Courtesy Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Henry Lyman Saÿen worked as an artist and scientist throughout his career. He acquired several patents for his inventions, which included a new type of X‑ray tube and a steel billiard ball. He traveled to Paris in 1906 to produce illustrations for a New York department store and joined Henri Matisse’s class. Saÿen was one of the first painters to introduce modern art into the conservative culture of Philadelphia, and his large vibrant images of landscapes and still lifes shocked many people. An assistant at the department store even told the artist that “if that is the way you paint you will never put shoes on your child’s feet.” World War I forced Saÿen to return to Philadelphia, where he spent his weekends at his friend Carl Newman’s summer home, painting the Huntington Valley landscape. (Breeskin, H. Lyman Saÿen, 1970)
H. Lyman Saÿen, Self-Portrait, 1910-1913, encaustic on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of H. Lyman Sayen to his nation, 1967.6.17
H. Lyman Saÿen, Zinnias, 1909-1912, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of H. Lyman Sayen to his nation, 1967.6.23
H. Lyman Saÿen, The Thundershower (study for painting), ca. 1916, tempera, pencil and printed paper on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of H. Lyman Sayen to his nation, 1968.19.6
H. Lyman Saÿen, Valley Falls I, 1915, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of H. Lyman Sayen to his nation, 1968.19.1
H. Lyman Saÿen, Rooftops, Paris, 1909-1912, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of H. Lyman Sayen to his nation, 1967.6.15
H. Lyman Saÿen, Notre Dame, ca. 1907, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Colonel Harrison K. Sayen, 1967.137
H. Lyman Saÿen, Child in Rocker, ca. 1916, opaque watercolor on paper mounted on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of H. Lyman Sayen to his nation, 1967.6.3
H. Lyman Saÿen, Portrait of a Girl, 1909-1914, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of H. Lyman Sayen to his nation, 1967.6.13
H. Lyman Saÿen, Daughter in a Rocker, 1917-1918, tempera and collage on wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of H. Lyman Sayen to his nation, 1967.6.4
THE FORMER STEINWAY HALL THAT HAS BEEN INCORPORATED INTO NEW BUILDING AT 111 WEST 57 STREET. JAY JACOBSON, THOM HEYER,, ALEXIS VILLAFANE, GLORIA HERMAN GOT IT RIGHT. FROM ED LITCHER:
111 West 57th Street, also known as Steinway Tower, is a supertall residential skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Developed by JDS Development Group and Property Markets Group, it is situated along Billionaires’ Row on the northside of 57th Street near Sixth Avenue. The main portion of the building is an 84-story, 1,428-foot (435-meter) tower designed by SHoP Architects and completed in 2021. Preserved at the base is the 16-story Steinway Building (also Steinway Hall), a former Steinway & Sons store designed by Warren and Wetmore and completed in 1925, which originally carried the address 111 West 57th Street.
Text by Judith Berdy 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 Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
The coffee habit was introduced into Western Europe in the mid-seventeenth century. The emergence of the London coffeehouse transformed various aspects of intellectual and commercial life. Lloyd’s insurance, the postal system and the auction house are some of the institutions that trace their origins back to the coffeehouse.
At a time that journalism was in its infancy, the coffeehouse provided a center of communication and news dissemination. It served as a forum of discussion, often becoming a hotbed of political strife and faction. Coffeehouse culture helped shape the public sphere of the Enlightenment.
Paris added its own dimension to the rise of the café. The political events of the 1790s released French chefs from aristocratic patronage. Facing a competitive market, they set up cafés and bistros to cater for a new clientele in abandoned hotels or basement localities. Offering a menu of modestly priced stews and slow cooked food, the Parisian café-bistro attracted a mostly young and bohemian clientele of students and artists. It became a center of aesthetic argument and artistic renewal and a drinking den for absinthe addicts.
Coffee culture in Greenwich Village followed the Parisian example. The mass settlement of immigrants as well as an influx of students and artists into this low rent district created a lively and buoyant atmosphere in cafés and small eateries where art and (anarchist) politics were hotly debated. It all began at a venue in Washington Place.
Paris & London
Until the end of the nineteenth century, the École des Beaux Arts in Paris controlled all aspects of artistic life in France. To aspiring painters and sculptors, it offered the only means of public art education and exhibition and as such became a stifling presence. The Academy came under attack at the same time that Baron Haussmann modified the face of Paris on behalf of Emperor Napoleon III.The effects of reconstruction went far beyond the physical appearance of the cityscape. The psychological impact of renovation enhanced the awakening consciousness of modernity. In the artistic break from the Academy, the Parisian café-bistro became a social institution and a symbol of modern life and art. The Café Guerbois and La Nouvelle Athènes played a major role in the emergence of Impressionism.Similar French-inspired developments took place in London. Daniel Nicholas Thévenon was a Burgundy-born wine-seller. Facing bankruptcy, he and his wife Célestine Lacoste fled to London in October 1863 where he assumed the name Daniel Nicols. In 1865 the couple took over a shop in Glasshouse Street, turning it into Café Restaurant Nicols. Having enlarged the premises in 1867, they renamed it Café Royal.Increasingly, the café attracted a bohemian clientele, including artists such as James McNeill Whistler, Augustus John and Auguste Rodin. During the early 1890s the café was frequented by Oscar Wilde and friends. By 1892 it was advertising itself as the “most brilliant, and best known Anglo-French café in the world.”Some of London’s intimate foreign restaurants were a magnet to young artists. Austrian cook Rudolph Stulik, who had reputedly been chef to Emperor Franz Josef, was proprietor of the Hôtel de la Tour Eiffel in Percy Street, Fitzrovia. In exchange for free meals, the owner-chef was given works of art to decorate his establishment.It was here that Wyndham Lewis launched the Vorticist magazine Blast in 1914. William Roberts depicted The Vorticists at the Restaurant de la Tour Eiffel in 1915. This group portrait includes Rudolph Stulik himself and Joe, the waiter at the house. Patronage of the arts was moved to a different level and location.
