The Battered Michael Colligan House - 249 West 18th Street

 

In the early 1840s the development of the district that would be known as Chelsea was well underway.  By 1845 a "three-story high basement brick house" as described in an advertisement, and a smaller dwelling in the rear yard sat on the north side of West 18th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.  The 26-foot-wide Italianate style residence was unpretentious.  A stoop above the "high basement" originally led to the parlor floor.  The understated cornice had just two foliate brackets, one on either side.

At least two families lived at 171 West 18th Street (renumbered 249 in 1868) in 1845.  Almost assuredly one lived in the rear house.  Robert Simms made his living as a weaver, and Hugh Gardner was a policeman.  

The Gardners suffered a devastating and bizarre incident on May 22, 1845.  The Morning Courier and New-York Enquirer reported:

The Coroner this forenoon held an inquest on a child named Violet Gardner, aged 17 months, the daughter of Hugh Gardner, of No. 171 West 18th street, who was accidentally drowned in a kettle of water yesterday afternoon, which had been placed on the kitchen floor where the child was playing.  The mother left the infant for a short time and on her return found that it had fallen into the kettle and was suffocated.

The toddler's death was ruled accidental.

In the early 1850s the house was operated as a boarding house by widow Johanna Davenport.  Her boarders were, for the most part, Irish laborers, like James Gallagher (who lived in the rear house in 1853).  Others living here that year were Joseph Kilpatrick, a polisher; blacksmith Martin Calsing; and Adam Scheele, a shoemaker.  Davenport's advertisement on April 27, 1853 read, "A gentleman and his wife, and two or three single gentlemen, can be accommodated with pleasant rooms, with full or partial board, at 171 West Eighteenth street, near Eighth avenue."

A year before that ad the McComb family had boarded here.  Like the Gardners, they suffered a tragic loss.  In the spring of 1852 a house was under construction on the block.  William McComb, described by The Morning Courier and New-York Enquirer as "a small lad," investigated.  The adventurous boy made it to the roof without being noticed or ordered away by the workmen.  The article said William "accidentally fell through the sky-light to the floor, a distance of about 14 feet."  He died shortly afterward.

The house was offered for rent in April 1856 at $650, an affordable $1,785 per month in 2023.  It triggered a blindingly-fast turnover of occupants.   The following month a family moved in, decorating the house with furniture "made to order."  But something happened to prompt them to leave abruptly.  On October 10 an auction was held of all the household furnishings, including a rosewood parlor suite, and rosewood marble-top dressers and center tables.  The auction announcement noted that the furniture had "been used only since May."

The Baker family were the next occupants.  Tragedy again visited the house when F. S. and Margaret G. Baker's 3-year-old daughter, Maria Lavinia, died on November 20.  Her funeral was held in the parlor two days later.

In 1859 a Mrs. Vantassel operated an apparel making shop here, most likely in the rear building.  On February 14 she advertised, "Ladies wanting plain sewing, baby or children's clothes made, or embroidered handsomely and quickly may call on or address Mrs. Vantassel, 171 West Eighteen street, between Seventh and Eighth avenues."  The advertising apparently worked, and two weeks later she was searching for "four good vest makers, to whom good wages and steady employment will be given."

The property was purchased by William Beinhauer Silber in 1860.  His grandparents, Frederick and Wilhelmina Beinhauer, had owned a farm in today's Midtown, the site of which would be built upon in 1873 by William Henry Vanderbilt for his "Triple Palace."  Silber tutored pupils of the Free Academy in ancient languages, and was the author of academic books like A Latin Reader, Progressive Lessons in Greek, and An Elementary Grammar of the Latin Language.  The apparently indefatigable Silber was, as well, listed in the notes of the 1862 Methodist Episcopal Church Conference as a "local preacher."

He continued to lease the rear property.  Mrs. Vantassel's business was taken over by Edward Vanderhoof by 1861.  When his foreman arrived on the morning of February 13, he was astonished to find Thomas Russell loading a sewing machine into a cart at the curb that was already loaded with other machines.  Russell explained that he had bought the equipment from Vanderhoof.

The New York Herald reported, "This would not satisfy the foreman, however, and was proceeding to lay hands on the stranger, when the latter turned upon him and dealt him a powerful blow in the face."  Simultaneously, policeman McCarthy came upon the scene and arrested Russell.  At the station house he insisted that he had purchased the machines.  It was settled when Edward Vanderhoof was summoned to the Tombs, where he denied having met Russell or selling the property.

Michael Colligan and his wife, the former Catherine McCaffrey, purchased the 18th Street house in 1867.  Both were born in Ireland, Michael in 1813 and Catherine a year later.  The couple had a son, John.  Michael Colligan had done well for himself in his new homeland.  He owned two storage buildings, one at 71 Water Street and the other at 75 Beach Street.

The tradition of horrible tragedies continued 12 years after the couple moved in.  On March 26, 1879, The New-York Times began an article saying, "An old lady named Catherine Colligan met with a most horrible death last night."  She was alone in the house, and as dusk fell around 7:00 she lit a kerosene lamp.  The article said she threw away the match, which was still lit.  It fell into the folds of her dress "and before she was aware of her danger her garments were all ablaze."  The article continued:

...becoming panic-stricken, [she] ran wildly around the room screaming for help.  In doing so she ran against the family clothes-horse, and set fire to the dry clothes upon it.  In a few moments she was enveloped in flame, and her strength being exhausted, she sank insensible to the floor.

Hearing her screams, neighbors rushed to the scene, but they were too late, The New-York Times reporting that by then, "she was found to be literally roasted."  She died within minutes of help arriving.

Catherine was 65-years-old.  Her funeral was held in the house two days after her horrendous death.  Michael lived on at 249 West 18th Street until his death at the age of 70 in February 1883.

