The E. H. Purdy & Co. Building - 42-48 West 13th Street

 

Veiled in fire escapes, the interesting facade is obscured.

In 1869, four high-stooped houses occupied the plots at 42 through 48 West 13th Street.  Sixth Avenue, just steps away, became a shopping thoroughfare following the Civil War and now commerce was spilling onto the side streets--including the formerly exclusive residential 13th Street block.  Elijah H. Purdy, William Phyfe and Robert Clenighen, who composed the firm of E. H. Purdy & Co., acquired the West 13th Street houses and replaced them with a six-story factory building.

Completed in 1870, its handsome Italianate design smacked of the public schools going up around the city at the time.  Slightly projecting pavilions created five vertical sections that were visually enhanced by their openings.  Those of the projecting sections were fully arched, while the others were square-headed.  The prominent cornice rose to a peaked pediment over the central portion.

E. H. Purdy & Co. manufactured wooden moldings, mantles, picture frames and architectural ornaments.  On February 23, 1870, shortly after moving into the new factory, the firm advertised in The Sun for "Picture frame composition casters."

Real Estate Record & Guide, September 30, 1871 (copyright expired)

E. H. Purdy & Co. suffered financial problems in 1886.  Hamilton E. Searle was assigned by the courts to oversee the firm's operations.  It was most likely at this time that A. R. Searle (presumably a son) was made treasurer of the company and the title to the building was put in Fannie J. Searle's name.

As A. R. Searle pointed out in an answer to a potential client's letter on July 2, 1889, "we would say that we manufacture composition ornaments for interior decoration principally."  Architects and builders used the firm for interior detail work--from mantles and fretwork to applied swags and rosettes.

The cornice and pediment survived as late as 1941.  image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

A significant commission to do finish work on a row of high-end houses along 72nd Street near West End Avenue was nearly derailed in the summer of 1890.  On July 17, The World reported, "A strike was ordered against the E. H. Purdy Manufacturing Company, No. 46 West Thirteenth street, yesterday, on account of the employment of non-union men among the cabinet-makers and varnishers."  

Happily for the firm, the issue was resolved.  A week later, E. H. Purdy & Co. advertised for "Boys--Good stout boys wanted for sand papering."

A bicycle policeman passing by the factory shortly around 8:00 on the night on September 6, 1899 saw flames shooting from the second floor window.  The Sun reported the sight prompted him "to pedal for dear life to the nearest fire alarm box."  The article noted the building "is occupied by the E. H. Purdy Manufacturing Company, makers of cabinets and picture frames."

When fire fighters arrived, the large crowd that had filled West 13th Street "greatly hampered the work of attacking the blaze."  Two more alarms were turned in.  At one point, reported the Star-Gazzette of Elmira, New York, "A burning stairway gave way under the weight of several firemen who were precipitated to the first floor, a fall of thirty feet.  All were injured."  The inferno was finally extinguished after greatly damaging the western portion of the structure.  The following day, The New York Times placed the damages at between $40,000 and $50,000--about $1.89 million in 2024.

The financial hit seems to have been too much for the firm.  It was taken over by F. J. Newcomb Mfg. Co., which greatly expanded the business.

The Catalogue of the 14th Annual Exhibition of The Architectural League, 1899 (copyright expired)

Although it listed its business as manufacturers of "picture frames and mouldings," the firm's 104-page catalogue displayed all the details necessary for interior decoration of new homes--carved capitals, delicate neo-Classical ornamentation, an array of rosettes, and nearly limitless moldings.

Two pages from F. J. Newcomb Mfg. Co.'s 1900 catalogue.  (copyright expired)

The firm's vast operation was reflected in its workforce.  In 1901 it employed 145 men, three boys under 18 years old, and one under 16.  They worked 53 hours per week.

Frederick J. Newcomb, president of the company, died in his Westfield, New Jersey home on August 18, 1913 at the age of 66.  The firm continued on, diversifying by 1918 to include "electrical fixtures and mirrors" to its offerings.  It remained in the West 13th Street building at least through 1936.

Around 1940, The Villager moved in.  Along with publishing and printing its newspaper here, it provided meeting rooms for local groups.  On December 30, 1943, for instance, The New York Sun reported, "Dr. Roberta Ma will give an illustrated talk on 'Chinese Gardens' on Monday evening, January 3, 8 o'clock, at the meeting of the Little Gardens Club of New York City, to be held in the Villager office, 48 West 13th street."

By 1961, the National Folding Wall Corp. occupied the building.  It manufactured "folding walls for hotels, institutions, schools and commercial buildings."  Then, in 1967, 42-48 West 13th Street was renovated for residential use and given the inexplicable name "The Bakery Building."  The brick facade has been unnecessarily painted, the cornice and pediment have been lost, and fire escapes obscure the facade. 

photographs by the author

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The Altered Robert Jacques House - 228 West 13th Street

 

By 1847, attorney Robert Jacques and his family lived in the brick-faced house at 160 West 13th Street (renumbered 228 in 1868).  It was offered for sale in April 1855, after which it was briefly home to Bridget Miner, the widow of Phillip Miner, who possibly operated a boarding house.

A rental advertisement for the nine-room house in March 1870 said it contained "all the modern improvements," suggesting a recent renovation.  The asking rent was $1,300 per year, or around $2,215 a month in 2024 money.

