firefighters were informed that the Chinese Consul's house at 26 West 9th Street was burning.  They arrive to find no fire.  "The firemen then thought the blaze was in Dr. Hubbard's, at No. 27, and without waiting to ask they smashed off the knob of the front door and rushed into the house."  The astonished Hubbards explained that the small fire had been at the Fowler house.  The New-York Tribune reported the fire fighters "returned to quarters."  Dr. and Mrs. Hubbard were left to deal with their broken-in door.

The following year, Joseph Parsons and Emily Wagstaff leased the house to S. S. Chamberlain for one year at $1,800 (about $65,000 today).  Then in 1902 the sisters rented 29 West 9th Street to Dr. Thomas C. Chalmers.

A widower, Chalmers came from a medical family.  His father was Dr. Thomas C. Chalmers, Sr., and his older brother was Dr. Matthew Chalmers, who had served as an assistant surgeon in the Navy during the Civil War.  Matthew Chalmers retired the year Thomas and his family moved into 29 West 9th Street and Thomas absorbed his practice.

Dr. Thomas Chalmers graduated from New York University in 1897, and was a member of the Sons of the Revolution.  Living with him was his daughter Louise.  She became engaged to Reginald Ducat in 1911.  On May 27, five days before the wedding, Louise hosted a dinner party for the ten bridesmaids and ushers.  The Sun mentioned, "Miss [Elizabeth] Ducat will give a luncheon for the same guests at Sherry's and Mr. and Mrs. L. Valentine Pulsifer...will give a dinner for them."

Louise's wedding in Grace Church was reported in detail in the society pages.  The New York Times mentioned, "The church ceremony was followed by a small reception at the home of the bride's father, 29 West Ninth Street.  Mr. and Mrs. Ducat will spend most of the Summer in England, where Mr. Ducat was educated at Trinity College."

Society was stunned when, only four weeks later on July 30, 1911, The New York Times reported that Dr. Thomas C. Chalmers was engaged to Elizabeth Ducat.  The article said, "Those who heard of it looked upon the match as a rather romantic one, for it was only on June 1 that Miss Ducat acted as maid of honor at the wedding of Miss Louise Chalmers."  It continued, "Miss Ducat is considerably younger than the physician...After Aug. 19 Dr. Chalmers and his bride will be at home in West Ninth Street."

But, instead, the Palmer sisters leased the house to newlyweds Richard and Lois Swan Lawrence.  The couple was married at the American Embassy in Paris on September 29, 1911, and a month later, on November 7, 1911, The New York Times reported they rented the house "for a term of years."  But tragedy would change that.  

On August 28, 1912, The New York Times reported, "Mrs. Lois Swan Lawrence, the wife of Richard Lawrence, died at her home, 29 West Ninth Street, on Sunday."  Lawrence almost immediately moved out, and in December the house was leased to Ernesta Davis.

No. 29 West 9th Street was again a social center when lawyer William Marston Seabury and his wife, the former Katharine Emerson Hovey, leased the house in the post-World War I years.  The couple had three daughters, Katharine Lispenard (who often went by her middle name), Etheldreda, and Muriel Gurdon.

On December 28, 1919, the New York Sun reported, "[Mr. and] Mrs. William Marston Seabury gave a dansant yesterday afternoon in their home 29 West Ninth street, for their daughters, Miss Katharine Lispenard Seabury and Miss Etheldreda Seabury.  The guests, numbering about one hundred, included many of this year's debutantes and students from Harvard, Yale and Princeton who are at home for the holidays."  (Muriel, who was nine years old, was still too young to participate.)

A year later, on December 25, 1920, the New York Herald announced, "Mr. and Mrs. William Marston Seabury of 29 West Ninth street have sent out invitations for an afternoon dance next Friday for their daughters, the Misses Lispenard and Etheldreda W. Seabury.  Miss Lispenard Seabury will be one of next season's debutantes."

As preparations were being made for Lispenard's debut, on October 23, 1921 the New York Herald noted, "During the summer Miss Seabury made an extended trip through Europe.  Her mother plans to hold an old fashioned afternoon reception to introduce her daughter on December 17 at the family home."  The article said her family had been "associated with the history of New York since Colonial days...She is directly descended from the Lispenard and Leonard families who gave their names to some of the oldest streets in this city and also of Bishop [Samuel] Seabury, the first Episcopal Bishop of America."

After having been in the family for nearly seven decades, Josephine L. Parsons and Emily H. Wagstaff sold 29 West 9th Street in April 1922.  

In 1935 the house was given a striking remodeling.  Architect William S. Gregory, who was best known for designing churches, gave the brick and brownstone a veneer of stucco.  The 1854 lintels and sills were removed, as was the cast iron balcony.  In place of the second floor windows, a wall of steel sash casements was installed.  The cornice was replaced with a parapet decorated with protruding pipe-like tiles.

