Tuesday, February 6, 2024 – AMAZING PHOTOS OF THE LOST CITY

By admin

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2024


ISSUE # 1176

THE CONDEMNATION

PHOTOGRAPHS

NEW YORK CITY MUNICIPAL ARCHIVES

KENNETH COBB

The Municipal Archives photograph collections are renowned and widely valued for their comprehensiveness. For example, the tax photograph series includes pictures of every house and building in all five Boroughs circa 1939 and 1985. As useful as they are, however, they depict only building exteriors. Pictures of building interiors are less well represented in the collections. There are interior views in New York Police Department crime scene and Housing Preservation and Development collections for example, but they are relatively few in number.

Savoy Ballroom, 598-614 Lenox Avenue, Manhattan, Entrance, July 2, 1952. Photographer: Rutter Studio. Condemnation photograph collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

This week, For the Record takes a look at some remarkable pictures in an unprocessed collection, the “Condemnation Photograph Files.” They consist of excellent quality exterior and interior pictures of all types of buildings—apartments, stores, factories, restaurants, theatres, garages, tenements, taverns, warehouses, filling stations—in short, the entire urban landscape of mid-century New York. They even include the legendary Savoy Ballroom in Harlem.

NBC Television (International) Theatre, Entrance, Columbus Circle, May 4, 1953. Photographer: Rutter Studio. Condemnation photograph collection. NYC Municipal Archives. 

NBC Television (International) Theatre, General View of Theatre from stage, February 24, 1953. Photographer: Rutter Studio. Condemnation photograph collection. NYC Municipal Archives. 

Hertzberg & Son, 2300 Fifth Avenue and West 140th Street, July 14, 1952. Photographer: Rutter Studio. Condemnation photograph collection. NYC Municipal Archives. 

Further examination of the collection revealed some rather noteworthy pictures. Given that property owners would be compensated not just for the building structure, but also for the value of equipment and fixtures inside the building, it makes sense that there are many interior scenes. In some instances, the pictures include people—shoppers in a store, patrons at the bar, and factory workers at desks and operating machinery.

Another feature of the pictures is their quality. They were taken by professional photographers and consist of well-composed large-format 8×10-inch black and white prints. Each image is captioned with a location and date. The Rutter Studio took almost all of the sample pictures in this article. The Rutter Studio is familiar to City archivists because the Borough President of Brooklyn contracted with them in the 1910s and ’20s to document construction of the Coney Island Boardwalk and other public works in the Borough; many have been digitized and are available in the gallery.

Hertzberg & Son, 2300 Fifth Avenue and West 140th Street, Private Office, Main Floor, July 14, 1952. Photographer: Rutter Studio. Condemnation photograph collection. NYC Municipal Archives. 

Sinclair Refining Co., NE corner Broadway and 225th Street, General View of Station, November 1, 1948. Photographer: Rutter Studio. Condemnation photograph collection. NYC Municipal Archives. 

Of particular interest in the Condemnation series are pictures of the legendary Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. There are not people in the pictures (apparently the photographer worked during closing hours) but they do include the ballroom, bar area, murals, cloakrooms, etc. It is also interesting that the pictures date from 1952 and the building was not demolished until 1958/59. Whether this speaks to the time frame of the condemnation proceeding, or to protests against demolition of the Harlem landmark, will require further research. The Ballroom made way for the Delano Housing Complex, renamed the Savoy Park Apartments in 2017.

Further research will also be necessary to answer other questions about the condemnation process; e.g. what entity commissioned the pictures? The Court, the City, or the law firms representing the owners? Did the people in the pictures know the building was slated for demolition? Further research in MA collections might reveal answers. In the meantime, here is a selection from the series.

Sinclair Refining Co., NE corner Broadway & 225th Street, Office, November 1, 1948. Photographer: Rutter Studio. Condemnation photograph collection. NYC Municipal Archives. 

Savoy Ballroom, 598-614 Lenox Avenue, Manhattan, Entrance Lobby, July 2, 1952. Photographer: Rutter Studio. Condemnation photograph collection. NYC Municipal Archives. 

Savoy Ballroom, 598-614 Lenox Avenue, Manhattan, Easterly side of Ballroom, July 2, 1952. Photographer: Rutter Studio. Condemnation photograph collection. NYC Municipal Archives. 

PHOTO OF THE DAY

SEND YOUR RESPONSE TO:
ROOSEVELTISLANDHISTORY@GMAIL.COM

CREDITS

Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS
Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website
Edited by Melanie Colter and Dottie Jeffries

MAYA LEVANON-PHOTOS TIK TOK & INSTAGRAM

All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated

www.tiktok.com/@rooseveltislandhsociety
Instagram roosevelt_island_history

THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.

Copyright © 2024 Roosevelt Island Historical Society, All rights reserved.Our mailing address is:
rooseveltislandhistory@gmail.com