The George W. Fairchild House - 329 West 85th Street

 

Somewhat surprisingly, the stained glass parlor transoms survive.

In 1890, real estate developer Perez Stewart commissioned Ralph S. Townsend to design a row of first-class houses along the north side of West 85th Street, between Riverside Drive and West End Avenue.  The 46-year-old architect created a striking group of nearly identical three-story-and-basement residences, completed in 1891.  They were designed in the Romanesque Revival style and splashed with a touch of Queen Anne at the delightful attic level with its pyramidal caps.

The parlor levels sat above especially high English basements, both of which were faced in rough-cut stone.  The otherwise identical facades were distinguished by individual carved elements--the keystones above each entrance and incidental medieval style decorations.  The upper two stories were faced in brick and trimmed in undressed stone.  Shallow stone bowls at the second floor, and smaller versions at the third, most likely held decorative cast iron railings.

Five days after the houses were completed, operator P. T. Radiker purchased 329, 331 and 333 West 85th Street.  Known as "the House Merchant" within the real estate community, he initially leased them to affluent families.

The George Winfield Fairchilds first rented 329 West Street.  Fairchild had married Helen Louis Booth in 1889.  Helen's father, Ralph W. Booth, had died in 1884 and following the death of her mother in 1893, at least one of Helen's unmarried sisters (there were two, Lizzie A. and Lucy Dailey Booth), lived with the couple.

Helen's sister was an animal lover.  Once-a-year "Miss Booth" donated a horse blanket to the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.  

The Fairchilds' fashionable lifestyle was typical of the residents along the row.  On February 11, 1894, for instance, the New York Herald reported, "Mrs. George Fairchild, of No. 329 West Eighty-fifth street, gave a handsome dinner party on Thursday night."  And five months later, The New York Times remarked, "Mr. and Mrs. George Winfield Fairchild...have gone to Avon-by-the-Sea for the Summer."

It would be one of the last summer seasons for the Fairchilds in the 85th Street house.  In February 1896 the 20-foot-wide residence was offered for rent again.  The ad noted that it contained "all improvements; just decorated."  The annual rent was listed at $1,500, an affordable $4,500 per month by 2023 terms.

image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

No. 359 West 85th Street became home to Emanuel Hayman, known professionally as Harry Mann.  He had already had a colorful career.  When he entered the theatrical field in 1876 at the age of 23 he changed his name.  He started out managing minstrel shows, starting with Primrose and West's Minstrels, and then J. H. Haverly's Minstrels.  He moved on to the legitimate stage when he became manager of the Fourteenth Street Theatre.  When he moved into the 85th Street house, he was the business manager of the Knickerbocker Theatre, of which his brother Albert Hayman was proprietor.  (Another brother, Alfred, worked with theater manager and producer Charles Frohman.)

In April 1901 Mann's health began to fail.  Doctors diagnosed him with "Bright's disease, with complications," according to The New York Times.  After the diagnosis, he spent much of his time in Saratoga.  In July, The New York Times remarked, "although he visited the city several times, he has not been well since Spring."

He was at Saratoga in late June when his condition worsened.  On July 9 the 48-year-old fell into unconsciousness and he died thirty hours later.  His body was brought back to 329 West 85th Street where his funeral was held on July 14.

Two months later, Mary Harrison and Nancy Crozier purchased the house.  Like its former owners, they leased it.  When it was sold again in June 1905, the house finally had a resident owner.  

Louis Bassave was described by the New York Herald as "a wealthy Cuban planter."  (The Rome Daily went further, saying he was a "millionaire Cuban planter.")  Living with him and his wife, Antonia M. Aciego de Bassave, were their daughter and her husband, John Lynch.

On February 25, 1912, the Bassaves were in Cuba.  Only the butler, Eugene Berand, was at home at 5:00 that afternoon when he heard the opening of drawers and the sound of clinking silverware coming from the downstairs.  The New York Herald reported, "he armed himself with a club made from a sawed off billiard cue and descended to the dining room."  At the sideboard was a man wearing a mask, who turned and aimed a revolver at Berand.  The courageous butler "tried to knock down the weapon with his club.  They exchanged half a dozen blows, but at last the burglar struck Berand on the head with the butt of his revolver."

Berand was knocked unconscious.  But seconds later John Lynch came home.  When the burglar heard the door being unlocked, he fled leaving behind a suitcase packed with silverware and other valuable objects.  The New York Herald reported, "When Berand revived, Mr. Lynch, who had entered as the scuffle ended, was leaning over him."

On April 1, 1918, The Sun reported that Antonia M. Aciego de Bassave had leased 329 West 85th Street to Alice Verlet.  Known to opera lovers as Madame Verlet, the coloratura soprano was born in Belgium in 1873, and had appeared on the stages of Europe's most prestigious opera houses.  In 1916 she had begun recording for Edison Records, but on August 1, 1918 The Musical Leader reported that she "will enter the concert and recital field again this fall."  