The VillageIn the sixteenth century, the marshland what is now Greenwich Village was known as Sapokanikan (“tobacco field”) and inhabited by Indigenous People who fished the trout-filled Minetta Creek, then one of Manhattan’s large natural watercourses. The area was named “Noortwyck” by Dutch settlers who cleared pastures and planted crops. By 1713, it was referred to as Grin’wich (Groenwyck) and the area developed as a green suburb that supplied the metropolis with fresh produce.An outbreak of cholera in New York during the late 1700s and early 1800s drove people away from the city, seeking refuge in this neighborhood which led to a substantial increase in population. Losing its farming nature, the re-developed area saw an influx of merchants and tradesmen.During the second half of the nineteenth century the character of the neighborhood changed again once immigrants from Ireland, France and Italy started settling in considerable numbers. The Village transitioned to a culture of ethnic and cultural diversity which was further accelerated by the expansion of New York University and associated cultural institutions.With prosperous New Yorkers starting to leave Greenwich’s labyrinth of streets and lanes and move northward, the availability of low rent housing and a growing reputation for non-conformism attracted both students and artists to the district. At the turn of the twentieth century, Greenwich boasted a dynamic and predominantly young population. The Village became synonymous with creativity and artistry.In 1901 a sixteen year old youngster entered the United States from a small town in rural Moldavia. Her father was a nomad Roma; her mother a Romanian Jew. Having settled as one of the newcomers in the Village, Marie Marchand played a key role in developing the bohemian character that was to define the neighborhood for generations to come. She would be crowned Queen of Greenwich Village.
The Making of Romany MarieMarie arrived in New York with $150 in her pocket and found work as a seamstress in the unforgiving environment of sweatshops. She fought her way through and brought her mother and sisters to New York. The family lived on the lower East Side near the Ferrer Modern School which offered workers free adult education. Marie supported the school’s activities and in doing so she met a number of artists and thinkers who later became her patrons.Founded in 1910 and first located at 6 St Marks Place, the school was based on the model of the Esquela Moderna founded by Catalan educator Francisco Ferrer, whose politically motivated execution in 1909 had sparked outrage in European and American left-wing circles. It inspired the founding of New York’s Francisco Ferrer Association and the pledge to start a school for adults and children with a curriculum that was based upon an anti-church, anti-state and anti-authoritarian philosophy.When the school opened its doors in September 1911, the New York Times reported that the occasion was attended by a “mass meeting of Socialists, Anarchists, Rationalists, Libertarians and radicals in general.” Initially, the Modern School offered adult classes in contemporary politics, history and English language (for immigrants) as well as lectures on art, literature, music and theatre. It was an atmosphere in which Marie’s fiercely independent mind flourished.Once she had mastered English, she joined a theater and attended anarchist meetings and rallies hosted by the likes of Emma Goldman and others. She began inviting like-minded souls to her home, feeding and entertaining them in a Roma tradition of communal hospitality. Her Continental cooking skills were appreciated; friends and guests encouraged her to start a bistro.In 1914, Marie opened her first café on the corner of Sheridan Square at 133 Washington Place in the West Village. The rented space was located on the third floor of a four-story building with poor amenities and outdoor toilets. For years she had no electricity, candles furnishing the only lighting, but for many of her clients Romany Marie became a second home. The place was filled artists, writers, philosophers and vegetarians – the Greenwich “intelligentsia.
Marie created a Left Bank of her own, her very personal interpretation of a Parisian café. She was renowned for Turkish coffee, which she would serve with a complimentary reading of the patron’s fortune, putting on a show every night dressed in colorful outfits, her arms and fingers decorated in shiny bracelets and jewellery.In 1915 Marie moved her bistro to 20 Christopher Street. It was at this location that her name became widely known and associated with bowls of 35-cent Romanian chorba (a stew with vegetables and meat).Over a period of three decades, the eatery changed addresses at least a dozen times. Marie herself always lived in the same building, maintaining that feeling of home at each location which was so important to her. She would leave a note overnight: the “Caravan has moved” and change place. Her faithful “tribe” would follow her wherever she chose to settle.
Volcano of CreativityMarie’s persona has been described as attractive, lively and generous. She would feed anyone in the Village as long as she was offered an exchange of art or good company. Marie never cared about opulence; her cafés were there to sustain the creative mind and stomach. She was a local mother of the arts, always offering support to struggling artists. The walls of her restaurant were full of local works of art which she considered a fair barter for a decent bite to eat.Marie’s proprietorship made her bistro feel and look more like a Parisian salon than a traditional New York styled eating place. At any time, any number of Village notables could be found in her establishment, working quietly on their next novel or debating politics or philosophical issues with friends and strangers. It has been said that Marie kept alcoholic Eugene O’Neill alive in 1916/7 by making sure that he would eat rather than drink.The intriguing figure of Richard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller, architect, engineer, designer, poet and bohemian polymath, was one of Marie’s regulars. He would turn up several times per week to give ‘thinking out loud’ lectures to fellow locals. He described his friend and hostess as “a Vesuvius of creativity in heart and mind.”