29 West 9th Street was originally a copy of 31 West 9th Street, at left.  image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

The basement, first and second floors were renovated to a triplex apartment.  There were now two apartments each on the third and fourth floors.

Living here from 1962 to 1972 were children's author Maurice Sendak and his domestic partner, psychoanalyst Eugene Glynn.  While living here Sendak wrote and illustrated Where the Wild Things Are.  On March 10, 1964, The New York Times reported it had won the Randolph J. Caldecott award for "most distinguished American picture book."  The article noted, "Some book critics have termed Mr. Sendak's creations too frightening for children, but the committee of librarians found them 'grotesque, kindly and humorous--never terrifying."

Sendak also wrote In the Night Kitchen, published in 1970, while living here.  That year he received the Hans Christian Andersen Award.  In 1996 he was honored by President Bill Clinton with the National Medal of Arts.

photographs by the author

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The Hotel Griffou - 19 - 23 West 9th Street

 

The arches of the ground floor openings have been filled in.

In 1855, three handsome rowhouses were completed at 55 through 59 Ninth Street (renumbered 19 to 23 West 9th Street in 1868).  Assessed to Samuel T. Hubbard, architectural historians agree they were most likely designed by James Renwick Jr.  Four stories tall, their rusticated ground floors featured fully arched windows and doors of matching proportions.  Heavy Italianate fencing anchored by stone gateposts protected the areaways.  A single, iron-railed balcony fronted full-height French windows at the second floor, and the elliptically-arched windows of the third and fourth floors sat within molded architrave frames.  The three houses shared a common bracketed cornice.

Each of the houses became home to well-heeled merchants.  Interestingly, Benjamin W. Bush and Samuel Smith, who were in business together at 25 William Street, shared 55 Ninth Street in 1856.  Next door lived the family of James M. Jones, who owned two "gents furnishing" shops, one on William Street and the other on Warren Street; and merchant John W. Quincy and his family lived in 59 Ninth Street. 

Intriguingly, given that he is often credited for designing the homes, in 1863 James Renwick Jr. moved into 55 Ninth Street (he had been living directly across the street at 56).  He would remain here through 1868, after which the Parmly family moved in.

An announcement in the 1868-69 issue of Trow's Directory read, "David R. Parmly, dentist, removed from Bond st. to No. 19 W. 9th n[ear] Fifth Av. (old No. 55)."  Jehial Parmly was a partner with David in the dental office of J. & D. R. Parmly, which operated from the house through 1874.

By then, Kitty A Price, the widow of Thompson Price, was operating 21 West 9th Street as an exclusive boarding house.   When she left in April 1870, the furniture was auctioned.  The lengthy offering included a rosewood parlor suite, "in crimson brocatel and reps, rosewood Sienna marble top mirror back etageres, rosewood marble top side tables, rosewood wardrobes, rosewood marble top dressing bureaus and washstands," and on and on.

Marie Griffou's purchase of 19 West 9th Street in 1879 would eventually affect all three houses.  But for now, like Kitty A. Price, she opened an exclusive boarding house.  It was almost immediately the scene of tragedy.  On January 6, 1880, The New York Times reported, "Yesterday morning Jean A. Tabarie, a Frenchman, shot himself in the right temple with a revolver, in his bedroom, on the second floor of Mme. Marie Griffon's [sic] boarding-house, No. 19 West Ninth street, and died after his admission to St. Vincent’s Hospital."  

The 36-year-old had been a "traveler" for F. Boegler & Co., wine merchants (a traveler was a traveling salesman).  The New York Times flatly attributed his demise saying, "He was intemperate."  At 1:00 on the morning of January 5, Colonel Rosa, who occupied a room next to Taberie heard a gunshot and the dying man was discovered.  The article said, " To his landlady he wrote a note requesting her to dispose of his effects as she pleased but to give his watch to a person who would call for it, and present an order signed by him."

By 1884, Marie Griffou had expanded into 21 West 9th Street and the combined buildings were known as the Hotel Griffou.  Despite Madame Griffou's French heritage, the hotel soon became a favorite for Spanish visitors.  Two of them raised the suspicions of journalists in the fall of 1884.

On November 22, The New York Times reported on the arrival of two Spaniards, Jose Masco and N. Castiglio, on the French steamship Chateau Yquem.  "They talked nothing but Spanish, but some of the French passengers of the steamer, who understood that language, gathered from conversation which passed between them that they were escaped prisoners; that they had broken jail somewhere in Spain, made their way to Bordeaux, and started for America to place the ocean between themselves and the Spanish Government," said the article.