The first tenant was Albert Rich, who owned a fancy goods and millinery business on Sixth Avenue.  Rich left at the expiration of his lease in March 1873, and the house was advertised again at the same rent.  For some reason each of the subsequent tenants stayed only through the term of their one-year leases.  Following Albert Rich were William Kay, a carpenter or builder; then Francis Bateman; William Raymond, a clerk;  and Richard Gorney, who listed his profession as "agent."

In the mid-1880's Mary Mulvany, the widow of Owen Mulvany, was listed here.  She, too, almost doubtlessly ran a boarding house.  Martin A. Metzener purchased 228 West 13th Street in November 1899 for $4,500--the equivalent of $145,000 today.  But he appears to have overextended himself.   Six months later, on May 15, 1900, auctioneer Peter F. Meyer placed an advertisement in The New York Times that announced the auction of the "3-story and basement brick dwelling, with lot."

It briefly became home to architect Francis S. Swales.  Born in 1878, he would soon leave to study at the Atelier Jean-Louis Pascal and the Ecole de Beaux-Arts in Paris.  In 1906 he set up his architectural practice in London.

As had been the case with its tenants, 228 West 13th Street would see a rapid turnover of owners.  By 1905, it was owned by J. J. Bush, who sued the city for $65 in damages caused by a burst water main on October 28 that year.

Soon afterward, Bush sold the house to Alta H. Denam.  She received a violation on February 7, 1906 for not having a fire escape--clear evidence that the house was now considered a "tenement" by the city.  The dizzying transfers of title continued.  Alta Denam quickly sold the house to Karl Shafer who resold it in May 1906.

The double-height artist loft of 1926 flooded the interior with northern light. image via alphanyc.com

At the time, Greenwich Village was becoming Manhattan's artist colony and before long, vintage houses were being transformed to artists' studios.  In 1926, the third floor of 228 West 13th Street was raised to full height and a fourth floor studio, faced in glass to catch the northern light, was added.  It was probably at this time that the charming Early American style door with its iron strap hinges was installed. 

Around mid-century casement windows were added, along with modernist-inspired fire escapes at the second and third floors.  There are nine apartments in the vintage building today.

photographs by the author

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The 1842 James W. Hale House - 132 West 13th Street

 

A row of 12 handsome Greek Revival homes was completed in 1842 by the estate of John Remsen, on West 13th Street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues.  At three stories tall and 22-feet wide, they were intended for financially comfortable families, and exhibited the expected elements of the style--beefy stone pilasters upholding a corniced entablature framing the doorway, brownstone sills and lintels, and simple modillioned cornices.

James W. Hale moved into 108 West 13th Street (renumbered 132 in 1868).  His business address was listed as "letter office, 70 Wall Street" and he was making major changes in the way Americans communicated.  Writing in the Express Gazette on February 10, 1893, a journalist named Macauly recalled:

He was indeed not only the first to use [postage] stamps in America, but was the originator of our cheap postage and the promoter of the express system, both at home and for foreign lands.  He also originated the money order system, and, in fact, was the prime mover in the great progress which characterizes the postal and express system.

Born in Boston in 1801, Hale had early in his career recognized problems in the postal system.  Macauly reminded his readers, "This [problem was] of its costing as much to send a letter from Buffalo to New York as it did a barrel of flour."  In 1843, the year after the West 13th was completed, Hale advertised in the Boston newspapers:  "Cheap postage.  I shall leave Boston on Thursday, the 15th, for New York, and will carry all letters which may be left at No. 13 Court Street before 4 P.M. at six cents each.  James W. Hale"

Hale also made his mark by originating the express system.  Macaulty said, "Prior to 1837 there was no way of sending a package from this city to Boston except as freight, which might take a week."  Hale hired an acquaintance, William F. Harnden, to make three trips per week back-and-forth to Boston carrying small packages--starting out with only a carpet bag to hold them. 

Despite the "grand results" of his businesses, as Macaulay described them, and the fine home in which his family resided, James W. Hale seems to have closely watched his finances.  He was shocked by the Tax Assessors' valuing his personal estate in 1846 at $2,000.  The minutes of the Board of Aldermen for December 22 noted he petitioned "That the valuation of the personal estate of James W. Hall [sic], at 108 West Thirteenth Street, for 1846, be reduced from two thousands dollars to one thousands dollars, he having sworn that he was not worth that sum."  (It is highly doubtful that Hale was not worth $2,000, its equivalent amount being just $70,000 today.)

Another hint at Hale's parsimoniousness can be seen in an advertisement in the Morning Courier and New-York Enquirer on April 27, 1847:

Wanted--An American woman, or a German who speaks good English, as cook in a private family, and to do the washing and ironing.

The cook was the most highly paid of a domestic staff, and to ask one to double as a laundress was a rather surprising (and to a veteran cook, offensive) cost-savings move.

The Hale family left West 13th Street in 1860, followed in the house by Rev. William Allen Hallock and his family.  Born on June 2, 1794, he had married Fannie Leffingwell Lathrop in 1833.  The couple had three daughters, Martha, Harriet Joanna, and Frances Elizabeth; and a son, William, Jr.  