Marie managed a “patron’s table” where interesting or entertaining people would gather in conversation around a fireplace, be they anarchists, artists or Arctic expeditioners from the nearby Explorers Club. Her table was a hub of creativity. Poet Edna St Vincent Millay was a regular and often asked Marie to interpret the grounds in her cups of Turkish coffee. She apparently noted down the famous line “my candle burns at both ends” in Marie’s establishment.
Romanian modernist sculptor Constantin Brâncuși, whose work was the rage in Paris in the early 1900s, introduced Henri Matisse to her. Painter Stuart Davis, a daily patron, produced a watercolor in 1912 of Romany Mary’s interior. A decade later John French Sloan, the painter of so many iconic New York streetscapes, etched an inside view of the Christopher Street location (he was also responsible for Marie’s painted portrait in 1920).
Legacy
Romany Marie’s time as an entrepreneur was not without problems. The generosity and radical spirit that she brought to life and business were at odds with making a profit or paying rent. Benefits on her behalf were held amongst friends and supported by locals. Marie somehow remained in charge and kept supplying food to both hungry and talented fellow Villagers.
When she died in February 1961, Marie’s life was endearingly remembered by generations of artists, writers and activists. Her nephew Robert Schulman subsequently chronicled her life in an entertaining biography.
Marie Marchand’s story is a tale that highlights the newcomer’s strength of character and pioneering drive. Young and courageous, she adapted to her new metropolitan environment, learned language and local customs, and used her charm to create an eccentric environment of hospitality, friendship and creative endeavor.
The Romany Queen single-handedly introduced “La Vie Bohème” to New York City. The Village owes her a statue and celebrate this migrant’s irrepressible spirit.
SACRED HEART CHURCH LOCATED ON THE EAST SIDE OF ISLAND JUST NORTH OF R.I. BRIDGE, WHERE TENNIS COURTS ARE NOW.
TO THE EDITOR:
In response to Having a Past, but No Future by Penelope Green, I am struck by the following. Many years ago I had the rare privilege of getting a tour of Hart Island. A number of the structures there that have long stayed with me are now under threat of demolition because, according to the DOB, they are structurally unsound. DOB has already allowed such other structures as the irreplaceable 14 Gay Street & 351-55 West 14th Street/44-54 Ninth Avenueto deteriorate until demolition seems most logical to them. To quote Judith Berdy of Roosevelt Island Historical Society, “remaining buildings could be preserved as stabilized ruins echoing the history of the island.” Will someone please tell that city department the importance of retaining physical structures that connect us to our past?
Joyce Gold
Text by Judith Berdy 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 Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
NEW YORK ALMANACK
Illustrations, from above: Au bistro, without date (Private collection) by John French Sloan, Romany Marie, 1920 by Jean Béraud (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York); Romany Marye [Marie] in Christopher Street, 1922 by John Sloan (The MET, New York); Romany Marie’s, 1912 by Stuart Davis (Private collection); and Marie Marchand in front of her restaurant door in New York, c. 1947 (Getty Images).
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
In the latest short film released by Unforgotten Films, you might be watching some of the final pieces of footage of the abandoned buildings on Hart Island. Eighteen of the crumbling historic structures were slated for demolition in an emergency order issued by the Department of Buildings in 2021. Since then, the neglected structures have continued to decay as they await the blow of the wrecking ball.
Hart Island has been used as a public burial ground since 1869. Civil War veterans, individuals who died of AIDS-related illness, and COVID-19 victims are just a few of the types of people who have been interred there. In 2021, the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation and the NYC Department of Social Services took over management of the island from the NYC Department of Corrections. Before the transfer, inmates of Rikers Island dug the graves. In addition to over a dozen buildings built between the early 1800s and mid-1900s, there are estimated to be over one million people buried on the island. In 1991, all uses of the island for purposes other than as a public cemetery ceased, but it did serve many different functions until then.
The Historic District Council created a report of 18 significant sites on the island including a Cold War-era Nike Missile launch site, an 1885 asylum, a 1930s chapel, a mid-century baseball field, and a 1912 dynamo building. While many of the extant buildings have historic and cultural value, the Department of Buildings has nonetheless deemed them unsafe and beyond repair. Citing the city’s emergency demolition order, the New York Times reported that “modern field offices for Hart Island operations, two decommissioned Cold War-era Nike missile silos, and a peace monument built by prisoners in the 1940s” will be spared from demolition and fenced off. Everything else will be razed.
The emergency nature of the demolition order allows the $52 million plan to skip the usual environmental review process and public hearings. This is a major point of contention for many preservationist groups and individuals who have a personal connection to the island and want to have a say in the fate of the structures. According to the New York City Parks Department, “all buildings in the scope of the current demolition project have been photographed and their histories recorded as part of Historic American Buildings Survey Level 2 status.”