Madame Alice Verlet as she appeared in the 1912 production of Mozart's Magic Flute.  from the collection of the Biblioteque Nationale de France.

After leasing the house, Alice Verlet began giving vocal lessons.  The article noted:

During the past four months she has been giving much time to a class which is assuming portentous size.  Mme. Verlet has taken an interesting house in New York at 329 West Eighty-fifth street.  Its rooms are large, particularly suitable for musicals, and Mme. Verlet plans to present some of her pupils there in recital.

The Bassaves sold 329 West 85th Street in February 1920.  The new owner, Mathilda Tarafa leased it on October 1, 1921 to another operatic voice coach, Alfredo Martimo.

The New York Courier, February 1922

The house would be sold twice before Patrick J. O'Keeffe purchased it in December 1931.  O'Keeffe was patiently buying up the row.  On December 15, The New York Evening Post noted that he already owned 331 and 335.  His first purchase was 335 West 85th Street in 1920, following by 331 in 1922.  Eight days after buying 329 West 85th Street, he added 337 to his collection.  He would not live to see the complete row under his ownership.  In 1938 his estate took title to 333 West 85th Street.

In the meantime, 329 West 85th Street was being operated as rented rooms.  Living here in the summer of 1937 was 41-year-old James Mackie, a waiter.  On August 18 he walked into Fred Katz's butcher shop at 2551 Broadway and, according to The New York Post, "ordered all the beefsteak he could carry."  Katz was "delighted" according to the article, and handed $23.87 worth of steaks over the the "apparently affluent man."  (The bill would translate to around $485 today.) 

The newspaper continued, "Less delighted was Katz when the customer walked out without paying, got into his car and sped away."  Katz gave chase, joined by a policeman, and they caught Mackie two blocks away.  Calling Mackie a man "who knew a steak when he saw one," The New York Post reported that in night court he "denied intent to steal."

On October 5, 1954, the row of homes was sold to Havens Enterprises, Inc.  The firm hired the architectural firm of Wechsler & Schimenti to renovate them into apartments.  The stoops were removed and the doorways replaced with windows.  There were now two apartments per floor within 329 West 85th Street.

Despite the regrettable loss of the stoops and an ill-advised coating of chocolate- and cream-colored paint, Ralph Townsend's overall design still draws attention.

photographs by the author

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The Lost Staats-Zeitung Building - Centre Street and Tryon Row

 

from the collection of the New York Public Library

The German language newspaper Staats-Zeitung (State Newspaper) was founded in 1834 by a group of well-establish German immigrants.  Its success was such that in 1857 a handsome structure was erected at 17 Chatham Street.  The site was at the blunt end of the trapezoidal block bounded by Chatham Street, Centre Street and Tryon Row, and within the neighborhood populated by newspapers.

The 1857 Staats-Zeitung Building.  (original source unknown)

Only 14 years later, in 1871, the newspaper had outgrown its headquarters.  Architect Henry Fernbach was commissioned to design a larger, grander replacement.  He took inspiration from the palatial Parisian hotels and civic buildings designed in the new Second Empire style.  Engulfing the Tryon Row blockfront, it rose five stories, the top level taking the form of a dormered mansard.  Fernbach rounded the corners, affording not only entrances to ground floor businesses but additional light and ventilation.  The rusticated ground floor was clad in Quincy blue granite and the upper floors in gray granite from Concord, New Hampshire.  A two-story portico with paired columns supported a balustraded balcony at the third floor.  Here two life-size bronze sculptures of Benjamin Franklin and Johannes Guttenberg--representing  the American and German printing industries--stood upon the stone balustrade.

The Staats-Zeitung property can be seen at lower left.  Real Estate Record & Guide, December 29, 1906 (copyright expired)

Construction commenced in August 1871.  As the building took shape on November 9, 1872, the Record & Guide said the building "looms up as quite an important feature in that very prominent part of the city."  The article explained that the press rooms "and other working machinery of the establishment" would be in the cellar and basement.  Half of the first floor would hold the offices of the Staats-Zeitung, "which will be by far the largest and most beautiful newspaper office yet seen in New York."  The second and third floors were to be leased to the city for the offices of the Department of Taxes and Assessments and Counsel to the Corporation.  The fourth floor would house the newspaper's editorial rooms, while the mansard level "will be employed for compositors."  The portion of the ground floor not used by the newspaper was "intended for banks, insurance offices, and similar institutions."  Among the modern amenities in the Staats-Zeitung Building was an elevator.

A month before the Record & Guide's assessment, a series of incidents at the construction site caused the New York Dispatch to title an article on August 18, "The New Staats Zeitung Building Becoming Infamous."  The openings on the sidewalk that would eventually access the basement and cellar levels were poorly guarded.  The article noted, "On the Centre street side of the building is an opening between thirty and forty feet in depth, unprotected save by some pieces of the stone used in the work of construction and by a pole placed on top of them."