Rev. Hallock had founded the American Tract Society in 1825 and had been its secretary since 1826.  He came from an old American family, his first ancestor, Peter Hallock, having arrived at Southold, Long Island, around 1640.  While living here, Hallock would begin work on an exhaustive family genealogy.

from The Hallock-Holyoke Pedigree and Collateral Branches in the United States, 1906 (copyright expired)

Frances (known as Fanny) and her husband, John Edgar Johnson, had moved into the house with her parents.  They had hardly settled in when the population of the West 13th house increased by one.  On December 14, 1860, John and Fannie had a son, William Edgar Johnson.  Sadly, he would have a short life.  He died five months later on April 21, 1861, and his funeral was held in the parlor on April 23.  

There would be another funeral there five years later.  Fannie Leffington Lathrop died on March 10, 1866.   Rev. Hallock was remarried in 1868 to Mary A. R. Lathrop (possibly a relative of his first wife.).

It was around that time that the Johnsons moved into their own home.  (It was most likely somewhat of a relief to the aging Rev. Hallock, since the couple had seven children.)  It was common for even well-to-do families to take in respectable boarders and by 1870 the Hallocks were offering to "give a similar family a good and permanent home; Christian people preferred."

Rev. William A. Hallock died at the age of 86 on October 2, 1880.  His funeral was held in the University Place Presbyterian Church on October 5. 

It is unclear whether Mary Hallock sold or leased the house to the widow of Rev. Samuel Seabury, who had died in 1872.  Seabury was the grandson of Bishop Samuel Seabury, the first American Episcopal bishop.  On January 11, 1882, The Evening Telegram noted, "Mrs. Samuel Seabury and Miss Seabury of No. 132 West Thirteenth street, will receive on Monday next."

Benjamin D. Smith purchased 132 West 13th Street by 1886.  His residency should be cut short when the 59-year-old died in the house on January 17, 1867.  It was purchased next by Edward Mitchell LeMoyne.

Born was born in 1834.  His father, Adolphe Desire Joseph LeMoyne had come to America from France in 1829 and founded one of the oldest cotton commission firms in New York, LeMoyne & Bell.  When Edward was taken into the firm, the name was changed to LeMoyne & Sons.  The Yonkers Statesman said, "Their principal business was shipping cotton to France."  He and his wife, Josephine Maria, had four daughters.

As had been the case with Smith, LeMoyne would not live in his new home for long.  According to the Yonkers Statesman, on May 22, 1889 "he was on his way downstairs to go to business when the fatal seizure took place, and his death occurred within a few minutes."  The 55-year-old had suffered a heart attack.  As had been the case so many times before, his funeral was held in the parlor on May 25.

The house was sold to John J. Budd and his wife, Mary A. Budd.  They paid $18,000, or about $522,000 in today's money.  Living with them was their daughter, Almira, and their granddaughter, Julia Alice Budd.  Julia was the orphaned daughter of the Budds' only other child, John J. Budd, Jr.  He had died from pneumonia after having been caught in the blizzard of 1888.

The scene of so many funerals over the years, the parlor was the setting of a joyous event on the evening of December 23, 1896, when Almira Budd was married to Abraham Slaight.  The Sun reported that the ceremony took place in "the front drawing room, decked in Yuletide fashion," and noted "A reception for relatives and intimate friends and a supper followed the ceremony."

The newlyweds remained in the house with the Budds.  On March 7, 1902, Almira hosted a reception for her parents' 50th wedding anniversary.  The house was well-populated by now.  The New York Herald said, "The aged couple were assisted in receiving by their only daughter, Mrs. Slaight, and by their five granddaughters."  The article said, "Following the reception there was a supper served by Mazetti and later informal dancing."

Two months earlier, the house had been the scene of another happy event.  On January 8, 1902, Julia Alice Budd was married to Harvey Millington Ridabock in St. John the Evangelist Church on West 11th Street and Waverly Place.  

The New York Herald reported, "Invitations have been issued by Mr. and Mrs. John J. Budd for the marriage of their granddaughter, Miss Julia Alice Budd, to Mr. Harvey."  The New York Herald added, "The wedding reception will be held at the residence of the bride's grandparents, No. 132 West Thirteenth street."

The Budd house was inherited in equal shares by Almira's five daughters.   They sold it in April 1920 to Henry C. Davidson, who resold it to Joseph Ettlinger.   Upon his death on September 25, 1934, the house was assessed at $25,000--approximately $483,000 today.

At some point the cornice was removed and a brick parapet installed.  Although the architect used brownstone trim, the addition was otherwise architecturally inappropriate.

In the third quarter of the 20th century, Stephanie Hawthorn lived here.  She was involved with the New York Mycological Society, which held weekly field trips during the warm months.  The New York Times described them on October 15, 1977, as being "held within a 60-mile radius of New York City and usually include about a five-mild walk, informal lectures and mushroom 'show and tell' sessions."

The venerable residence managed to remain a single family home until 1997, when it was converted to two duplex apartments.

photographs by the author

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The Christian and Minna Rost House - 161 West 13th Street

 

In 1847, builder John Hanrahan started construction on eight identical brick-faced houses on West 13th Street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues.  Completed the following year, the three-story and basement residences were handsome examples of the Greek Revival Style.  Hanrahan may have used style books for his design, and none of the architectural elements--the brownstone basements, the heavy stone entrance enframements, and the dentiled cornices, for instance--were out of the ordinary.