Unforgotten Films has reached out to the Parks Department for comment and Untapped New York has sent inquiries to the Comptroller’s Office, the New York City Department of Design and Construction, and the Department of Buildings. [Update] The New York City Parks Department has responded to Untapped New York’s request for comment. “Decades of deterioration rendered the Hart Island buildings unsafe, necessitating DDC’s active emergency demolition work on our behalf,” the Department told Untapped New York, “it is expected to be completed early this year.”
Access to Hart Island remains extremely limited, with just two public visits open every month, an issue that Unforgotten Films calls attention to. While there is hope for expanded access now that the operation of the island falls to the Parks Department, all that will be left of the historic buildings are videos and photographs.
My first visit to Hart Island was in 1999, when Bernard Kerik was Corrections Commissioner. We were the first group of historians, relatives and press to visit the island which was under the administration of the Corrections Department.
To reach Hart Island you leave from a ferry pier on City Island for a 5 minute ferry ride,
We walked around the island viewing the abandoned church, power house, nuclear warhead silo, and other structures. I clearly remember an area with a memorial to soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic. The obelisk was still there though the bodies had been moved to Cypress Grove Cemetery in Queens.
In successive visits our phones and cameras were removed from our possession, we were shuttled around the island by bus and not permit to wander. Luckily, the Corrections Department is gone with its prohibitive visitation rules.
Parks has had to come up with plans to make the island welcoming, respectful and environmentally designed. This should include preserving the built history on Hart Island.
The remaining buildings could be preserved as stabilized ruins echoing the history of the island. For decades Hart Island served so many purposes and to obliterate history is a disgrace.
HONEY LOCUST PARK FORMERLY 14 HONEY LOCUST PARK EAST 59 STREET BETWEEN 1 & 2 AVENUES
ALEXIS VILLAFARE, GLORIA HERMAN AND JUDY & BARRY SCHNEIDER. ALL GOT IT RIGHT!!!! FROM ED LITCHER:
This park is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation (DOT). In September 1938, DOT issued a permit to NYC Parks that allowed indefinite use of the space as a public park. The park was informally called Gateway Park, possibly due to its proximity to the bridge roadway entrance, until it was formally named in 1996. For many years it was maintained by the community as a neighborhood garden and sitting area.
In 1980, NYC Parks requested to extend the permit boundaries to include the entire block along 59th Street, between First and Second Avenues. The park was extended to its current boundary, though bridge maintenance and utility vehicle parking necessitated continued joint occupancy of the site until the Department of Environmental Protection, which had been using it for staging nearby water main improvements, relinquished the site in 2018.
In 2022, NYC Parks redesigned the park to include seating and new plantings that offer respite from the imposing bridge and surrounding traffic, while allowing DOT access to perform maintenance and repair to the bridge.
NYC Parks Commissioner Henry Stern formally named the site Fourteen Honey Locusts Park in October 1996, ostensibly after the Honey Locusts that stretched the city block. The name was ultimately shortened to Honey Locust Park in 2019.
Text by Judith Berdy 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 Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
UNTAPPED NEW YORK
JUDITH BERDY
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
In a city built of glass, brick, and stone, wooden houses are hard to spot in Manhattan. That said, some wooden houses have survived since their creation in the 18th and 19th centuries — when the city was mainly farmland. After the city became industrialized, these wooden houses were deemed hazardous, and new wooden-based construction was outlawed in Manhattan with the “fire limit” law of 1866. Thus, the few wooden structures that remain in New York City are extremely rare. Here are the 10 remaining wooden buildings that you can still spot in Manhattan:
Sylvan Terrace (1882)
Sylvan Terrace is a cobblestone residential street in Washington Heights lined with 19th-century wooden rowhomes designed by Gilbert R. Robinson. To enter Sylvan Terrace, there is a little stone wall with a staircase between West 160th and 161st Street. Approaching Sylvan Terrace, you will see the Morris-Jumel Mansion as well.
This hidden terrace is actually the driveway of the 1765 Morris-Jumel Mansion estate. When the mansion was sold in the 1800s, when this land was largely rural, 20 uniform, high-stooped yellow, green, and brown houses were built along the drive. The purpose of these houses was to host the laborers and working-class servants, which included a grocer and a feed dealer.
Morris-Jumel Mansion, 65 Jumel Terrace (1765)
British colonel Roger Morris built this haunted Federalist-style mansion in 1765. Today, it is Manhattan’s oldest house. From a distance, the Morris-Jumel Mansion looks like a stone house, but the exterior and frame are made of wood. Originally, the home was a 130-acre farm that stretched from the Hudson to the Harlem River. This mansion was built as a private summer home which explains why this home is tucked away in Washington Heights, originally isolated from any neighbors.
Dyckman Farmhouse, 4881 Broadway (~1785)
The only remaining Dutch Colonial-style farmhouse in Manhattan is the Dyckman Farmhouse, which was built around 1785 and originally stood on a 250-acre farm. Now, the farmhouse stands in a small park in the Inwood neighborhood of Upper Manhattan. Dyckman farmhouse serves as a museum that tells the tales of the farmhouse’s residents and rural living.
In the 1660s, Jan Dyckman established a farm near the northern tip of Manhattan that was destroyed during the Revolutionary War. As a result, William Dyckman (Jan’s grandson) replanted the land and built the Dyckman Farmhouse around 1784. Three generations of the Dyckman family lived in this small home, but in 1868 the character of the neighborhood changed from rural to urban and the farmhouse became dilapidated. Alice Dyckman Dean and Fannie Fredericka Dyckman Welch—the daughters of the last Dyckman to grow up in the house—saved the house from total disrepair in 1915. These women worked to restore the house by furnishing the interiors and landscaping the property.