John J. Colligan leased the house to Michael McKernan, who also took over the operation of the Colligan storage facilities.  The two Michaels had most likely worked together while Colligan was alive and, coincidentally or not, both had come from County Tyrone, Ireland.  Living here with Michael and his wife Elizabeth (known as Eliza) were their 17-year-old daughter Mary, and 12-year-old son, Hugh.  The population of 249 West 18th Street increased rapidly after Mary married Patrick J. Hayes.  The couple had four children by 1892.

Sadly, there would be four more funerals in the house within the next decade.  Mary McKernan Hayes died on August 19, 1892 at the age of 26; Michael McKernan died on October 26, 1896; and Hugh C. McKernan died at the age of 28 on September 14, 1899.   Two years later, on December 2, 1901, Eliza McKernan died at the age of 76.

A young couple, Eugene L. and Alphonsine E. Ogden moved into the house shortly afterwards.  Sadly, Alphonsine died on February 7, 1903 at the age of 24.  

Massive change would come to John J. Colligan's childhood home after he sold the property in March 1906 to building contractor Anthony G. Imof for $16,000 (about $492,000 today).  Apparently acting as his own architect, he gutted the former residence for his business.  The stoop was replaced by a loading dock and the parlor wall by a storefront.  

On the first floor was a woodworking shop, on the second were the office, and "storage and varnishing," and the third floor was used for "storage of window frames, sash and doors," according to building documents.

At mid-century, little had changed to 269 West 18th Street since Anthony G. Imhof's sweeping renovations.  image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

Anthony G. Imhof operated from the address for decades.  In 1965 the building was renovated for, appropriately, the office of a contractor's establishment on the first floor, and three apartments each on the second and third.

Beginning in 1973 the Nighthouse Theater was located in the building, replaced by the Production Company (aka the TPC Theater) in 1977, which remained until 1981.

That year Walk n' Watchit a pet-sitting agency occupied the front half of the first floor and Schlesinger's Uniforms was in the back.  Still in the space today, Schlesinger's was established in 1898 and supplies uniforms to the New York Police Department, motion picture studios, Post Office workers and television producers.

Throughout its various incarnations in the second half of the 20th century, the vintage building suffered significant abuse.  The cornice and early Victorian details were lost, and the numerous changes to the facade resulted in a patchwork of brick--the contractors unconcerned about architectural uniformity or attractiveness.  Close inspection, nonetheless, shows surviving elements of Imhof's cast iron storefront.

photos by the author

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

The Charles Peters House - 329 West 18th Street

 

By 1841 Charles Peters and his family lived at 213 West 18th Street (it would be renumbered 329 in 1868).  The two-and-a-half-story Federal style house was one of a row constructed several years earlier.  Faced in Flemish bond red brick it would originally have had one or two dormers at the attic level.  Federal style iron fencing guarded the areaway and elaborate stoop railings terminated in basket newels that perched atop stone drums.

Peters operated a butcher store on Eighth Avenue.  As was common, he and his wife Ann Eliza took in a boarder.  Sarah Hillhouse Percy, the widow of Jonathan Percy died here on March 1, 1848.

The next boarder in the Peters house was Theodore Passavant, a foundry operator.  When he moved into the house in 1851 he was a partner with R. B. Lockwood in Lockwood & Passavant, "Iron Workers and Founders," on West 25th Street near Tenth Avenue.  The business was reorganized on March 7 1853 when the partners parted ways and Passavant brought on George Archer, renaming the foundry Passavant & Archer.  Passavant remained with the Peters family through 1854.  

In 1859 three new boarders arrived.  James Neafie was a carpenter and builder who operated from the rear of 21 Jane Street, John Small worked as a clerk in the post office, and Zephaniah S. Webb was a physician.

Charles Peters died at the age of 61 on January 19, 1861.  His funeral was held in the parlor three days later.  James Neafie and Dr. Webb continued to board with Ann for another year.  She would continue to lease rooms afterward.

In September 1870 valuable items--worth about $3,000 in 2023 terms--went missing from the house.  It was not long before Barbara Hartman (described as "a middle-aged woman" by The New York Times), was arrested for the crime.  It appears that she was a servant, for after she pleaded guilty on September 13 to the charge of "having stolen $138 worth of jewelry and clothing from Ann Eliza Peters, of No. 329 West Eighteenth-street," Ann requested that she be let go.

At the time of the incident, Stephen D. Peters was working as a blacksmith at 659 Hudson Street.  He advanced in his craft, and in 1873 was listed in directories as a "wheelwright," a more specialized craftsman who built and repaired wagon and carriage wheels.

Following Ann's death, 329 West 18th Street was sold to Charles Edward Shopp and his wife, the former Thirza Maria Marshall in 1876.  Worked into the deal, it seems, was Stephen Peters's being permitted to live on in his childhood home.  He would remain until 1880.

It is certain that the Peters and Shopp families knew one another.  Like Charles Peters, Charles E. Shopp was a butcher and operated two stores on Eighth Avenue.  (It is possible he took over the Peters store upon Charles's death).  

Charles and Thirza had four sons.  Moving into the West 18th Street house with them were son John Marshal Shopp and his wife, the former Georgiana Eliza Huyler.  The newlyweds were married in 1874.  The population of the house was increased by one in October 1877 when their daughter Ethel May was born.

Tragically, on February 6, 1878, Georgiana E. Shopp died.  The wife and mother was just 24 years old.  Her funeral was held in the house on February 9.

The Shopp estate sold the West 18th Street house at auction on January 28, 1879 to Stephen S. Baker, who paid $7,875, or about $221,000 today.  He and his wife, Sarah J., had a daughter Eva Gertrude.

It was almost assuredly the Bakers who remodeled the house, raising the attic floor to full height and giving it a modern, neo-Grec cornice, and embellishing the openings with molded metal lintels.

Boarding with the family were Joshua Denby and his son, Edward, both builders.  Unfortunately, the Denbys' residency would be cut short when Joshua died at the age of 66 on November 3, 1879.  Once again a funeral was held in the parlor.