After receiving their luggage at Castle Garden, they hurried to the Hotel Griffou, where they found refuge.  The reporter who visited the hotel was told by a manager that, indeed, the men were escaped prisoners, but he was unclear if they "were ordinary convicts of prisoners of State, but thought they were the latter."  The reporter was told, "they were safe in his house, and no person should see them until they were ready to show themselves."

The hotel received a celebrated guest on September 12, 1890.  General Antonio Maceo was known to fellow Cubans as "The Bronze Titan" and to Spaniards as the "El León  Mayor," the "Greater Lion."  On September 15, 1890, The Evening World wrote:

The prim and tidy little Spanish Hotel Griffou in West Ninth street shelters a most distinguished guest in the person of Gen. Antonio Maceo, who, though a colored man and but forty-two years old, has played a most important part in the Spanish West Indies and been a retired politician for a dozen years.

General Antonio Maceo, from Photographic History of the Spanish-American War,1898 (copyright expired)

He explained to a reporter from The Evening World, "I got a letter from the Governor August 28, telling me that I must leave Cuba within twenty-four hours, and that a company of soldiers would escort me on board the steamer Cienfeugos...and was to sail next day for New York."  With him was his wife, described by the journalist as "a dark-skinned but pleasing featured little woman in a chocolate-brown silk gown."

The article said, "the corridors of the little Spanish hotel are literally filled by the twelve trunks and boxes of the distinguished Cubans, and they are receiving many callers of their own race to-day."

Living with their mother were Eugene Griffou, an inspector with the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad, and Louis Griffou, who helped run the hotel.

An advertisement for the Restaurant Griffou in December 1897, read, "Undoubtedly the best table d'hote in the city for the price--50 cts.  All the delicacies of the season; come and try it.  Hours from 5:30 to 8:30 P.M.  A la Carte at all hours." 

Daily room rates at the time were $3 for the American Plan (three meals were included) or $1 for the European Plan (meals were charged independently of the room).  The lesser rate would translate to about $37 a day in 2024.

An outdoor restaurant in the rear, covered by an awning, was provided to diners in the warm months.  New-York Tribune, August 4, 1901 (copyright expired)

Madam Marie Griffou died in April 1906.  The Sun recalled the palmy days of the hotel and restaurant during the nearly three decades of her proprietorship.  It mentioned guests that not only included, "brave names like Antonio Maceo, President Palma, Mlle. Aimee, Andre Castaigne; but all the writers, sculptors and painters who for twenty-eight years have either lived at the hotel or dined, in the summer time in the open air out on the rear portico among the potted plants."

Later that year, on the afternoon of October 25, a man named Sinclair arrived at the Hotel Griffou and inquired about vacant rooms.  The New York Times reported, "Annie Holman, a maid, was at the desk at the time and told him there was one on the second floor, the rate of which was $2 a day."  Registering as "Mr. Sinclair of Burlington, Vermont," he paid in advance and said he might stay there that night, "but that he was expecting his wife on Friday morning, and would certainly occupy it on Friday night."

Sinclair returned on Friday morning with his young wife, whom The New York Times said "was expensively dressed."  They had a light breakfast, then retired to their rooms.

In fact, Mr. Sinclair was the 60-year-old New York businessman Louis G. Hampton.  He was married with a child and lived in the Chelsea Hotel.  Mrs. Sinclair was 28-year-old Victoria L. Taczkow, who was unaware that her lover of two years was married.  He had repeatedly assured her that as soon as his mother died, he would marry her.

At around 10:30 that night, Annie Holman happened to be in the second floor corridor when she heard noises which she later recognized as pistol shots.  Hampton had asked to be awakened at 11:00 and when Annie got no answer at the door at that time, she remembered the noises and became alarmed.  She ran to Louis Griffou who broke into the room.

Louis Hampton lay on the floor with a bullet wound in his head, the revolver still in his hand.  "Half seated, half lying on the bed opposite the dead man was the body of the young woman," said The New York Times.  She had been shot three times.  The article noted, "From marks on her neck the Coroner believes Hampton tried to pin her down in the bed with one hand while he shot."

Sadly, Louis Griffou could not maintain the hotel his mother had established.  On March 9, 1907, The Sun reported, "Louis Griffou, who had tried unsuccessfully to keep the hotel going since Madame Marie, his mother, died last April, was hiding from his creditors some place.  Back in the dimly lighted dining room, with its old fashioned furnishings, the chairs were piled on the tables.  The cigar case contained nothing but a drunken heap of empty boxes."