Located near the marina at 279 Water Street in the South Street Seaport area of Manhattan, the establishment attracted pirates and sailors who often hung out in the brothel drinking beer and whiskey. Besides serving great drinks, Bridge Cafe has gourmet food. In the 19thcentury, the building was described as a grocery, a porterhouse, or a liquor establishment and is one of New York City’s oldest historic taverns. Beware, though, if you visit this vintage bar, it may be haunted. The building has been closed since 2011.
Hamilton Grange, 414 W 141st Street (1802)
This isolated, peaceful, and secretive farmhouse that has survived for over 200 years was originally located on the Upper East Side at York Avenue and 71stStreet. The farmhouse dates back to the 18th or early 19th century according to the Greenwich Village Historic District Designation Report, and some sources actually date the house to 1810.
In 1868 Irish immigrants William Glass and his wife bought the house and used it for dairy and eventually they lived in it. They built a small brick house in house in front of the farmhouse which they used as a tea room and in the 1940s the brick building functioned as a restaurant: Healy’s Dining Room. Furthermore, in the 1940s to 1950s, the author Margaret Wise Brown rented the house. Brown is the author of the children’s book Mister Dog which shows an illustration of this house. She is also the author of Goodnight Moon; so, the house is sometimes referred to as the “Goodnight Moon House.”
Charles Street Farmhouse, 121 Charles Street (~1810)
Rose Hill House, 203 East 29th Street (~1837)
In 1747, John Watts bought the Rose Hill House as part of a land purchase, and he developed the property to include a main house, additional houses, outbuildings, orchards, and gardens. The estate took on the name Rose Hill Farm after the property Watts owned in Scotland.
Watts, however, was exiled from New York in 1811 because of his loyalty to England during the American Revolution. The main house on this lot was burned to make room for individual lots. In the 1900s the house served as a junk shop with apartments above it. In 1979 the house was converted to a three-story bedroom apartment. Today, the original framing and roof are left intact and date the house back to the 1790s.
412 East 85th St. Wooden Home (~1860)
Located in Yorkville is a rare surviving three-story Italianate style wooden house of the pastoral era. The structure has a raised brick basement, a three-bay façade clad in capboard siding, a porch with a tall stoop, floor-length parlor windows, and a bracketed cornice. This home was built around 1860 just before Manhattan’s “fire limit” law in 1866. This law was extended north to 86th Street and consequently, this house is one of the last wood houses on the Upper East Side. When the home was built, this neighborhood was a wealthy rural area and became the home of many German immigrants during the late 19thcentury.
For 50 years, John Herbst and his family lived in this house, and they ran a monument shop inside. Despite having many owners, the house always maintained its character. Currently, the owners Catherine and Alfredo De Vido restored the house to maintain its history. The home is considered a landmark.
Twin Wooden Houses in Turtle Bay, 312 and 314 East 53rdStreet (1866)
Months before New York City passed a law banning wooden houses up to 86thStreet, two wooden frame houses at 312 and 314 East 53rdStreet were constructed. Two carpenters decided to build these twin clapboard houses in the French Empire style on the Old Eastern Post roadbed. The buildings include mansard roods, bracketed cornices, and round-hooded dormer windows.
The twin wooden homes survived in Manhattan despite the industrial change that occurred when factories, tenements, and slaughterhouses were built around them. If you look up as you walk through Turtle Bay, keep an eye open for these sister homes are breathtaking to see.
120 E 92nd St. House (1871)
Built in 1871 in Carnegie Hill, this picturesque four-story house is one of the last wooden-frame houses built in Manhattan. The house is on East 92nd street of Park Avenue and is in fact part of a trio (#160, #122, and #120) of old wooden houses from the Civil War era on the Upper East Side. Before streets were built, these houses were in open fields.
While the architect of #120 is unknown, the carpenter Albro Howell built #160 and #122. #120 has a welcoming front porch, fireplace, high ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, and its original crown moldings and hardwood floors. The house’s eat-in kitchen overlooks a gorgeous, tranquil garden. Natural light is brought into the house from its master bedroom on the second level to the bathrooms on the third level
UNIQUE ENTRANCE TO R.I. SUBWAY STATION GLORIA HERMAN AND THOM HEYER GOT IT RIGHT
Text by Judith Berdy 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 Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
UNTAPPED NEW YORK
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
Hi Judy! I certainly remember you and your visit, hard to believe it was 11 years ago! And you’re right, Queens ancestors galore and I have continued (sporadically) my quest.
Poor Selma, old Town, has been beaten up badly. The path brought the tornado from Orrville right down Dallas Ave, heavily wooded, destroying everything in it’s path. It went from tall graceful shady pines to matchsticks in a few minutes. A dear friend’s family 60 acres, old family homes, (5 homes dating back to 1920s and a log cabin) flattened. Winn Dixie was destroyed, it went through New Live Oak cemetery, across to the country club, taking the roof off our stadium, through our ante bellum period homes in that neighborhood, huge ancient oaks, gone. Moved across Broad St. taking out business on the way. I was at work in the Missions building (Catholic Social Services, Bosco Nutrition Center and my medical program) we hid in the bathrooms and it went right over. We walked out front 15 minutes later and everything flattened. And it just kept going down highway 14 into Autauga County and across the entire state.