A more much joyous event occurred there on the night of December 12, 1894.  Eva Gertrude Baker was married at 8:00 to G. Harry Abbott in the Eighteenth Street Methodist Episcopal Church.  The New York Herald reported, "A small reception followed at the home of the bride's parents, No. 329 West Eighteenth street."

The following year Stephen S. Baker died.  Sarah sold the house on April 2, 1896 to real estate operators Eva G. Abbott and Lillie J. Mott.  They leased it to George H. Clark by 1899, who worked for an advertising company.

Clark's firm employed men to paste advertising posters where they would be seen by the most passersby.  Companies like his paid for the privilege of posting on blank walls, but fences around building plots and vacant lots were up for grabs.  That made for serious competition.

On May 16, 1899 a well-dressed Clark was walking along Broadway at 106th Street.  Ahead of him were four "bill posters" who worked for a rival firm, Van Buren & Co.  The workers, who were plastering advertisements on a fence, saw him coming.  The New York Press reported, "The men had always been enemies, and they decided that they would put some paste on his clothing."

As Clark began to pass the crew, they assaulted him with their brushes full of thick paste.  The article said, "He resented their actions and struck Ottinger with his cane.  A free fight followed."  A policeman "interfered" with the melee and placed all five men under arrested.  While the four bill posters were charged with disorderly conduct, Clark was charged with assault.

At the turn of the century John J. Hennessy purchased 329 West 18th Street.  A native Irishman, he was ardently proud of his heritage and was a long-term member of the American-Irish Historical Society.  He would remain in the house for decades, leasing space to one boarder at a time.  

In 1941 the original entranceway and stoop, with its basket newels, were intact.  image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

Dr. Charles S. Baker was living with Hennessy in 1903.  He was in love with Myriam V. Levison and beseeched his fiancée to marry him as quickly as possible.  But, explained The Daily Standard Union, "Miss Levison had desired a church wedding and reception at her home and consequently refused Dr. Baker's pleading for a June wedding."

Myriam's mind was changed by a peculiar incident.  On July 5, 1903 The Daily Standard Union reported, "The other day, while riding with a few friends near Prospect Park, she had her future foretold by a gypsy woman who told her that she was engaged, but that she would never marry, as her fiancée [sic] was to be killed while trying to stop a runaway before the marriage day."

The article said that Myriam's friends laughed off the prediction, but that it haunted her.  On June 29, while they had dinner at the Hoffman House, Myriam related the story to Charles.  The Daily Standard Union wrote, "Promptly taking advantage of the opportunity, the doctor solemnly announced his decision to watch for runaway horses...unless she consented to be married to him at once."  And it worked.  Immediately after dinner the couple was married.

The Irish Callahan family boarded in the Hennessy house by 1916.  Living with Joseph F. Callahan and his wife was his widowed father-in-law, Daniel Dillon who was born in Cavan, Ireland.  Dillon died on November 18 that year.

The two families shared the house at least through 1929.  By 1940, when it was home to another Irish-American, James M. McNally, it had been converted to apartments and an iron fire escape attached to the facade.

The stoop is new, but the wonderful ironwork is original.  At the second step, boot scrapers worked into the railings helped keep mud from being tracked into the house.

At some point the stoop and entrance were rebuilt.  Sadly, while the Federal ironwork was preserved, the stoop drums and basket newels were lost.  A somewhat disproportionate and ungainly lintel was applied above the new entrance.

 photographs by the author

LaptrinhX.com has no authorization to reuse the content of this blog

The Brooks-Van Horn Building - 112-116 West 18th Street

 

West 18th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues was a "stable block" in the mid-19th century.  It was lined with the private carriage houses of well-to-do Fifth Avenue residents, and with livery stables.  But things were changing in the 1880's, as palatial emporiums rose along Sixth Avenue and Fifth Avenue mansions were being converted to businesses like art galleries and dressmaking shops.  

On August 16, 1899 Edward Jansen purchased the three two-story brick stables at 112 through 116 West 18th Street for $60,000--about $1.9 million today.  Two weeks later, acting as his own architect, he filed plans for a six-story building, the cost of which would double his investment.

On September 9, 1899, even before demolition had begun on the old stable buildings, the Real Estate Record & Builders' Guide reported, "A printing house has leased the 6-story building which Edward Jansen is about to erect at Nos. 112 to 116 West 18th street."  That firm was the Grannis Press, Inc., the owners of which, Herman Wheaton Grannis and John W. Grannis, almost assuredly had input on the design of the structure.

Completed in 1900, Jansen's Renaissance-Revival factory and store building was faced in beige brick.  Bands of undressed stone created a striped effect to the piers of the second floor, each of which was decorated by delicately carved swags.  Grouped windows with engaged cast iron columns rose in three vertical sections, giving visual height to the structure.

The building's proximity to the department stores of what would be called the Ladies' Mile, was a significant consideration to any potential ground floor tenant.  On September 5, 1900 The Evening Telegram entitled an article "A Fine New Restaurant" and reported, "A new restaurant will be opened by F. A. Archambault at Nos. 112, 114, and 116 West Eighteenth street, opposite the Eighteenth street entrance of B. Altman & Co.'s store, Saturday next."  The writer opined, "This will be a great convenience for the shopping district," adding, "It is promised that the prices will be moderate, the cuisine excellent and the service unsurpassed."

Reed's Restaurant catered not only to the feminine patrons of Sixth Avenue, but to dinner parties and private groups.  On January 30, 1902, for instance, The Vegetarian Society hosted the first of its annual dinners here.  The Brooklyn Daily Eagle said that the 100 guests "well represented the best social element of both Manhattan and Brooklyn."  Non-meat diets were somewhat novel at the time, and the article noted, "One of the features of the evening which elicited much merriment was a vegetarian song, by George Bushwick."

The following year the eatery became Hunter's Restaurant, although little changed other than the name.  On April 25, for instance, a dinner was held in honor of William S. Devery by a group supporting his run for mayor.  The menu was notably different from that of The Vegetarian Society's dinner.  The Daily Standard Union reported, "Beefsteak was the 'piece de resistance' on the bill of fare."