The article recalled,

It is nearly thirty years since Mme. Marie Griffou got hold of the two houses at 19-21 West Ninth street and opened the little hotel that later achieved the fame of being featured in short stories.  In its heyday William M. Chase, Augustus St. Gaudens, Carroll Beckwith and others spent their days in the big barnlike Studio Building, around the block in West Tenth street, and when the noon hour happened along they gathered before the broiled chicken, the spaghetti and the pink ink of the Griffou, because the chicken was good and because the professional bohemians hadn't found the place as yet.  Indeed, the professionals never found it.

A waiter named Cervio Hernandez, who had been with the Hotel Griffou for twenty years, recalled an impressive list of guests and diners.  He remembered that writer Josiah Flynt, "for eight years he come here on and off and write and write and write;" and Andre Castigne, "When he come to America from France straight to the Griffou he repair and always he stay here." 

Hernandez's list went on and on.  "And there were great poets--Edmund Clarence Stedman, he comes, and Charles G. D. Roberts and Bliss Carman.  Long, long ago, Mlle. Aimee, who is a famous French artiste in the Opera Comique then, she stay here when she come to America to sing in the Grand Opera House...The tall Herr Magelewsen, the sculptor, come here almost till the last box of cigarettes is sold from the case last week."

The Hotel Griffou was sold to Oreste Giolito, who renamed it the Hotel Europe and kept Cervio Hernandez on.  The New York Times revealed a shocking detail about Hernandez on January 27, 1909.  "He was a Cuban negro, born a slave, and never doubted that he was the possession of the Griffou family, with whom he came to this country.  He was devoted to the family and took delight in ministering to the wants of the regular patrons of the hotel."

On January 25, 1909, Hernandez "crept down to the room of a young Russian engineer and told him he was very ill," reported The New York Times.  Oreste Giolito took him to St. Vincent's Hospital, where he died within fifteen minutes.  Giolito and two others were arrested under suspicion of murdering the old Cuban, however they were released after seven hours in jail.

Living at the Hotel Europe during the decade between 1909 and 1919 was journalist Ida Tarbell.  Born in 1857, she was known as a muckraker, and is perhaps best remembered for her 1904 The History of the Standard Oil Company.  It contributed to the breaking of the Standard Oil monopoly.

Ida Tarbell, from the collection of the Library of Congress

Another professional woman who lived here in 1913 was Maude E. Miner.  The unmarried physician attended the Fifteenth Congress on Hygiene and Demography in Washington D.C. in September 1912.  

Professional dancer Leon Leitrim lived here in 1921.  The partner of dancer Florence Walton, he spent a night in the Hackensack, New Jersey jail on August 7 that year on a charge of reckless driving and intoxication.  The New York Evening World said the police station "was the scene of voluble explanations," adding, "Miss Walton protested strongly that Leitrim was not intoxicated, although she admitted he might have taken a glass of wine."

A more serious offense--impairing the morals of a minor--was charged against 52-year old scenic artist Livingston Platt on October 7, 1933.  When he failed to appear at the West Side Court on October 17, according to the New York Sun, "it was learned that Platt had written a letter to a friend hinting at suicide."  Agents went to his apartment here "and found it deserted."  Platt had disappeared, leaving a note to his attorney saying there was no need to search for him, because he would be dead.

In 1941 the arches of the ground floor, the Italianate areaway ironwork and the 1855 balcony railings were intact.  image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

At the time, 23 West 9th Street held apartments, one of them home to actor and artist John Bryan.  He was the grandson of William Jennings Bryan.  At 3:10 on the morning of January 2, 1943, Florence Paine, who lived in the apartment next to him, was awakened by a loud thud.  Bryan was found unconscious on the floor near his desk and died before the doctor could respond to the scene.  The following day, The New York Times reported, "Although the police at first suspected foul play and listed the death as 'suspicious,' an autopsy revealed that Mr. Bryan had died naturally and injuries on his body were old ones."

Fifteen years later, on January 30, 1958, The New York Times reported that Nat Simons, owner of the Penguin Restaurant in 19 and 21 West 9th Street, had purchased all three houses.  The article noted, "The buildings contain twenty-one small apartments."

The Villager, December 24, 1959

After more than two decades in the combined buildings, The Penguin restaurant gave way to Marylou's by 1985.  It was, according to The New York Times on December 26, 1997, a favorite of actor Jack Nicholson.  After becoming home to Calle Nueve, and then Pierres Roulantes in 2002, a full-circle moment occurred in 2009 when the aptly-named restaurant Hotel Griffou opened.

Although the arches over the ground floor openings have been filled in, and a steel railing replaces the original cast iron version on the balcony, the three cojoined houses are remarkably intact after nearly 170 years.

photographs by the author

no permission to reuse the content of this blog has been granted to LaptrinhX.com