When darkness fell, unwary pedestrians could not easily discern the danger.  The New York Dispatch reported, "Shortly before one o'clock on Saturday morning, a man was found by the police...in the basement of the new Staats Zeitung building, at Tryon Row and Centre street, into which he had fallen."  The victim was so seriously injured that he was immobile.  It was just the most recent in a string of similar incidents, two of which had proved fatal.  The article continued:

On Thursday morning an unknown man was found dead in the basement of the same building, having been killed by falling into it.  A woman named Rosanna Murphy fell into the same cellar on Tuesday night, and was badly injured.  On Friday a woman named Anne E. Devlin died in Bellevue Hospital from injuries received in the same place and manner. 

The building was completed in 1873.  The critic from the Real Estate Record & Guide was impressed.  "It is one of those structures which please by their very simplicity, and by the manifest adaption of all the parts to the end desired,--which is the ground work of all good design."  A decade later, in reporting on the architect's death, the journal called the Staats-Zeitung building "perhaps Mr. Fernbach's masterpiece."

The number of newspaper offices massed along Chatham Street prompted the Board of Assessors to make a change in 1880.  On March 2, it announced that the blocks of Chatham Street (later renamed Park Row) "from Herald Office to Staats Zeitung Office" would be known as Publisher's Row.

from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York.

While the newspaper that erected the structure was read by German immigrants, the bank on the ground floor, the Banca Italo-American, was patronized by Italian immigrants.  On the morning of July 12, 1882, the Banca Italo-American "was burglariously entered and plundered of $6,500," reported the New-York Tribune.  The heist would equal about $192,000 in 2023.  The bank robbers, rather foolishly, continued to haunt the area.  On July 23, the newspaper reported, "Three men had been seen loitering in the neighborhood, and from the slight description given to Inspector [Thomas F.] Byrnes, he suspected the men, had them watched, and eventually arrested."  The New-York Tribune was impressed with Brynes's detective work, saying, "He thoroughly understands his business, and everything should be removed that in any way hampers him in his efforts to detect and capture law-breakers."

Near panic overtook the Staats-Zeitung Building in January 1893 when a fireman (a building worker tasked with keeping the boilers and furnaces working) was "taken down with typhus fever," as reported by The New York Times.  The situation was considered so serious that at noon on January 20 the Sinking Fund Commissioners met to discuss if it were necessary to secure temporary quarters for the Tax and Law Departments elsewhere.  Dr. Cyrus Edson, who had inspected the offices, concluded that "these rooms are so cut off from the rest of the building as to make it possible to isolate a case of contagious disease in them without danger to occupants of other rooms in the building."  Nevertheless, upon the expiration of the city's leases on May 1 that year, the civic offices moved out.

In the fall of 1899, the New Yorkers turned out in masses, and buildings were festooned with bunting and flags when Commodore George Dewey was honored with a parade following his victory over Spain in the Battle of Manila.  On October 4, The New York Times reported, "all over the Staats Zeitung building blossomed the flag of patriotism and the electric bulb of unrestrained joy...It is more than well that the festal decorations of this particular neighbor were about the handsomest in the vicinity of the big bridge, for they demonstrated cordiality and heartiness of welcome to the exemplar of the newest and best Americanism."

The building was decked with bunding and rooftop strings of American flags for the Dewey parade.  from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York

As the newspaper's 70th anniversary neared in the spring of 1905, German-Americans strategized to express their appreciation.  On April 14, the New-York Tribune reported:

On Sunday afternoon next City Hall Park will wear a different aspect from its usual weekday rush.  The German musicians have arranged a monster serenade to take place in front of the Staats-Zeitung Building, at the Brooklyn Bridge...This spontaneous tribute from the music-loving Germans to their oldest paper has evoked great enthusiasm among them.  The Staats-Zeitung Building will be appropriately decorated.

The proximity of the building to the Brooklyn Bridge noted in the article would prove its undoing.  On November 14, 1905, the New-York Tribune reported that Staats-Zeitung editor Herman Ridder denounced other property owners in the neighborhood who were selling out to the city for Mayor Hugh J. Grant's proposed extension of the Brooklyn Bridge.  In the end, however, the newspaper was nearly alone in its opposition.  On December 29, 1906, the Record & Guide reported that the city had taken two triangular blocks, including the Staats-Zeitung property, "for Brooklyn Bridge purposes."  The journal said, "Last March in order to protect themselves, the owners of the Staats Zeitung building purchased an irregular plot at Lafayette, Duane and Pearl sts...Plans have been drawn by Schickel & Ditmars."

A turn-of-the-century postcard view captured the building from City Hall Park.