Two weeks earlier the restaurant had seen much excitement.  On Saturday night, April 4, ten waiters were fired.  In solidarity, 29 others walked out.  The owners found replacements to fill their places before Monday afternoon and business went on as usual--until the 39 out-of-work waiters showed up outside.

The men harassed potential patrons, warning them, according to The Evening World, "The grub is on the bum!" or "It's poison!" and "You ought to see where they cook it!"  When the manager was unable to disperse the men, he called the police.  The newspaper said, "The waiters broke and ran when the wagon arrived."   Waiters were pursued by police in different directions, the chases going on for blocks.  The sight "served to highly amuse the large crowd of women who were about in the shopping district," said the article.  A dozen of the protestors were arrested and things returned to normal in Hunter's Restaurant.

Grannis Press, Inc. remained in the building until 1905, afterward replaced by several apparel firms.  Among them were Striker Manufacturing Company, makers of women's neckwear; and L. Dofflien & Co.  L. Dofflein placed an advertisement in The New York Times on March 26, 1905 that read, "Girls just from school to learn making negligee wear; pay while learning."

In the summer of 1910 Edward Jansen filed plans for a six-story building at 113 to 119 West 17th Street, directly behind his West 18th Street structure.  This time he hired the architectural firm of Rouse & Goldstone to design the building, which cost him the equivalent of $2.8 million in today's money.  The resultant structure was designed as a similar, simplified version of 112-116 West 18th Street.  Combined internally, the floorspace was now doubled.

Rouse & Goldstone closely followed the design of the original building in the 17th Street extension.

The 15,000-square-foor ground floor space was leased to the United States Post Office before construction began.  On July 2, 1910 the Record & Guide reported, "the premises will be occupied by Post Office Station 'O,' now at 5th av. and 17th st."

A letter mailed shortly before midnight on August 17, 1913 was, perhaps, the most significant piece of mail that passed through the post office branch.  Harry Kendall Thaw, who had been found not guilty of murdering architect Stanford White in June 1906 by reason of insanity, was committed for life at the Matteawan State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.  In August 1913 he simply walked out and escaped.

The letter dropped at the post office on August 17 was from Thaw to his mother, who was staying at the new Hotel Gotham.  It said:

All well.  Shall take a rest before coming to Elmhurst [the Thaw home in Cresson, Pennsylvania], as I might be asked for interview and do not want to refuse; yet do not care to make any statement.  Hope M. and G. [Margaret and George Carnegie, Thaw's sister and brother-in-law] arrived safe and you will go home together.

                                                                      H. K. T.

Although Mrs. Shaw shared the contents with police, she also attempted to throw them off the trail.  The Evening World reported, "Mrs. Thaw does not believe her son was in New York last night.  She thinks he scribbled the letter in the automobile in which he made his escape and intrusted [sic] it to one of the men who sided with him to be mailed in this city."

In the meantime, the upper floors continued to house garment manufacturers.  Typical were M. Scher & Co., makers of shirtwaists; H. B. Katzman, manufacturers of cloaks and suits; and Jan Globe Cloak Manufacturing Company.  Also in the building in 1914 was the German Novelty Company, makers of toys.  The Post Office branch remained for decades, a designated spot each year for the purchase of Christmas Seals, part of a fund-raising project to fight tuberculosis.

The combined buildings were sold in February 1942 to real estate operator Nathan Wilson, who resold it two years later to Morris Luskin & Son.  Tenants in the building in the early 1950's included Klein & Co., Inc., makers of candy boxes; and Van Cott Brothers, manufacturers of athletic uniforms and sportwear.

photo via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services

On November 20, 1962, the Brooks Costume Company merged with the Philadelphia firm of Van Horn Costume Company.  The New York Times reported, "The merger links the two top costume groups in the country," and noted, "the new company, to be known as the Brooks-Van Horn Costume Company, will have offices here and in Philadelphia.  Its facilities will enable it to serve Broadway shows, television, stock theaters, schools, community theaters, state and national events and pageants."

Among the consolidated firm's initial commissions to design and supply the male costumes to Franco Zeffirelli's 1963 production of The Lady of the Camellias, starring Susan Strasberg as Marguerite.  (The women's costumes were designed by Pierre Cardin.)   The firm was still located on East 26th Street at the time.  But by the mid-1970's it had moved into the West 18th Street building.

Change came to the combined buildings in December 1982 when a renovation resulted in a total of 35 apartments above the ground floor store.  Known today as the Brooks Van Horn as a nod to the costume firm that did business here for so many years, the building's commercial tenant has been the furniture and décor store West Elm since October 2004.

photographs by the author

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

William Rankin's Quirky 237 West 18th Street

 

Architect and builder William Rankin was prolific in the 1880's and 1890's, buying properties, improving them with tenement or commercial buildings, and selling them at a dizzying pace.  Around 1881 he demolished the 25-foot wide house at No. 237 West 18th Street--home to city surveyor James Pollack in the 1850's--and set to work on a modern replacement structure.

He sold his newly-completed "five-story double tenement," as it was described in the Real Estate Record & Guide, to Ascher Weinstein.  Rankin had enlivened his Renaissance Revival design with a variety of blinding decorations.  The diapering of the brick on the first floor resulted in bold zig-zag patterns.  The alternating yellow brick and undressed brownstone of the next four floors created a striped effect, and the carved shells over the second and fourth floors were crowned with alternating brick and brownstone, resulting a Moorish feeling.  An ambitious cast iron cornice crowned the design.

The apartments were advertised in The Sun as "Elegant flats: All Improvements.  Three rooms, hot and cold water."  The tenants, however, were working class, many of them Irish immigrant families.

Among them was the Fenick family.  Walter Fenick was seven-years-old in 1887.  His father was a cartman, or delivery driver.  Walter rode along on November 5 that year and the following day The Sun reported that he "fell from his father's truck in West street yesterday and the wheel passed over his head and killed him."