An amazing amount of people have arrived in town to help, feeding stations, chainsaw crews, heavy equipment, clothing, household goods. There is sporadic cell and internet service throughout town, I live north so my house was safe, but our utilities suffered a bit and I just got everything back about an hour ago.
So that’s what has happened so far. I’ll see if I can find some FaceBook groups that are documenting the damage. Since you remember what our town looked like you’ll understand the devastation.
Thank you for reaching out to me, I’ll keep you in mind when I get updates.
I hope you and yours are well and happy, 2023 started with a bit too much excitement! Kathi
FROM THE ARCHIVES
MONDAY,JANUARY 16, 2023
ISSUE 887
MEMORIES OF A
SOUTHERN CONNECTION
IN
SELMA, ALABAMA
ON
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
DAY
In 2010 my extended family history arrived in the mail. The step-son of a cousin contacted me and asked if I would like some family items, a set of cuff-links to be exact. I accepted and soon three things arrived in the mail. The cufflinks, a marriage license and an Ordination Certificate from Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati for Rabbi Jerome Cohen.
Jerome Cohen was my mother’s cousin who moved to Selma as his first congregation as a Reformed Rabbi.
The marriage license was even more interesting since I knew Jerome’s widow who who visited us annually for many years. Jerome was killed in a car crash in the late 1950’s and left a widow and two sons.
This sounded interesting and I started looking into Jewish life in Selma and my connection. I remembered that Matilda’s family owned a store in Selma and that was a good starting point.
Section of the marriage license which was a treasure trove of information.
By coincidence the New York Times published an article about the restoration of the former Harmony Club in Selma. There were Harmony Clubs in other cities, all of which were social clubs for the Jewish community. Jews were not welcome at many venues in the south and elsewhere.
Matilda “Teal” Kayser lived here prior to marrying Jerome
Kayser’s in it heyday and the build remains today. Below, the tilework remains at the front door,
UPDATE Glad to report, that part of downtown, old stores and memories, was untouched. Maybe a few shingles but a few blocks from the worst part. Sad to report tho, Swift Drug has closed due to Buddy Swift’s health. Over 100+ years and he was the last in his family line and a diagnosis forced him to close. Kayser is fine. Yes, the Harmony Club sold, David Hurbut, the owner and developer passed away. The St James has been completely refurbished and owned as a Hilton Boutique property. Very very nice. There are pockets of downtown that are doing well.
Time for you to return! Kathi (Kathi is a descendent of the Willett family of Astoria, NY)
Text by Judith Berdy 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 Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
JUDITH BERDY
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
I was walking thru Rockefeller Center today looking for the new McNally Jackson Independent Booksellers Store at 1 Rockefeller Plaza (48th Street between 5th an 6th Avenues).
I used to work a few blocks north and loved wandering thru the concourse to go shopping or to the subway. In the 1980’s there were small shops and restaurants inside looking out on the ice rink. The area was affordable for workers and I would meet my cousin who worked nearby.
There was an enormous post office underground as well as plenty of room to move around in the pre-Starbucks days. (No sign on Starbucks today).
The concourse has been completely re-designed now and though there are new eateries, many spaces are vacant. The ceilings have been raised and it is less tunnel-like than in the 1980’s.
Enjoy your visit below and remember days gone by. Check out the new book store that has a wonderful selection of titles.
Even if you’ve never been to Rockefeller Center, there’s a good chance that you are familiar with two of its most famous residents, Atlas and Prometheus. The two giant bronze sculptures are iconic symbols of John D. Rockefeller Jr.’s world-famous Art Deco complex. The shining gold Prometheus lounges in front of the ice skating rink in the Sunken Plaza, while Atlas kneels in front of the International Building at 630 5th Ave. While these two works of art are easily recognizable, you might now know that much about them. Let’s uncover their secrets!
In Greek mythology, Atlas and Prometheus are both Titans and the sons of Lapetus and Oceanid Asia (or Clymene). In legend, they were both punished by Zeus for sharing knowledge with humanity. Atlas shared knowledge of astronomy which was used for navigation and Prometheus gave knowledge of fire. As penance, Zeus condemned Atlas to carry the weight of the heavens on his shoulders. To punish Prometheus, Zeus nailed him to a mountain in the Caucasus and sent an eagle to forever peck at his regenerating liver. Zeus also unleashed Pandora and her box of troubles into the world.
Atlas is depicted carrying the celestial vault or an armillary sphere on his shoulders. This type of sphere depicts the location of various celestial bodies. The north-south axis of this specific sphere on his shoulders points toward the North Star’s position relative to New York City. The statue stands on one muscular leg atop a stone pedestal, whose corner faces Fifth Avenue. Behind the sculpture, you can gaze up through the sphere to the cloud-scraping top of 45 Rockefeller Plaza or to the glowing gold lobby of the International Building directly behind. Standing behind the sculpture looking out towards Fifth Avenue, the sphere frames a view of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.
Atlas’ resemblance to the fascist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, and more so the public’s reaction to it, have been largely exaggerated and turned into legend, though there were a few people who did note the resemblance. The New York Public Library did a deep dive into this topic and disproved the notion that New York’s Italian community protested the statue in the 1930s, as there are no reports of such demonstrations.