The westernmost of the row was 137 West 13th Street (later renumbered 161).   Although no doubt intended for an upper-middle-class family, it seems to have been operated as a boarding house from the start.  Living here in 1851 were paver Owen Lafferty, who would remain for several years; John Tole, a laborer; and Anne Toner, who did washing.  Thomas M'Govern, another laborer, lived in the small building in the rear yard.

Although the residents were, on the whole, working class, the boarding house seems to have been a respectable operation.  An advertisement on September 25, 1864 offered:  "To rent--With board to a gentleman and wife or two gentlemen, a very desirable second story front Parlor and Bedroom."

As the ad suggested, it was common for two men to share rented rooms.   On December 22, 1865 two young men, Thomas Hennessy and Louis Rufane, took a room.  Rufane was just 17 years old and Hennessy was 22.  Their stay would be extremely short.

Rufane had previously been living at 100 James Street with his brother and sister-in-law.  On December 21, the couple went to visit Christina Rufane's mother, who lived uptown.  The New York Times reported that when they returned home, Christina discovered "a trunk containing $850 in Treasury notes, and two diamond rings valued at $650 [had been] carried off.  The startled owner immediately reported the robbery to Capt. Thorne, of the Fourth Precinct."

It did not, of course, take long for suspicion to fall on Louis Rufane.  They quickly tracked him to the West 13th Street house and arrested him and Hennessy.  Although Hennessy maintained his innocence, his teenaged accomplice caved to questioning.  "When arrested, Rufane confessed to the commission of the crime, implicating his companion, also," said The New York Times.

In 1869 an auction of the household goods and furniture was held.    After two decades of being operated as a boarding house, 161 West 13th Street was finally a private residence, home to William P. O'Connor and his widowed mother, Jane.  It may have been at this time that the entrance was slightly updated with oval-paneled Italianate doors.  

William O'Connor was a banker, with offices on Pine Street.  He and his mother occasionally took in a boarder.  In 1878 William I. Hardie, a clerk, lived in the house, and in 1883 the O'Connors leased rooms to Dr. Virgil Thompson, his wife, and his mother-in-law.

The house was sold in 1891 to Christian Rost and his wife, Anna, known as Minna.  The couple owned country property at Rockaway Beach.  The Sun called Rost "one of the expert engravers in the employ of the American Bank Note Company."  Born in Lahr, Germany in 1826, he was the son of an accomplished artist, Johann Gottlieb Rost.  He and Minna had a son (who was also a fine line artist), Ernest Christian Rost, born in 1867.

Rost studied art in Paris and London and by the time he and Minna arrived in New York in 1855 he was recognized for his fine line drawings and engravings.  In addition to creating bank notes, he executed at least two postage stamps for the Federal Government--the Pony Express rider on the 1869 2-cent stamp, and the Locomotive on the 1869 3-cent stamp.

Christian Rost did this fine-line engraving, The Little Wanderer, in 1866.

Minna was also a highly trained artist.  She perfected the process of deep-layered gold embroidery used in military patches and uniforms.  She established a studio and workroom in the basement of the house where her business thrived.

Six years before moving into 161 West 13th Street, on Saturday night September 19, 1885, Rost had been the victim of a violent attack just steps away at the corner of Seventh Avenue and West 13th Street.  He had been visiting friends on East Fourth Street and started home around 10 p.m.  On his way he stopped to buy groceries on Greenwich Avenue.  He told police that "Just as he got to the corner his throat was griped by a man who had come up behind him, and another grabbed him in front.  The next he remembers was that he found himself lying on the sidewalk beside a lamp post," according to The Sun.

The crooks had taken his watch and chain and his pocketbook.  In their haste they failed to check his pockets.  The newspaper said "He had a lot of money in his inside waistcoat pocket, but it was not disturbed."

Minna's brisk business was reflected in an 1895 advertisement seeking girls accomplished in fine embroidery.  The year after that advertisement appeared, on April 10, 1896, Christian Rost died at the age of 73.  

Minna stayed on for a few years, continuing to operate her embroidery business from the lower level.  She died in 1903 and was buried next to her husband in the Old St. Paul's Church in Mt. Vernon, New York.

By then 161 West 13th Street was once again being operated as a boarding house.  Patrick J. O'Leary was living here by 1900, listing his profession as a clerk.  Other tenants in the first years of the 20th century were Elizabeth Nolan, a "cottage attendant" with the Department of Parks, and Morris Welch who was coincidentally in the embroidery business.

Patrick J. O'Leary would rent rooms in the house for years.  A member of the American-Irish Historical Society, by 1913 he was a director of the Longacre Publishing Co.  Elizabeth Nolan, too, would stay for years--at least through 1916.

In April 1922 William Maltag purchased the house, only to sell it the following year to Angela Duffus. In 1932, the Duffus family leased the "lower floors" to the Alpha Gamma Fraternity.  (Between 1936 and 1940 Harry T. Duffus was under the watchful eye of the government for his pro-Communist voting choices.)

In the entrance hall, some historic elements have survived.  photo via compass.com

At some point the house was converted to three apartments.  While most of the interior detailing has been lost, several mantels and some original woodwork survives.