Little Walter's body was brought to the 18th Street apartment and that night undertakers Eagan & Leake arrived to prepare the body for burial.  Helper Patrick Jennings waited on the street by the wagon.  While his back was turned two thieves made a macabre theft.  The Sun reported that he "saw two young men steal the black pall from the ice box."  (The ice box would be used to preserve the body during transportation, and the pall was the heavy cloth used to cover it or the coffin.)  Jennings took chase, arousing the attention of Policeman Cook who caught them on Seventh Avenue. 

The family of laborer Archibald Henley lived here in 1893.  Christmas mornings were often meager in the homes of immigrant families, but it was non-existent for the Henley children that year.  Henry got paid on Christmas Eve and he did not come home.  Nor did he show up on Christmas Day.  Finally, after having spent his pay on a three-day drinking binge, he arrived home on the night of December 26.

His wife "upbraided him for spending his money in that way instead of buying presents for his children," reported The World.  In response, he picked up a lighted lamp and threw it at her, "severely burning her head, breast and arms."  The burning oil set fire to the table and other furniture and the fire department had to be called to extinguish the blaze.

The World reported that the damage to the apartment and the building was slight, and Mrs. Henley was treated by an ambulance surgeon (the equivalent of today's EMT) from St. Vincent's Hospital.  "Her husband was locked up in the West Twentieth street station."

A young tenant named Quimby was pulled into a scandalous court case in 1894 concerning his mother.  Around 1885 when he was still a teen, Augusta B. Quimby, a widow, was doing her best to rear four children.  She met John Russell, a fish and oyster seller in the Fulton Market.  The World reported, "She consented to live with him as his wife.  The union began Sept. 1, 1886.  There was no marriage ceremony."

The children came along with Augusta to Russell's home in the Bronx.  She had two more children with Russell, both of whom died.  Trouble began in 1889 when he left her--"no less than seven times," according to The World.   In 1890 they agreed to separate, he gave her $300 (about $8,700 today), but he soon begged her to come back to him.  And she did.

In 1892 things took a turbulent turn as Russell became physically and verbally abusive.  In court on February 14, 1894 she asserted that during the past year he "beat and otherwise violently abused her and used obscene language to her in the presence of her little girl."  The final straw came on New Year's Eve 1893.

She told the court that "he made her undress and go naked into a cold and unfurnished room at midnight and then locked the door upon her, leaving her there to freeze.  When he finally liberated her he called her vile names and beat her about the face with a hand-glass."

Now Augusta ran up against a problem in seeking support, since the couple had never married.  The World reported, "Her eldest son, twenty-four years old, lives at No. 237 West Eighteenth street.  Mrs. Russell has affidavits from him and the Rev. Joseph Reynolds...to the effect that Mr. Russell always introduced her as his wife."

The building continued to house working class tenants, many of them Irish immigrants.  In 1894 "Mrs. H." did sewing work from Apartment No. 2.  Her advertisement in The New York Times read "Seamstress--By a thorough family seamstress; good dressmaker; $1 per day."  (That rate would equal about $30 today.)

Another tenant, Mrs. McGrath, was looking for work as a cook or laundress in 1899, and in April 1894 Harold Mahoney described himself as a "young man, 20, energetic and willing [who] desires a place where he can advance himself."

The cornice survived as late as 1941 when this photo was taken.  via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services

Matthew Ryan lived in the building in December 1910 when he patronized Francisco Millilio's rather unorthodox business--a portable suitcase bar that he set up on the sidewalk at Sixth Avenue and 18th Street.  Mallilio sold eight kinds of whisky from his case, including "Hell's Dream, "Subway Rocks" and "Third Rail Splits."  The cost was 5 cents per shot.

Ryan had three drinks, and handed Millilio 15 cents as he closed his suitcase.  But Millilio demanded more money and the two got into a heated argument.  Before long Ryan was explaining himself to a judge.

"Finally, when he became so peevish, I could stand it no longer.  I called a policeman and had him arrested.  I wouldn't have done that, even after drinking his whisky, if he had not become peeved; but a man who sells whisky such as he had in that suitcase has no right to become peeved, no matter what price is offered for it," he said.

Magistrade Corrigan sniffed Millilio's wares, and "looked sternly at the prisoner, denounced him as a 'traveling street bar' and held him in $1,000 bail for trial," reported The New York Post on December 22.

Patrick Sweeney, a laborer, suffered a horrible accident on January 2, 1915.  The Philadelphia Enquirer reported that while walking in his sleep he "stepped from his bedroom window, on the sixth floor of 237 West Eighteenth street, rose and walked to the other side of the street, where he collapsed."  He was taken to Bellevue Hospital where he was diagnosed with fatal internal injuries.

A renovation completed in 1990 resulted in four apartments per floor.  At some point the striking Victorian cornice was removed, leaving a blank concrete scar and upsetting the building's visual balance.  William Rankin's quirky, almost circus-like design nevertheless is as much an attention stealer today as it was in 1882.

photographs by the author

The John J. Hannon House - 317 West 18th Street

 

In the first years after the end of the Civil War grocer John Haines and his family lived in the relatively new Italianate style house at No. 239 West 18th Street (renumbered 317 in 1868).  He would not remain especially long, nor would any of the other owners and renters for the rest of the 19th century.

The turnover of residents was dizzying.  In 1870 Samuel S. Berck, who operated two hat stores on Eighth Avenue moved in.  Sarah McCoy, the widow of Alexander McCoy, shared the house with the Berck family.  She was either a boarder or, possibly, Mrs. Berck's mother.  In 1873 another hatter, Philip Lasky, moved in with his family's boarder, clerk Jacob Baum.

On October 24, 1875 an advertisement appeared in The New York Herald which offered "To Let--The second floor of house 317 West Eighteenth street, to a small family of adults; all improvements.  Inquire of owner, on the premises."

That owner may have been Anthony Reiss, Jr., for he held title to the house by March 1876.  Born on May 11, 1830 his father, Anthony Reiss, Sr. was among the group of musicians who formed the New York Philharmonic and was elected its first vice president.