Instead, there are a handful of instances where individuals have pointed out the likeness. The most vocal opponent of the statue was James Montgomery Flagg, the creator of those “I Want YOU” army posters with Uncle Sam (whom Flagg modeled after himself). In an inflammatory 1943 New York Times article that outlined the findings of a self-appointed committee that determined the cultural value of New York City’s sculptures, Flagg said that Atlas’ stern face “looks too much as Mussolini thinks he looks.” Other committee members said that the statue “was nothing worthy whatsoever,” and was “bombastic and pretentious.” Atlas was one of many sculptures in the city the committee recommended be scrapped. Thankfully, the committee’s findings were not acted upon and Atlas still stands.
The Atlas statue is appropriately large for the god-like figure and is the biggest sculpture in the entire Rockefeller Center complex. The statue itself is 15 feet tall. Combined with the pedestal, Atlas stretches up 45 feet into the air, or roughly the height of a 4-story building! The giant celestial sphere that he holds measures 21 feet in diameter.
The Atlas sculpture was a collaboration between Lee Lawrie and Rene Paul Chambellan. Chambellan’s work can be seen all over Rockefeller Center. He created the fountainhead figures that spout water in the Channel Gardens and designed many of the relief sculptures on various Rockefeller Center buildings.
Chief Experience Officer Justin Rivers holds up a photo of Leonardo Nole
Leonardo Nole (c. 1907–1998), an Italian-American lifeguard from New Rochelle, modeled for the likeness of Prometheus. Nole had previous experience posing for college art classes. He spent three months posing for the Prometheus assignment in the spring of 1933. After World War II, he became a postal worker.
The Prometheus sculpture was created by famed sculptor Paul Manship. His assistant Angelo Colombo did most of the detail work on the sculpture while Nole was posing. Henry Kreis, another assistant, sculpted the hair.
The 18-foot-tall, eight-ton sculpture of Prometheus is made of cast bronze, just like his brother Atlas. They look very different however because Prometheus is covered in shining gold leaf. Since the statue is so large, it takes nearly a pound of gold leaf to cover it.
The gold leafing has been restored multiple times since the statue originally debuted in the 1930s. Fritz Klueber, a German craftsman and specialist in gold leafing who worked on the restoration of the statue in 1974 told The New York Times that “the statue of Prometheus is rather unique because gold leafing on bronze is rare.”
Prometheus was greeted by a lot of criticism when he debuted, mostly because he is rather awkwardly posed. Some suggested that the Titan looks as if he is about to leap into the soup plates of restaurant patrons or alternatively, that he had just fallen from the top of the RCA Building.
The sculpture’s placement in a sunken plaza below a 70-story building presented significant problems. Manship himself lamented the fact that he didn’t have more time to study the placement. The fact that Prometheus is not overwhelmed by the towering architecture that surrounds it is a considerable tribute to the decorative merit of the bronze sculpture.
Text by Judith Berdy 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 Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
UNTAPPED NEW YORK
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
Want to find out more about our neighborhood hotel? Above is the link to the Discover+ link to see the program on the Magnolia Network. Some interesting aspects of the artwork and design are featured. Enjoy the tour, without leaving home.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
THE MYSTERY PHOTO RETURNS TOMORROW
For the last 10 days, I was at sea in the warm climates south of New York.
As a single traveler, being on a cruise ship can be challenging with all those couples and families ignoring the singles. *NCL has come up with a great idea (at least on my cruise). The “solos” were invited to meet in a lounge the afternoon we boarded and met each other. The usual giggles and nervous introductions, sort of like a high school social. Some had traveled many times and others were novices.
We met that evening at a lounge and most of us gamely went to dinner with strangers. The solos soon had friends to dine, party and hang out with. There were about 30 solos ranging from 25 to 80 years old, all races, religions, genders, life-styles. Many from the New York area, some from Canada and two from Seattle.
Some new folks discovered our group and were welcomed. We had a family and we loved having them with us.
On two afternoons at sea we had a bead stringing class that I led at a table in the dining room. Other afternoons high takes ($3-) games of L-R-C.
Evenings, some group dinners and wherever one wanted to dine. Some members were dancing till 3 a.m. and others were up at the gym at 7 a.m.
I am so glad I chose this trip. It was the most fun and met such interesting folk. Talking to my fellow travelers, many who have or had the most interesting careers.
One great feature is that NCL does not charge for a solo traveler in a cabin. That saves lots of money and your are not stuck in a small single room or paying a surcharge.
The service was great and the ship is spotless. The food is pretty good and there is always something to enjoy, with 5 restaurants that are specialty and charge a supplement.
I came home cheerful and relaxed after being off the ship at 8 a.m. and on the island at 9 a.m.
The ship is the Norwegian Gem, sailing from New York’s Pier 88 at 48th Street . *Norwegian Caribbean Lines has many ships sailing from New York to Bermuda and south and others to Canada all year.
Judith Berdy
Text by Judith Berdy 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 Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
MAGNOLIA NETWORK JUDITH BERDY
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
MATERNITY HOSPITAL AT SOUTH END ADJOINING STRECKER LABORATORY
CENTER ENTRANCE TO SMALLPOX HOSPITAL WHEN IT WAS PART OF CITY HOSPITAL
FEMALE RESIDENTS OF THE CTY HOME /ALMSHOUSE
CITY HOME BLIND WARD
CHAPEL OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD
CITY HOME MEN’S WARD
STATION WAGON ARRIVES AT QUEENSBORO BRIDGE FOR ELEVATOR TO BRIDGE
Old NYC Cancer Institute: two 2-story buildings, dating from 1924.