Finally, on November 9, 1907, The Fourth Estate reported, "Between two issues of the New York Staats-Zeitung its plant was moved without hitch or accident last Sunday from the old building in Tyron Row to the remodeled Ledger Building...The old home of the Staats-Zeitgung, as The Fourth Estate has told, has been sold to the city and will be destroyed to make room for the new approach to the Brooklyn Bridge."

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The Augustus Reiner Grocery Building - 196 Eighth Avenue

 

As early as 1842, Augustus Reiner owned the three-story house and store at the northeast corner of Eighth Avenue and West 20th Street.  Abutting the building to the rear was a two-story stable.  Reiner and his wife Catherine Ann had at least one son, Augustus Jr., and two daughters, Catherine Ann and Leona Ira.  Born in Stuttgart, Germany, Reiner operated a grocery store from the ground floor.  He was also active in civic affairs and in 1842 was nominated for City Assessor.

Around 1849, the Reiners moved slightly north, to 225 Eighth Avenue.  Catherine Ann died there at the age of 78 on April 1, and Augustus died six months later on October 26.  He was 80.

In the meantime, the grocery had been taken over by John H. Eden in 1849.  Like the Reiners, his family lived above the store, and in 1857 Isaac J. Eden, presumably John's son, was working in the store as well. 

Isaac was no longer listed as either working or living at the address in 1860.  John H. Eden took Henry J. Reichers into the business, who moved his family into the upper portion of the attached stable.  Reichers was born in Germany in 1831.  He and his wife Eliza had four children, Charles, William, Frederick, and Elizabeth.  

The Richers nearly lost their lives and the Edens their home in 1861 when the stable was attacked by arsonists.   On December 15, The New York Times reported, "Between 2 and 3 o'clock Friday morning a fire occurred in a building occupied by Henry Reichers as a stable, and dwelling-house, situated in the rear of No. 196 Eighth-avenue."  Reichers escaped, but sadly "a valuable horse belonging to Mr. Reichers was burned to death."  Two men, James Johnson and John Leary, were arrested on suspicion of setting the fire.

Eden and Reicher worked together through 1863, after which Reicher took over the grocery.  (Expectedly, at that point he moved his family into the Eighth Avenue building.) 

William McTaggart and Patrick Henry McGowan, sons of Irish immigrants and both 16 years old, lived on the 20th Street block in 1865.  On August 7, they faced Henry Reichers in the Jefferson Market Court.  The New York Times reported that Reichers accused them of "entering his store and stealing $65.05 from the money-drawer."  Both teens confessed and were jailed.

Henry Riechers ran his grocery store until 1868 when he moved his family to Brooklyn.  Peter McDonald converted the store to a saloon and moved into the upper portion.  Also living there in 1870 were Patrick Mullaney, a bartender, and Frederick Gille, who was a dyer.

On August 6, 1870 Peter McDonald was arrested for "violating the Excise law by not keeping closed on Sunday."  His $300 bail would translate to around $7,000 today.

Amazingly, the grocery-turned-saloon would continued to flip-flop between the two types of operations over the next decades.  In 1872 it became the butcher shop of John W. Jones, and in 1876 it was reconverted to a saloon, run by James McCartell and William O'Connor.  (McCartell lived on West 33rd Street and O'Connor lived upstairs here.)  Three years later it was outfitted as the Harms Brothers butcher store, operated by Frederick D. and Henry J. F. Farms.

Harms Brothers remained in the space into the late 1890s, after which the ground floor was once again a saloon.   It was the scene of a shooting on March 2, 1914.  James Courtney and William O'Connor (apparently no relation to the former proprietor) were standing at the bar that afternoon talking to a patron known as Billy.  An argument ensued which became heated, and Billy stormed out.

The Evening Telegram reported, "About half an hour later he again appeared at the side door with a revolver and opened fire.  One bullet struck Courtney in the shoulder, another took effect in O'Connor's leg, while a third smashed the large mirror behind the bar."  Billy fled and the wounded men were taken to Bellevue Hospital.  Police were still searching for the assailant that evening.

The end of the saloon days came with the advent of Prohibition.  The building was renovated as Reilley Brother's Hotel, with rented rooms upstairs and a restaurant in the former tavern space.  John Kenny was a waiter here in 1921 when he was arrested for violating Prohibition laws.  Somewhat surprisingly, the crime did not take place in the restaurant, as would have been expected, but at Kenny's home.

Rooftop pediments announce Reilly Bros. Hotel in 1928.  from the collection of the New York Public Library

The New York-Tribune reported on May 23 that he was arrested for possessing several bottles of whisky "in the rear sitting room of his home address."  The article explained, "Policemen testified that a pull on a rope end disclosed and opened a secret panel in the wall where the alleged liquor was stored."