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The Jacob Day House - 50 West 13th Street

 

In 1846 construction began on the 21-foot-wide brick house at 50 West 13th Street.  Completed the following year, the three-story Italianate house featured architectural extras that sat it apart.  Rather than molded or flat lintels, for example, these were carved with graceful ogival arches.  But most eye-catching was the lacy cast iron porch with its handsome sloping hood.  A three-story brick stable stood in the rear yard.

Slavery had been abolished in New York in 1827.  The first enclave of freed Blacks in New York cropped up in Greenwich Village, centered around the bent Minetta Street (earning it the nickname Little Africa in the 1860's).  Many of the Little Africa residents lived in poverty, but that was not the case with Jacob Day.

In her 1912 book A Narrative of The Negro, Mrs. Leila Amos Pendelton wrote that as early as 1836, "Some of the educated and cultured colored men of New York were...James Williams and Jacob Day."  And in his 1882 History of the Negro Race in America from 1819 to 1880, historian George W. Williams noted, "The Colored population of New York was equal to the great emergency that required them to put forth their personal exertions...James Williams and Jacob Day among business men, did much to elevate the Negro in self-respect and self-support."

Day was listed in directories as a "private caterer." His  successful business garnered him enough money to purchased 50 West 13th Street in 1858.  He ran his operation from the basement level.

The University Quarterly, July 1882 (copyright expired)

The Day family occasionally took in Black boarders.  In 1867 Dr. Henry Lassing lived with here, and from 1869 through 1874 Sarah J. S. Thompkins boarded with the Days.  A widow, she taught in the Boys' Department of Colored School No. 4 on West 17th Street.

And in 1876 and '77 Theodore Gogean was listed at 50 West 13th Street.  A waiter by profession, he most likely worked for Jacob Day.

Day's prominence in the Black community went far beyond his professional success.  He was the "trusted and longstanding" treasurer of the Abyssinian Baptist Church on Waverly Place, for instance.  The congregation was formed in 1808 by a group of Blacks who refused to capitulate to the segregated seating of the First Baptist Church of New York City.

The congregation of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, in their Sunday finest, poses in front of the Waverly Street Church in 1907, before moving uptown.  from the collection of the Library of Congress

Most importantly, Day used his financial and social position to lobby for improvement.  The People's Advocate called him one of the "colored aristocracy" of New York in 1880.  He was a staunch advocate of abolition, a campaigner for civil rights, and a promoter of Black-owned businesses and institutions.

Day apparently worked vigorously to help escaped slaves fleeing north before the Civil War.  The Abyssinian Church was linked by the National Anti-Slavery Standard to Underground Railroad supporters, one of whom almost assuredly was Day.  

The end of the Civil War did not end Day's fight.  On September 19, 1866 the National Anti-Slavery Standard began an article saying, "The war of steel is over, so it is declared, but the war of ideas must go on until in this country true democratic principles shall prevail."  The article noted that injustices continued.  "A large proportion of us are (on account of that unjust discrimination) shut out from our right to vote, as citizens of the United States, and of the State of their birth and adoption."  A State Central Committee "composed of representative men, who may act for the people during the ensuring year--a year likely to be one of the most important in our history" had been chosen to attend the State Convention in Albany on October 16, 1866.  Among them was Jacob Day.

Jacob Day died in 1884 and his sons, Charles and Jacob, Jr. took over the business, moving it slightly down the street to 38 West 13th Street in 1888.  The Brooklyn Daily Eagle described the operation, saying "Their specialty is management of weddings, dinners, receptions, card parties, musicales, etc."

The family leased 50 West 13th Street to James Mason and his wife.  The couple was no doubt intimately acquainted with the Days.  The New York Times noted, "Though occupying for years the humble position of a porter in the employ of the elevated [rail]road, Mr. Mason exerted great influence for good among the colored people of the city, working for their betterment through the instrumentality of the many benevolent societies to which he belonged."

Mason's wife had been an active member of the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church for years.   When he became seriously ill in November 1890, she convinced him to join the church.  Her concerns were well-founded.

Mason had contracted "congestion of the lungs," according to The New York Times.  It developed into pleuro-pneumonia and he died in the West 13th Street house on December 13 at the age of 49.  Five days later The New York Times reported:

Probably no colored man was ever buried in this city with the imposing ceremonies that accompanied the obsequies of James Mason yesterday...The funeral ceremonies began on Tuesday afternoon at 5 o'clock, when the body was transferred to Bethel Church and placed in a catafalque in front of the pulpit.  It lay in state until 8 o'clock, and thousands of the colored population passed by the bier to pay their last farewell to the dead.  When the services began every seat and all the aisles of the church were filled, the body of the sacred edifice being reserved for the Masonic and other societies, which came in full regalia.

In 1896 Jacob Day's heirs sold 50 West 13th Street to Mary E. Lawson for $2,000--around $63,600 in today's money.  Living in the house at the turn of the century was Richard Burnett.  The 30-year-old clergyman ended up in Bellevue Hospital on May 6, 1900 after a bizarre incident.

The New York Herald reported that Burnett, "a colored Baptist minister, is in the insane pavilion at Belleview Hospital, being watched by insanity experts."  Police had noticed him "talking incoherently and waving a Bible."  Dr. Ford was called to transport him to the hospital.  During the ride, according to the newspaper, Burnett "wanted to convert the driver of the ambulance."  Dr. Ford then made another stop at the Mercer Street police station to pick up "an Italian lunatic, Annid Bertini, a laborer...who is violently insane."  Richard Burnett tried his best to preach to him, "but soon gave it up."