Cancer patients outdoors near wooden ferry office, nurse watching. Beyond river are Manhattan apartment houses.
STUDENT NURSES RELAX OUTSIDE CITY HOSPITAL
BLACKWELL HOUSE WHEN NORTH WING WAS STILL IN PLACE
STRECKER MEMOIAL LABORATORY
PEDIATRIC PATIENTS OUTSIDE METROPOLITAN HOSPITAL
PHOTO OF THE DAY WILL RETURN SOON.
I JUST RETURNED TODAY FROM VACATION AND HAVE HEARD OF THE PASSING OF BARBARA LASKER. BARBARA WAS A MEMBER OF THE R.I.H.S. BOARD AND HAD GREAT INTEREST IN OUR ISLAND HISTORY. BARBARA WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR HER GREAT SENSE OF HUMOR AND CHEERFUL DISPOSITION. OUR SINCERE SYMPATHIES TO LARRY AND FAMILY.
Text by Judith Berdy 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 Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
MUNICIPAL ARCHIVES OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
Text by Judith Berdy 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 Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
UNTAPPED NEW YORK
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
On a recent trip to Staten Island, my car was stopped unexpectedly by, of all things, wild turkeys. A group of at least 15 turkeys the height of my waist decided to cross the four-lane road and stop in the middle of it, refusing to move. A few cars piled up behind, but the turkeys stayed put, gobbling with one another as cars approached from every direction. It took a local resident on his walk to shoo the turkeys away over the course of a few minutes. A few people from across the street at Staten Island University Hospital crowded around taking photos of these disruptive turkeys, but for many local residents, these turkeys are a decades-long problem that has caused countless headaches and frustration.
Over the years, there have been attempts to curb the turkey problem, such as sending them to a wildlife sanctuary or tracking them more closely. However, some residents say that little has changed — some even think Staten Island‘s wild turkey population has grown during the COVID-19 pandemic, as city and state officials put their attention elsewhere. The Staten Island Advance reported that these turkeys have been disastrous for many in the community, from damaging cars and halting traffic to disrupting peace and quiet. One resident I spoke to who lived by Mason and Seaview Avenues said these turkeys are aggressive and “extremely annoying.” They make it difficult to do daily tasks like pulling the car out of the driveway or keeping the front lawn clean without these turkeys finding a way in.
The turkeys were mainly concentrated around the hospital and in nearby neighborhoods like Ocean Breeze, Dongan Hills, and Arrochar. However, they expanded in all directions to other parts of the borough, walking around the streets like pedestrians. This all began in the mid-1990s, according to the Staten Island Advance archives that date the first wild turkey photographs to 1996. Few people in the community tried to prevent their rapid population growth, so the turkey population grew to the hundreds by the early 2010s. The Department of Environmental Conservation conservatively estimated the population at just 100 in 2011.
Residents feared that unless something was done to get these turkeys under control, it would cost the borough thousands of dollars and lead some residents to move away. Strangely, turkeys were not the borough’s first animal pest. Staten Island has also been fighting a growing deer population, which damages the island’s plentiful greenery and seedlings. The borough has undertaken a deer sterilization program that reduced the deer population by 15% from 2017 to 2019 from 2,053 to 1,737. Still, deer cause dozens of accidents on the island each year, prompting some residents to advocate for deer culling, or killing some less-than-desired deer.
There were attempts over a decade ago to relocate turkeys found at the South Beach Psychiatric Center near the hospital, where many would congregate; in 1999, a local resident freed her nine pet turkeys at the center. In 2014, an agreement was reached between the Staten Island University Hospital, the state Department of Environmental Conservation, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture that permitted the capture and relocation of wild turkeys found on hospital grounds. Many considered this a step in the right direction, as the turkeys would be relocated to an animal sanctuary in Greene County. In 2018, Mid-Island Councilman and Minority Leader Steven Matteo secured $100,000 in discretionary funds to capture and relocate as many of these birds as possible.
Many of these initiatives were fairly successful; the Staten Island Advance reported over 150 turkeys were taken to And-Hof Sanctuary in Catskill from 2014 to 2018. These 150 (and 200 by 2019) were only a dent in the likely hundreds more turkeys still on the island. The relocation was paused since the sanctuary did not have enough room for any additional birds. Some even tried to escape the property! Because the turkeys were identified as hybrids between domesticated and captive-bred turkeys, it has been difficult to find a fitting home for them.
As of early 2022, there were still no clear solutions to resolving the turkey problem, and residents have been encouraged to let the wildlife be. Some have proposed more long-term solutions like reducing turkey food sources instead of relocation. In April of this year, Spectrum News reported residents encountering turkeys in West Brighton in northeast Staten Island. Until more concrete solutions and programs are put in place, Staten Island’s residents may continue finding wild turkeys in unexpected areas, such as on Forest Hill Road, Victory Boulevard, and Silver Lake Park.
PHOTO OF THE DAY WILL RETURN SOON.
Text by Judith Berdy 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 Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
UNTAPPED NEW YORK
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