A variety store occupied the ground floor in 1941.  image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

The Chelsea neighborhood had greatly changed by the last quarter of the 20th century.  In the late 1980s the Italian restaurant Twigs occupied the store space, and on December 24, 1997 Tazza, a Mediterranean restaurant, opened here and would remain into the early 2020s.  It was supplanted by Lasagna Restaurant.

The venerable building got a make-over in 2001 when the facade was renovated and the upper floors were converted to apartments.  The configuration of the openings on the Eighth Avenue side was changed, splayed lintels and keystones were installed above the windows, and the facade was scored to simulate stone blocks.  The two-story structure to the rear was incorporated into the building at the time.  

photographs by the author

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The 1882 Minot, Hooper & Co. Building - 51-53 Leonard Street

 

On January 29, 1881, The Real Estate Record reported that the opening of the Franklin Street elevated train station had led to increased rents and a scarcity of loft space in the "domestic dry-goods business in the fine buildings it now occupies in Leonard and Worth Streets and the adjacent territory."  The article noted that the situation was prompting the erection of new structures within the district.  Among those joining the trend was the drygoods firm of Minot, Hooper & Co.

The article said, "Minot, Hooper & Co., who now own the store they occupy at Nos. 51 and 53 Leonard street, are to build a store at No. 45."   Having seen the plans, the writer said, "we predict that this corner store will be recognized as one of the handsomest dry goods stores in this city."  The firm had hired Jarvis Morgan Slade to design the building.  And while he was at it, he was commissioned to simultaneously remodel 51-53 Leonard Street, which Minot, Hooper & Co. had erected in 1867.

The remodeling was completed in the fall of 1882.  Slade had retained much of the 1867 Italianate appearance of the building while adding modern touches like the neo-Grec style incised decorations on the sandstone piers.  Each of the five floors above the cast iron storefront was separated by a prominent intermediate cornice, and the two buildings were defined by paneled pilasters.

While the Record & Guide had predicted that 45 Leonard Street would be the star of the block, it changed its mind as the renovations to 51-53 Leonard Street were completed.  Here, J. Morgan Slade's engineers had solved the problem of gases and odors associated with indoor plumbing.  On September 2, 1882, the journal gave the head of Minot, Hooper & Co. all the credit, saying:

Mr. Nathan Hobart, in the erection of the stores Nos. 51 and 53 Leonard street, has done a work which should entitle him to the gratitude of all who expect to occupy places of business in this city, for he has solved the vexed problems of adequate plumbing and perfect ventilation...Of course, this has cost Mr. Hobart a good deal of money, but now that the work has been accomplished, other store builders can profit by his experience.

In November 1882, Minot, Hooper & Co. advertised available "sales-rooms and offices" in 51-53 Leonard Street, saying "this building has been reconstructed...in accordance with plans furnished by the architect, Mr. J. Morgan Slade."  The ad noted:

Special Attention is called to the top floor, which can be reached by the Otis Elevator in about twenty seconds.  This room, in addition to two large skylights, has windows on every side, thus securing a flood of light, with unlimited fresh air, while it is free from the common annoyance caused by reflection from surrounding buildings all of which it overlooks.

In a "special note" on November 18, 1882, the Record & Guide agreed, saying "Probably the most perfect business offices and rooms in the city are those offered to rent by Minot, Hooper & Co., No. 53 Leonard Street.  The advertisement does not overstate the desirable character of these offices.  Their sanitary arrangements are a model to all builders."

The remodeled building was so satisfactory, in fact, that Minot, Hooper & Co. did not move to their new structure down the block, but remained at 51-53 Leonard Street for years to come.

Tenants here during the 1880s and 1890s included the Lorraine Manufacturing Co., makers of "fine dress goods, flannels, and shirtings;" Amy & Co., dry goods commission merchants; and Edward T. Steel & Co., whose list of goods might cause some head scratching today.  An advertisement in January 1898 called the firm "manufacturers of fancy and piece dyed worsteds for men's wear, clay diagonals, clay mixtures, coatings, serges, trouserings, worsted cheviots, &c."

Linens manufacturer J. A. Ludlow was in the building at the turn of the century.  The firm got a sizable contract in 1907 to furnish the table and bed linens for an elegant new ocean liner.  In June 1908, The Master, Mate and Pilot reported that J. A. Ludlow had outfitted the "new Fall River Liner Commonwealth."  The New York Architect explained that the firm supplied the "table cloths, napkins, bed sheets, pillow slips, bed spreads, and hand, glass and kitchen towels forming the Steamer Commonwealth's equipment,"  It added, "The patterns on the table damask were made especially for this steamer and are held for the exclusive use of the New England Navigation Company."

An advertisement highlighted the table and bed linens for the Commonwealth.   The New York Architect, July 1908 (copyright expired)

Other drygoods firms here in the pre-World War I years were T. Russell Dawson & Co., which took space in December 1903; the handkerchief manufacturers Howland & Wheaton Company, which leased additional space in 1904 "owing to the increase in their business," according to The New York Times on May 22; and the John M. Harris & Co., "selling agents of worsteds and woolens."