When the ambulance reached Bellevue Hospital, the young clergyman attempted to mount the horse, much to the annoyance of the driver.  He was pulled off and taken inside.  The New York Herald recounted, "He said he was used to horses and had ridden the most fractious mules in Virginia."  It added, "He was allowed to keep his Bible."

For at least eight years, between 1902 and 1910, architect John Davidson lived and worked in the house.  In 1941 the basement and parlor levels were renovated for the Design Technics School.  The top two floors remained a one-family residence.

On September 22 the school opened, offering "courses for teachers in metals, jewelry, ceramics, sculpture and weaving and special courses in industrial design and in experimental technics," as reported by The New York Sun.

This hand-thrown lamp with a spun glass shade was made at Design Technics School.  The New York Times, November 5, 1946.

On November 5, 1946, The New York Times wrote, "The studio is unique in New York since the craftsmen mix their own clay, make their own molds, grind glazes and perform all the other steps necessary to turn out accessories in numbers.  The start-to-finish production is accomplished in an 100-year-old building."

In 1959 the house was renovated again.  There was now an auditorium and theater in the basement, and a "clubroom school" on the parlor floor.  Given the history of the address, it seems appropriate that on January 18, 1968, The Village reported, "The Afro-American Folkloric Troupe, four young Negroes performing poetry, prose and folklore, are appearing every Sunday at 8:30 p.m. at 50 West 13th Street."

In 1972 the auditorium space became home to the Off-Off Broadway 13th Street Repertory Company.  In January 1974 Israel Horovitz's one-act play Line opened and 31 years later in 2015 was still playing a few nights a week.

Headed by Edith O'Hara (who lived in the upper portion of the house), the theater's stage saw the work of prominent actors, directors, playwrights, and designers over the decades.  The arcane venue, tucked away in the basement of the venerable, if now beleaguered house, perhaps seemed (like its leader) destined to be around forever.

But in the fall of 2020 Edith O'Hara died at the age of 103.  Her three children own just over a third of the property, the rest held by Stephan Loewentheil and his former wife, Beth Farber.  An agreement signed in 2010 allowed the theater to remain until Edith O'Hara's death.  No one seems to know what will now happen to the historically significant structure.  That is especially true since the Landmarks Preservation Commission has initially dismissed the Jacob Day house for landmark designation, citing insufficient architectural merit.

In the meantime, the etiolated charm of the quaint 1847 house pales to its significance in New York's Black history--one that should certainly count towards its merit as a city landmark.

photographs by the author

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The 1848 Daniel Stinson House - 122 West 13th Street

 

In 1848, after completing a row of Greek Revival houses on West 13th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, builder John Hanrahan bought land on the opposite side of the street from the estate of Elizabeth Walsh and began a similar row of six houses.  Three stories high, they were faced in red brick above a brownstone basement level.

No. 98 West 13th Street (renumbered 122 in 1868) became home to Charles E. Grant.  Born on March 16, 1811, he had married his wife, Jane, around 1837.  The couple had two sons.

Sadly, Jane died five days before Christmas in 1852 at the age of 35.  Her funeral was held in the house on December 22, followed by a service at the 13th Street Presbyterian Church.

Shortly afterward, Charles took his sons west to Illinois.  The 13th Street house became home to William H. and Maria W. Morris.  The comfortable lifestyles of the residents along the block were evidenced in help wanted advertisements placed by Maria.  One, on September 28, 1858, read, "Wanted--By a family of two, a perfectly competent waitress and chambermaid who understands sewing; very best reference required."  And six months later,  on March 22, 1859, she was looking for "A seamstress by the day, in a private family; one who understands fine sewing, and can bring good references."

When she placed that advertisement, Maria had just given birth to the Morris's first child, William Henry.  Tragically the baby died at two months of age and the parlor was the scene of another funeral on May 7.

At the time, Daniel Stinson had served in the United States Army since 1821.  Born in Dunbarton, New Hampshire in 1797, he came to New York City at the age of 22 and in 1822 entered the United States Army's Quartermaster's Department.  With the outbreak of Civil War, the 64-year-old was made assistant Quartermaster.  

Three years after the end of the war, in 1868, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton promoted him to the rank of colonel "for faithful and meritorious services during the war."  By now, Stinson and his wife, the former Maria V. W. Churchill, had lived in the West 13th Street house for four years. The couple, who had married on December 17, 1828, had no children.

Not surprisingly, Daniel Stinson was deeply patriotic.  Following the shooting of President James A. Garfield in 1881, Stinson read that an Akron, Ohio newspaper had launched a "one-cent subscription" to raise funds for a gift of appreciation for Captain C. A. Cook who had slapped the mouth of a man named Morrison "for wishing Garfield would die."  The fund drive asked for a penny from each reader to help purchase a gold watch for Cook.  Stinson did far better than a penny.  The Summit County Beacon reported on September 14 that he had sent in $10--more than $250 in today's money.