Anthony Jr. studied violin and piano as a youth, and his first job was with the orchestra that traveled with singer Jenny Lind in her New York concerts.  By the time he purchased the 18th Street house he had led the orchestras of several theaters and had been musical director of the Lyster English Opera Company, Maguire's Italian Opera Company and the Clara Kellogg Opera Company, among others.

Reiff's son, Henry, was not so musically inclined.  He is listed as a machinist in 1876 and '77.  The following year he moved out of the family house, possibly because of marriage.  His parents moved to No. 246 West 21st Street and in March 1885 and leased the 18th Street house.  Their ad described it as "20 feet wide, 12 rooms, fine yard, rent $1,000."  (The rent would equal about $2,830 per month today.)

Reiff sold No. 317 to Moses Dunlap and his wife, Anna, in 1889 for $12,500, or about $351,000 in today's money.  It appears that it was the Dunlaps who updated the house--giving it cast metal lintels, heavy Mission style entrance doors, and a swirling cast iron transom grill that hinted at Art Nouveau.

The renovations left the original, pencil-thin side columns on their waist-high bases.  Note the doorbell pull to the left.  It was originally polished to a gleam.

Moses and Anna M. Dunlap, too, moved on quickly.  The offered the house for sale in 1893, describing it as a "cosy home in the best repair and on a fine street."

Once again residents came and went with lightning speed.  In 1895 it was home to Dr. Philip Becker, and two years later to Guy R. P. Ellison.  Ellison was described by The New York Press in 1897 as "a handsome and well-dressed man of 35 years."  He was the vice-president of his family's druggist firm, Van Horn & Ellison Company.  But in June 1897 family ties were not enough to keep him out of the courtroom.

Police knocked on the door of No. 317 West 18th Street early on a Sunday morning, June 20, and arrested him.  His brother and treasurer of the firm, S. Harris Ellison; the president; and another relative, "Riff" Ellison, had filed charges against him for forgery.  He was held in jail overnight and faced the judge and his accusers the following morning.  He had written a company check for $208.  The other firm members said he had no authority to do that.

Ellison exploded at the judge.  "It is an outrage to arrest me on a Sunday morning and bring me here, when it is known I am not guilty of any offense.  If I were guilty I would not mind it, but it is simply ridiculous for you to hold me."

Ellison's relatives refused to supply bail so he sent for his sister, who brought the $500.

When John J. Hannon purchased the house on February 13, 1904, it finally had long term residents.  Hannon and his wife, the former Mary A. Curtin, had two sons, Francis and James, Jr.  

John J. Hannon was a "truckman," who was also involved in politics.  He was the Republican leader of the Seventh Assembly District.  It was a position that sometimes aligned him with some shady characters.  In December 1904 Policeman Joseph Lang arrested a drunk, John Pritchett.  When he had the chance, Lang slipped $2,500 in cash from his impaired prisoner's pockets--two $1,000 bills and one $500 note.  But he was caught.  The judge pointedly told Lang "There is no different rule for policemen who are charged with crime than there is for any other person."  

Lang was sent to the Tombs, but "Half an hour later John J. Hanlon [sic] a truckman of No. 317 West Eighteenth street, gave bonds for him and he was released," reported The New York Herald.

A few months later, in June 1905, Hannon posted $6,000 bond for John W. Wooten, indicted for grand larceny and conspiracy.  But at the last minute Hannon surprised Wooten and his attorney by withdrawing the bond.  "We knew nothing about it, nor had we the slightest intimation that bail with be withdrawn.  What Mr. Hannon's reason are we don't pretend to know," said the lawyer.  And Hannon wasn't talking either.  A reporter who knocked on the 18th Street door was told he was out of town.

Only a year after moving into No. 317 West 18th Street, John J. Hannon died.  His funeral was held in the house on September 9, followed by a service at St. Bernard's Church.  The Hannon family remained in the house for decades.  Francis was still living here with his mother on September 24, 1933 when he was married to Mary Mornweig in Queens.  His brother James stood in as best man.  

The newlyweds remained at No. 317.  The family received horrifying news in August 1949.  James was now 54-years old and managed the Seaside Bar and Grill in Rockaway Beach.  The Long Island Star-Journal said he "was known as 'Scarface' Hannon in the prohibition era."

At 4:50 on the morning of August 11, 1949 Hannon was walking along St. Marks Avenue when a man jumped from a late model car and "killed Hannon with four shots from a foreign made gun."  Detectives said it appeared to be a revenge murder.  Assistant District Attorney Kerwick told reporters, "His friends say Jim Hannon never had an enemy in the world, but I think his friends are mistaken.  He had one enemy, at least--the one who caught up to him and shot him dead."

A renovation completed in 1977 resulted in a duplex in the lower two floors, and two apartments each on the upper floors.  A second remodeling resulted in a single family home with an apartment on the third floor.  

photographs by the author

The Thomas Merritt House - 255 West 18th Street

The 170+ year old house is disguised by a 1942 brick veneer.

Thomas Merritt was a "carman."  The term referred to deliverymen, most often employed by stores or express firms.  And so he was the 19th century counterpart to today's U.P.S. or FedEx driver.  As early as 1849 Merritt and his family lived in the 26-foot wide house at No. 177 West 18th Street (later renumbered 255).  The three-story vernacular style building was faced in brownstone and, most likely, a store always occupied the ground floor.  In the rear, accessed by a narrow horsewalk, or walkway, was a smaller house for rental purposes.

There were two boarders in the house in 1849--Charles B. Warren and Francis J. Doremus, both masons.  They were gone by 1852 when Lewis Rigler and John S. Davis rented rooms here.  Rigler was a butcher who ran a stall in the Washington Market, and Davis listed his occupation as an "inspector."

In 1856 the ground floor store housed a dairy store.  An advertisement appeared in The New York Sun in 1858 offering "For Sale--A Good Private milk round with horse, wagon, harness and cans.  Apply at 177 West 18th st."  A "milk round" referred to the route of established subscribers to whom the wagon would make deliveries of fresh milk.