W. M. Austin & Co. occupied space in the building starting around 1909.  Dry Goods Economist, August 1, 1914 (copyright expired)

The structure continued to house drygoods firms in the years following World War I.  By 1921, W. M. Austin & Co. had become Austin, Woodbury Co., while still dealing in "fine cotton goods."  Engel-Upmann & Co. moved into the building upon its establishment in 1919, and E. O. Barnard Co., shirtings merchants, was here well into the 1920s.

The Haberdasher and The Clothier and Furnisher, June 1926

During the Depression years, space was taken by the Downtown Textile Workers Committee, a industry political group.  On October 31, 1933, during the mayoral campaign, members gathered to hear an address by Dr. William Jay Schieffelin, chairman of the Committee of One Thousand.  The New York Sun said he "asserted that the one clear issue in the campaign is whether the city shall be governed by a political machine.  The people are behind the candidacy of Mr. LaGuardia, he said."

The columned cast iron storefront was relatively intact in 1941.  image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

The garment and textile industries moved northward as midcentury neared.  In the 1980s and early 1990s, 51-53 Leonard Street was home to Gaffney-Kroese Electric Supply Co.  But an unexpected holdout was Friedman & Distillator, which opened in 1923 selling fabric to milliners.  It was still in the building in April 1993 when its customers were largely lampshade makers.

The Tribeca renaissance of the late 20th century was slow to arrive at 51-53 Leonard Street.  In 2002 the upper floors were converted to residential spaces.  The top floor, which was highly touted in the 1882 advertisement, became part of a 3,287-square-foot triplex apartment.  Holger Bartel, publisher of Travelzoo, sold the space in February 2018 for $8.9 million.

Although the cast iron storefront has been radically altered, the upper floors of J. Morgan Slade's 1882 renovation are beautifully intact.

photographs by the author

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Charles E. Birge's 1912 11 East 47th Street

 

The wealth of attorney John Graham was evidenced in 1872 when he charged Edward H. Stokes a retainer of $10,000 (more than a quarter of a million in 2023 dollars) to defend him for the murder of James Fisk.  The famous lawyer lived for years in the four-story, high-stooped brownstone residence at 11 East 47th Street, just east of Fifth Avenue.

By the turn of the century the Midtown neighborhood changed, as commerce took over the former mansion district.  On July 15, 1911, the 25-foot-wide house was sold to Henry C. Trumbower, who lived in Philadelphia.  He demolished the venerable residence and hired architect Charles E. Birge to design a six-story loft and store building on the site.  

Completed the following year, Birge's prim tripartite, neo-Federal design included a stone base where engaged Doric columns flanked the entrance to the upper floors.  The four-story midsection was clad in brown Flemish bond brick and trimmed in white marble.  The molded cornice of the grouped windows of the second floor rose and fell to accommodate a handsomely-carved neo-classical panel.  The top section sat above a marble bandcourse, its openings separated by Scamozzi pilasters and fronted by iron balconies.  A marble cornice completed the design.

Among the initial tenants was Madame S. Schartz, who leased the second and third floors for her corset factory.  Called by The Corset and Underwear Review as the "well known corsetiere," she moved her business into the building on February 1, 1912.  She would remain here at least through 1915.

The ground floor space was home to the gentleman's tailoring shop of Herman Conley.  He had relocated his business from Boston to New York around 1899 and was a favorite of wealthy young men.  In 1913, The New York Times mentioned that Conley "is said to know more college men than any other tradesman in the country."

In the early years of the 20th century, the private lives of businessmen like Herman Conley who catered to the carriage trade were open to public scrutiny.  And so in the spring of 1913, when he separated from his wife of 14 years, newspapers took notice.  Things worsened in July when Herman filed for divorce. 

The New York Times had happier news to report on November 28, however.  An article noted, "Friends made repeated efforts to bring them together and finally a meeting was arranged yesterday."  The newspaper reported that Herman Conley and his wife "had their Thanksgiving dinner together."  Herman told the reporter, "Our troubles are at an end and I wish our friends would forget that there ever had been a case of Conley vs. Conley."

Herman Conley's gentlemen's tailoring business was replaced by the Green Shop Company in 1916, a ladies' tailoring business.  As Conley's had done, the shop catered to an elite clientele.  When management advertised for a dressmaker and a fitter on March 14, 1920, it stressed, "one accustomed to high class work only."

In the meantime, after Madame Schwartz left, the upper floors were leased as offices.  In 1915 the headquarters of the American Polish Relief Committee were here, and in 1920 the office of architect William Henry Deacy and the

"administrative offices and designing rooms" of the Presbrey-Leland Company leased the sixth floor.