In the summer of 1891, Stinson fell ill and his condition quickly deteriorated to pneumonia.  On August 22, The Fall River Daily Herald entitled an article "Died In The Harness" and reported, "Colonel Daniel Stinson is dead.  Up to this week he was able to be about and attend to his affairs although he was 94 years old."  The article noted that he "was for more than fifty years connected with the quartermaster's department of the United States army in New York city."

Maria remained in the house until her death on June 10, 1893.  As had been the case so many times in the past, her funeral was held in the parlor three days later.

The Stinson estate sold 122 West 13th Street on December 30. 1894 for the equivalent of about $592,000 today.  It became home to art dealer Roland F. Knoedler, proprietor of M. Knoedler & Co.

Knoedler's father had co-founded the firm in 1846.  In 1903 The Finance and Commerce of New York and United States wrote, "When the business was first established the late M. Knoedler was the only connoisseur who sold original oil paintings from the various European schools.  American art owes a great deal to him, for from the beginning he devoted great attention to American paintings, and fostered and encouraged native art." 

Knoedler's gallery was by now famous for selling Old Dutch and Italian art and 18th century English paintings.  Works by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Gainsborough, Titian and Rembrandt were among those that were displayed on its walls.

In 1923 Sir William Orpen's portrait of "The Dean of the Art World" "attracted much attention at the last Royal Academy exhibition in London."  The Spur, October 15, 1923 (copyright expired)

Early on Saturday evening, June 30, 1900 a messenger frantically knocked on the door of 122 West 13th Street hoping to find Knoedler at home.  Unfortunately, he was not in.

Earlier that day Mary E. Hurst had visited the Fifth Avenue gallery to browse among the artworks.  Just before noon its manager, Mr. Rose closed the gallery for the day.  Neither he nor his five employees realized that someone was still inside.

When she realized she was alone, Mary left the gallery.  The inner hallway door had a spring lock which closed behind her and the heavy street door was securely locked.  Mary was trapped in the small vestibule.

The New York Herald reported, "Fashionably attired women driving in Fifth avenue alighted from cabs and broughams and gathered in front of the door trying to comfort the imprisoned woman, who, in tones that grew weaker every moment, begged to be liberated, as she feared she would faint or suffocate."  Dozens of patrons of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel across the avenue swarmed the sidewalk in front of the Knoedler & Co. gallery.

Mary was finally rescued by a policeman who entered the mansion of Mrs. Edward King, next door, made his way across the roof of the Knoedler building and pried open the scuttle.  Eventually he was able to retrieve Mary Hurst and bring her up to the roof and back through the King residence.

Roland Knoedler spent more and more time in Paris (much of it spent searching out masterpieces for his prime client, Henry Frick).  By 1909 Dr. Waldo H. Richardson was living in 122 West 13th Street.

It was sold to Domenica Cella in 1914, who leased it to Dr. William C. Halleck in 1916.   The 66-year-old physician had just walked out on his wife, Elizabeth, to whom he had been married since 1877.  The couple had seven children.

In February 1917, Elizabeth very publicly filed for divorce, naming "Madam Ruth Hausman" as the other woman.  She told the courts that her husband's income was as much as $10,000 a year--around $200,000 today.

Following the divorce, William and Ruth were wed, but it would not be a long-lasting marriage.  Dr. Halleck died in the 13th Street house on March 6, 1920.

Domenica Cella sold No. 122 that year to Charles I. Taylor.  In 1941 it was converted to apartments.  Although a coat of 20th century paint that peels away from the brick and brownstone gives the house a neglected look, many details surprisingly survive--like the interior shutters of the parlor and second floors, the paneled entrance doors, and the cast iron balcony.

photographs by the author

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The 1833 Samuel Phillips House - 226 West 13th Street

The first city in the United States to install gas street lamps was Newport, Rhode Island, in 1803.  It would be another two decades before New York City began replacing oil lamps with gas.  The much more efficient gas street lights, however, still required lamplighters--the men who lit them at dusk and extinguished them at dawn.  It was not always a pleasant job.  The lamps had to be lit and extinguished no matter how foul the weather.

Samuel Phillips was a lamplighter in 1833 when his new home at 158 West 13th Street (later renumbered 226) between Greenwich and Seventh Avenues was completed.  Two-and-a-half stories tall, the 20-foot wide home was faced in Flemish bond brick.  A short stoop led to the entrance and a dormer punched through the peaked roof.  In the rear yard, as was common, was a secondary, smaller house (which survives today).

It is unclear how long Phillips remained in the house.  By 1847 William B. Jehff, a hatter, lived here.  Also listed at the address was Christina Parsons, the widow of Sylvanus Parsons, who most likely lived in the rear house.

In 1853 Julia Cleland moved into 226 West 13th Street with two her adult daughters, Rebecca H.  and Margaret.  Julia was the widow of Charles Cleland, who died in 1841.  Her three other daughters, Eliza, Sarah and Julia, were married.  Rebecca made her living as a dressmaker and Margaret was a teacher in Public School No. 20.  

It is unclear whether Julia was hearing impaired, but she was highly involved with St. Ann's Church for Deaf-Mutes.  On April 19, 1856 the New-York Daily Tribune reported, "Several deaf-mute ladies, with others interested in the success of St. Ann's Church, have in contemplation a Fair, to be held about the 1st of June, for the benefit of the Building Fund."  The article noted that donations could be sent to "Mrs. Cleland, No. 158 West Thirteenth street."