The business was purchased by John H. Carr, the son of constable Benjamin J. Carr and his wife, Hester.  The family had lived just a few houses away at No. 163 West 18th Street, but in 1858 moved into No. 177 with a boarder, confectioner Charles Ayrey.  Two other tenants that year, presumably in the rear house, were William Garrett, a butcher, and carpenter Edward Sullivan.

Benjamin Carr had been appointed a constable in 1854 and was a city collector as well--responsible for collecting past taxes, for instance.  Ayrey remained with the family through 1861, at which time he had changed his profession from making candy to making shoes.

Garrett R. Ackerman, another carman, lived with the family for several years; and then Isabella Gillespie, a widow who sold toys, rented a room in 1861 and '62.  She was replaced the following year by Margaret Wilson, who made candies. 

Benjamin J. Carr died in 1861, but Hester and her son remained in the 18th Street house until 1864 when she moved uptown to No. 60 West 32nd Street.  No. 255 continued to see a succession of blue-collar boarders and widows.  In 1868, for instance, the residents included Andrew Armstrong (who would remain for several years), a "laborer;" widow Mary Mack who took in washing; cabinetmaker Jacob Matz; and Susan Roe, widow of Edward Roe.

In 1879 John Herman ran the store, but police were unhappy with one of the items he sold there.  On February 21 The Evening Telegram reported that he had been arraigned in the Jefferson Market Police Court "charged with violation of the Lottery law in selling policy slips purporting to represent part of a drawing or lottery unauthorized by the laws of the State."

The rear house was occupied by James Cullen and his wife in the 1890's.  Mrs. Cullen did housework, advertising on May 21, 1890 in the New York Herald "A respectable woman to work by the day; terms moderate."

The name of James Cullen, too, would appear in newspapers, but for a less respectable reason.  On Saturday night, January 12, 1895, plainclothes officers Rohrig, McConville and Gregg were patrolling the neighborhood when they overheard two men on West 18th Street talking about playing poker.  They followed them to No. 255 West 18th Street, where they went down the pathway to the rear.

The New York Press reported "The officers followed and found themselves in a little, narrow alleyway leading to the back door, which was so narrow that they had to file in one at a time."  Officer Gregg rapped on the door while the other cops stood back.  The door was opened a crack and someone said "What do you want here?  This is a private house."

The officers did not answer, but rushed in, "carrying the doorkeeper with them."  There were fully a dozen men, ranging from 18 to 25-years of age, including Cullen, "seated around a table playing poker."  The Sun reported "There were five card tables, several packs of cards, and 420 poker chips" and The Press said the men, "arose thunderstruck, to be taken in charge by the three policemen."

The group maintained that they were playing for fun, despite long, "diligent" questioning.  But one of them, John Beattie, caved when promised he would be discharged if he would testify against Cullen.  The Press reported "He said that they were playing for money, and told how much the different chips represented."  The other men were released after being fined $5 each--about $157 today.

At the time George H. Tabor ran his paint store in the ground floor shop.  He was called for jury duty on May 20, 1896 regarding a highly visible trial.  Alice Almont Livingston Fleming was the only child of millionaire Robert Swift Livingston and Evelina Matilda Livingston.  When Livingston died, his will left most of his estate to Evelina.  At Evelina's death the remainder would go to Alice.  Evelina later remarried and on August 30, 1895, she died from poisoning.  Alice was indicted for her mother's murder.

George H. Tabor had no intention of sitting on the jury.  When his questioning began, he "said he was a little hard of hearing," according to The Brooklyn Daily Eagle.  The lawyer lowered his voice and continued the questions, deciding that "the objection of deafness did not weight very heavily."  So Tabor changed his strategy.  He told Recorder Goff he had formed a "passing thought" on the case.  The lawyers discussed the issue, and then decided Tabor could be impartial.  But just as he was about to be sworn in (and after having been grilled for an hour and thirty minutes) the defense lawyer changed his mind and Tabor was happily dismissed.

The Young family had moved into the rear house by this time.  Like her predecessor, Mrs. Young did domestic work.  She placed an advertisement in the New York Herald that year that read "Respectable woman to do washing or house-cleaning,"  Similar ads continued for several, always ending "Mrs. Young, rear house."

No. 255 was owned by James M. Moore in 1905, when he made significant improvements by introducing indoor plumbing.  The modernization came with a "water-closet" which would have done away with the necessity of a backyard privy.   The significant updates cost Moore then equivalent of $15,000 in today's money.

George H. Tabor continued to operate his store here until about 1915.  In 1911 he got home to find he had dropped his eyeglasses somewhere along the route.  His ad on July 1 read "Lost--pair of spectacles, in case, between 255 West 18th and 442 Manhattan Av."  He promised that if the finder would return them to the 18th Street store, he "will be suitably rewarded."

A grocery store occupied the ground floor in 1932.  At some point in the second half of the 19th century a neo-Grec cornice was added.  photo by Charles Von Urban from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York

The building was officially converted to apartments in 1942--one each on the second and third floors.  It was most likely at this time that a veneer of beige brick was applied to the brownstone front and the cornice replaced by a parapet.  A new storefront was installed, as well, accommodating two shops.

Irving Lazaroff was one of the tenants in the mid-1960's.  He was associated with a camp in the Catskill Mountains called the "Irene--Kenmar County House."  The facility was especially aimed aimed at mentally challenged children.  The Review-Times explained on June 19, 1965 that it was "a place where middle income families and their retarded may enjoy an inexpensive family vacation."  

Before 2000 one of the stores became home to Ellen Christine Colon-Lugo's boutique.  She was described by Claudia Varin in her A Guide to New York's Fetish Underground that year as "a hatmaker and dressmaker with a vision.  She specializes in real antique and newly made antique fashions, and has taken hatmaking and dressmaking to a new level by using antique and vintage hat styles for inspiration."