William Deacy and the Presbrey-Leland Company were inextricably connected.  In addition to his private architectural practice, until 1920 he was architect in charge of the studio of the W. W. Leland Company, a leader in "cemetery art."  Upon its merger with the former competitor Presbrey-Coykendall Co., Deacy was appointed Director of Design "over a corps of creative artists and architectural draughtsmen," according to an announcement.

An advertisement in Park and Cemetery in September 1920 noted, "A paramount policy of the Presbrey-Leland Company is the awakening of a national interest in the Cemetery Beautiful."  

William Henry Deacy designed this monument at 11 East 47th Street in 1920.  from The Monument News, January 1921.

Society dressmaker Madame Lisbet Boses leased an upper floor space in August 1922, and by 1926 the ground floor store was home to The Arthur M. Rosenberg Co., gentlemen tailors.  As Herman Conley had done, the store catered to the younger set.  An advertisement in The Columbia Spectator on October 14, 1926 noted, "For thirty years Rosenberg tailoring has been considered the authoritative college style."  The tradition of high-end custom clothes continued in the shop when Olson & Daly tailors took the space around 1934.  An advertisement in February 1935 touted, "Clothes of distinctive yet conservative style--English and Scotch woollens used exclusively."

The appearance of the former brownstone mansion can be gleaned from the surviving, altered houses on either side of 11 East 47th Street in 1941.  image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

In the spring of 1945, John K. Dennis, Michael Lee, Peter Huppert and Otto Kapper, owners of Partners Jewelry, Inc., purchased 11 East 47th Street.  On March 28, The New York Times reported, "The buyers expect to occupy a part of the building for their own business."  

The store, expectedly, became home to Partners Jewelry which marketed "watches and jewelry of distinction."  It sold other high-end items, as well, like the sterling silver mint julep cup and ice tongs available in October 1946.  Together, the items were priced at $50, or $750 today.

The new owners leased the upper floor offices to tenants like Kenneth Ives & Co., real estate brokers, and the Bing Cronin Personnel Service.

The 1970s saw the travel agency Flight Management Ltd. in one of the offices.  The firm advertised flights to London for "less than $100 by jet" in New York magazine on December 20, 1971, noting, "No time limits on when you can travel.  No age limit.  No extra charges."  Also in the building at the time was the Geothermal Energy Institute, which sought to provide naturally produced, renewable energy worldwide.

As the 20th century drew to a close, the ground floor space where well-heeled New Yorkers once ordered custom-made apparel became the Katsu-Hama Restaurant.  The Japanese restaurant received a glowing review from The New York Times food critic Eric Asimov on February 24, 1999, although he bristled, "Katsu-Hama is not an easy restaurant to find, even though it is in the middle of a busy block in midtown Manhattan."

Asimov's frustration has been relieved and in 2023 Katsu-Hama has signage to alert patrons to its location.  While Charles E. Birge's 110-year-old building could use a gentle cleaning, its architectural integrity is nearly perfectly intact.

photographs by the author

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

The 1845 William J. Cunningham House - 681 Greenwich Street

image via propertyshark.com

 

In 1845 Lewis Radford, a grocer, invested in real estate by erecting seven three-story, brick-faced houses on the east side of Greenwich Street stretching northward from the corner of Christopher Street.  Sitting above brownstone-clad English basements, they exhibited the molded lintels, full-height third floors, and stoop railings of the new Italianate style.  Yet, their architect clung to the Greek Revival style in the handsome doorways, with transoms, sidelights and pilasters, and in the simple cornices and fascia boards.

No. 681 Greenwich Street became home to the family of drygoods merchant William J. Cunningham.  He would take the long journey down Greenwich Street every day to his business at 23-25 Dey Street.  Along with his wife and son, living in the house with Cunningham was his teen-aged brother-in-law, N. W. Badeau, Jr.

William J. Cunningham, Jr. was born the same year 681 Greenwich Street was completed.  Like many parents at the time, the Cunninghams seemed to have valued practical, hands-on experience over formal education.  In 1863, when William Jr. was 18 years old, Board of Education documents showed he had spent just four years and three months in public schools.  He almost assuredly was working in his father's business at the time.

N. W. Badeau died on February 5, 1862 at the age of 29.  His funeral was held in the house two days later.  A second funeral would take place in the parlor nine years later following William J. Cunningham's death on January 27, 1871.

Within two years 681 Greenwich Street was being operated as a boarding house.  Despite its proximity to the riverfront, its tenants, like the Cunninghams, were white collar.  Among them in 1873 was 26-year-old Alexander Brinkerhoff.  He was a bookkeeper for John Green, who dealt in construction stone.  The stone yard was several blocks north, at the foot of Jane Street and the Hudson River.