The house was the scene of the funeral of Julia's 6-year-old granddaughter, Agnes Davidson Tatem on March 17, 1854.   The little girl's father, Captain J. Tatem, had previously died.  

Julia and her daughter left West 13th Street in 1865.  It became home to Edward R. Sommerkorn and his wife, Augusta.  Living with the couple was Augusta's brother, Andrew Giebelhausen, a musician.

Sommerkorn had served as a captain in the 175th Regiment of Infantry during the Civil War and was discharged on July 4, 1863.  He was now a well-to-do insurance broker with offices on Broadway.  The Sommerkorns slightly updated the house with a new Italianate cornice.

The year the Sommerkorns moved in they advertised "a neatly furnished parlor" and a "small furnished room" to let.  The rents were $6 and $8 per week respectively (the more expensive being about $130 today).  An employee of Edward, Herman Siedenburg, took one of the rooms.  The 24-year-old found himself in court on September 5, 1866 "on the charge of having stolen a quantity of cigars valued at $500, from Mr. Edward L. Sommerkorn," said the New York Herald.

It was no small theft.  The cigars would be valued at more than $8,000 in today's money.  Also in the courtroom that day was Augusta, who testified that "she saw the prisoner take [the cigars] from the residence of her husband."

Renting accommodations (possibly the rear house) from the Sommerkorns in the early 1870's were Colonel James E. Kerrigan and his wife, Mary Elizabeth.   Mary fell seriously ill in 1872 and was unable to recover.  She died on December 7 at the age of 36.  Her funeral was held in the parlor of the main house on December 9.

At the time, trouble was brewing between Edward and Augusta over his drinking.  When it became intolerable, Augusta kicked him out.  On August 26, 1875 The Evening Telegram reported, "For some time past she has refused to live with Mr. Sommerhorn on account of his intemperance, and has supported herself by renting furnished rooms."  After trying unsuccessful to convince Augusta to take him back, Edward resorted to retaliation.

"On Monday last Mr. Sommerhorn...employed a deputy marshal and stripped the house of its furniture, leaving the lodgers to sleep on bare floors."  In turn, Augusta sued her husband to recover the furniture.  The Evening Telegram reported she also initiated "a suit under the Civil Damage law against the liquor dealer with whom her husband deals."

Edward Sommerkorn died on May 23, 1892 at the age of 71.  It does not appear that the two ever reconciled.  Augusta retained possession of the 13th Street house, which continued to see a succession of boarders.

In the mid-1890's, for instance, the tenants included George Decker, a clerk; Madame. Chevalier, a dressmaker who charged $2.50 per day for "tailor made gowns;" and a young couple, the Ferniers.  Realizing her baby was on the way on November 27, 1897, Josephine Fernier boarded a streetcar headed to the Sloane Maternity Hospital.  But she had left too late.  The New York Herald reported "at an early hour yesterday morning [she] gave birth to a child in a Ninth avenue car, at Fifty-ninth street and Ninth avenue."

Augusta Sommerkorn took in a new boarder, Horton Sumner, in 1906.  His name was, in truth, Perrin H. Sumner, described by The Wichita Eagle as "the grizzly-haired ex-convict."  The New York Times noted that he was "at one time known as the 'Great American Identifier.'"

The Wichita newspaper said he "has been arrested many times on charges which include swindling, forgery and subornation of perjury, and who, in June 1897, was sentenced to six years at hard labor in Sing Sing prison for grand larceny."  But, of course, Augusta was unaware of any of this.

Sumner set his sights on Augusta's substantial estate, much of which was tied up in real estate.  The Eagle said, "Her relatives allege that in addition to her real estate she owned jewelry and paintings of considerable value."

Half her age, he wooed the aging widow, little-by-little convincing her to transfer property to his name.  On March 9, 1907 she transferred Florida real estate to his name  for the documented price of $1.00.   Two months later she transferred the deed to Bronx real estate to Arthur Ewing Sumner, Perrin's son.

The con-man was determined to get the last cent of Augusta's estate.  The New York Times reported that on June 14, 1907 he "married Mrs. Sommerkorn, who was 75 years old and ill in bed at the time.   Ten days later the old woman died...As she died without a will and without children, Sumner, as her husband, took her estate, which is said to be valuable."

Frederick R. Giebelhausen, who had initially lived with the Sommerkorns in the West 13th Street house, was now living in New Jersey.  In March 1908 he began actions to set aside all the deeds of the properties which his sister had transferred to Sumner.

The West 13th Street was sold to Meta C. Woods in 1908.  It continued to be a boarding house.  In 1926 both it and the rear house were renovated into rooming houses.  It as no doubt at this time that the stoop was removed and the dormer replaced with a large studio window.  The Department of Buildings noted that "not more than 15 sleeping rooms" were permitted in either structure.

The vintage house appeared threatened in 1946 when real estate operator Fred Sandblom purchased the property directly behind it at 102 Greenwich Avenue, "and the abutting three-story building at 226 West 13th street, with a three-story house in the rear," as reported by The New York Sun on May 14.

But if Sandblom had visions of a modern structure on the site, it never came to pass.  A monochromatic coat of barn red paint covers the brick, the brownstone, and the cornice today, making the venerable house easily overlooked.  

photograph by the author

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