On the evening of  October 24, 1873 a shipment of stone blocks arrived at the pier and Brinkerhoff left the office to supervise the hoisting of the heavy blocks onto a truck.  The New York Times reported, "a portion of a derrick fell on his head, killing him instantly."  The article noted, "The body was removed to No. 681 Greenwich street to await an inquest."

Another resident narrowly missed accidental death four years later.  On August 9, 1877, Daniel Onderdonk boarded the 7:45 a.m. train to Long Branch, New Jersey.  Almost two hours later, at 9:25, as it was crossing a wooden bridge half-way between Red Bank and Long Branch, the train derailed.  The New York Times reported, "the engine plunged over the side of the bridge...There was a rush of steam from broken pipes which was quickly lost in the crashing of timbers, for the baggage-car ran up over the wreck of the locomotive, turned completely upside-down on the land, and in the twinkling of an eye was converted into a mass of splinters.  All but one of the passenger cars followed, plunging "with a splash upon their sides in the river."  Amazingly, the fifth and last car somehow became disconnected and ground to a halt at the precipice of the wrecked bridge.

The passengers of that car scrambled down to the river, where men and women were trapped within the cars in about three feet of water.  "The men of the party descended to the side of the overturned cars, and passed up the wet and wounded men, women, and children, dragging them out at the doorways and through the windows as quickly as possible," said The New York Times.  Astoundingly, there were no deaths, and Daniel Onderdonk escaped with only minor injuries.

In 1879 Henry Corse purchased 681 Greenwich Street for $7,025, or about $213,000 in 2023 terms.  Corse owned several Greenwich Village properties, and continued leasing this one as a boarding house.  The residents remained professional, like Lucy D. Foster who lived here in 1888.  She taught in the Primary Department of Grammar School No. 3 on Hudson Street.

image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

Two boarders living here in 1892 were 36-year-old Mary Blake and Edmund Saarbach, who was about 24.  Saarbach worked in a cigar store downtown on Cortlandt Street.  The Brooklyn Daily Eagle explained on March 22, 1893, that when rumors swirled that Saarbach "was too intimate" with Mary Blake, he moved out of the boarding house.  The newspaper said, "she has since followed him up."

Mary had good reason to pursue the man who had abandoned her.  A woman in the 19th century who had been "deflowered" faced the loss of her respectability and almost certainly a bleak future.  The situation came to a head on the night of March 21, 1893 when Edmund left the cigar store with its clerk, a Miss Hart.  When they reached the corner of Cortlandt and Washington Streets, Mary stepped up and "said she wished to speak with him."

Edmund stepped away from Miss Hart, and Mary "spoke a few words to him in an excited tone," according to The Brooklyn Daily Eagle.  When he turned away and walked back towards Miss Hart, Mary threatened to shoot him if he did return.  He did not and, said the article, "She carried her threat into execution and the bullet cut the sleeve of the young man's coat."  Before she could fire again, Policeman Knapp rushed across the street and seized her.  She was held on a charge of attempted murder.

Change came to 681 Greenwich Street following Henry Corse's death in 1893 and the liquidation of his properties.  The house was now operated as a "sailor's boarding house," as described by The Sun, and its tenants were often less respectable than their predecessors.

It was being operated as a boarding house by Catherine Bellew in 1912 when 42-year-old Frederick Goulet came ashore that summer and he rented a room.  The French-born sailor was a chef on an American Line steamship.  On the morning of Sunday, August 25, Catherine Bellew attempted to enter his room to make the bed, but found the door locked.  When she still got no answer by 4:00 that afternoon, she called a policeman.

The officer broke the door in, and found the nude body of a woman on the bed.  The Sun said, "There was no jewelry, no hat, no pocketbook, nor any mark by which she could be identified."  A search was made for the missing sailor.

When Frederick Goulet was found, he told a bizarre story.  According to him, he had met the woman on Friday night.  He carefully avoided incriminating himself as having hired a prostitute.  The Sun recounted, "She said she had no home, and no money and asked him for a night's lodging.  This he gave her."  His story was that he left the house early on Saturday morning, and when he returned at 8:00 he found her dead.  "He said he became frightened and had walked the streets all Saturday night and Sunday, trying to get up nerve enough to tell the police."  Although The New York Times said "She appeared to have died from natural causes, " Goulet was arrested pending the results of an autopsy.

image via apartments.com

By the Depression years, 681 Greenwich was the last survivor of Lewis Radford's 1845 row.  The stoop was removed for the widening of Greenwich Street around 1942 and the entrance moved to the rear, accessed by a courtyard on Christopher Street.  In 1962, the Port Authority-Trans Hudson acquired the property for use as a workshop.

The city offered the beleaguered house at auction in 1979.  It was purchased by architect and attorney Philip Teller who sympathetically converted it to a ten-family structure.  Teller later explained to me that the Landmarks Preservation Commission insisted that the floating door be kept intact, as a important element of the historic building.

many thanks to reader and blogger Jason Kessler for suggesting his post