The store was visited by The New York Times journalist Ralph Blumenthal in March 2009.  The designer explained her approach to hats (her career began in 1995) and bemoaned the fact that hats, overall, had fallen from fashion.  When asked what caused that, she replied "Hairdos changed," as far as women went, "And then you had Vatican II.  The ecumenical council decreed woman no longer had to wear hats in church."

And for men?  "People like to blame it on J.F.K.  He loved his lush hair, plus he was always getting dressed so fast from all his affairs he didn't have time for a hat."

The building is little changed since its 1942 makeover.  No one passing by could suspect that beneath the brick is a brownstone house more than 170-years old.

photographs by the author

The William G. Sutherland House - 331 West 18th Street

 

Born in February 1776, William G. Sutherland made his living as a shoemaker.  By the first years of the 1850's he was successful enough to purchase the fine three-story brick home at No. 221 West 18th Street (renumbered 331 in 1868) in the developing Chelsea neighborhood.  The 23-foot wide home featured the expected elements of the Greek Revival style like the Doric brownstone pilasters which upheld the heavy entablature.

By 1853 Sutherland had retired.  His sons, William and James who ran a fruit business downtown on Front Street, also lived in the house.  A daughter, Margaret, had married Matthew Winters in 1821.   

In 1862 it appears that James moved out.  His name disappeared from the directories that year and a boarder, broker Edmund J. Wade, took his place.   That same year, on March 3, William G. Sutherland died while at Rockland Lake, New York at the age of 85.  William Jr. remained in the house until 1867 when he moved to West 21st Street.  He sold the 18th Street house to Joseph M. Schute and his wife, Mary.

Schute was a well-do-to entrepreneur who ran two separate but related businesses.  A builder, his office was at was No. 387 West 18th Street.  He also operated a pipe business at No. 417 West 18th Street.  It was most likely Schute who updated the house by adding Italianate details.  The parlor windows were extended to the floor and pressed metal lintels were added to the openings.

Living with Mary and Joseph was their second son, John A. Schute.  He died at the age of 27 on January 9, 1874.  As was the custom, his casket sat in the parlor until his funeral which was held there four days later.  A member of the family would have sat vigil day and the night at by the casket--the ritual known as a wake.

Not long afterward the Schutes sold the house to carriage maker Frederick R. Wood and his wife, Mary.   Wood had founded F. R. Wood in 1848.  The house was conveniently located near his carriage factory at Nos. 219-221 West 19th Street.

The firm had been renamed F. R. Wood & Son by 1888.  Rather than manufacturing elegant carriages and buggies, it focused on more industrial vehicles.  The July 1, 1888 issue of The Hub noted "They are making mostly light delivery wagons and are doing a good share of repair work."

On March 12, 1893 Frederick and Mary announced the engagement of their daughter Blanche Estelle to Daniel Kirk Valentine.  Although the wedding was scheduled for the following month, for some reason it did not happen until January 15, 1895.

The Woods sold No. 331 for $18,000 in October that year to Philip G. Becker.  The sale price would be equal to about $565,000 today.  

An interesting side story is that shortly after selling the house Frederick Wood's firm became involved with electric delivery vehicles and "invalid coaches."  In 1900 it was no longer listed as a carriage maker, but as an "electric motor vehicle manufacturer."  It built the first electric ambulance in America in 1901.

It appears No. 311 was being operated as a boarding house in the pre-World War I years.  It was home to Peter Vingel, who made his living as a street car conductor in 1916 during a vicious labor dispute.  Strikes often involved violence, especially when management dug in against the union demands.  On September 13 The Evening World ran a front page banner headline that read "FIGHT UNION TO THE LAST, TRACTION HEADS DECIDE."  The article reported that all the street railroad companies had banded together against the unions.

The tension caused problems for the workers like Vingel who remained on the job.  A separate front page article was entitled "500 Men And Boys Attack Car Crew On Fourth Avenue" and told of the mob that tried "to pull motormen and conductors from surface cars."  A "pitched battle between police and strikers" near Madison Square broke out as the streetcar employees were attacked.  Peter Vingel was among the targets, but he managed not to be wrested off the platform of his car at 23rd Street and Madison before being rescued by police.

Following the First World War most of the once upscale homes on the block were converted to rooming houses or apartments.  Change came to No. 331 in 1924.  On September 18 the New York Telegram and Evening Mail reported "The Margaret and Sarah Switzer Foundation for Girls purchased from Mary Coleman the three-story house at No. 331 West Eighteenth street."  

Sisters Margaret and Sarah Switzer had arrived from Ireland in the 19th century.  They found work as seamstresses and, according to a report in 1911, "reached the head of their profession, the dressmaking profession, and they made a fortune."  The women used their money for the benefit of working women.  After Margaret died, Sarah pushed forward with their vision.  In 1911 she built the Margaret and Sarah Switzer Institute and Home for Girls at Christopher Street and Waverly Place.

Sarah Switzer died on February 27, 1920, but the institute went on.   The Hospital Social Service noted in 1924 "The Margaret and Sarah Switzer Foundation for Girls has opened a New York City office at 331 West 18th Street."

It is unclear how long the Institute remained in the house; but by 1957 it was home to an even more unexpected tenant.  On April 2, 1957 an Associated Press article reported on the arrival of Betsy, "the nation's No. 1 fingerpainting chimpanzee," in the city.  The article said "On arrival in New York, Betsy and her entourage, motored to an exclusive 17-room animal hostel (Animal Talent Scout Shelter, 331 West 18th St.) where Betsy was shown to a room with private bath."

The Animal Talent Scout Shelter was run by Lorrain and Bernie D'Essen.  They acted as casting agents for non-human performers for television, motion pictures, operas, plays and advertisements.  The couple boasted they could book anything "from a mosquito to an elephant."

The presence of the Animal Talent Scout Shelter must have been a constant source of comment for the neighbors.  On November 7, 1970 The New York Times noted "The menagerie from time to time has had lions, llamas, kangaroos and timber wolves, along with a score or more of dogs, cats and deer."

The survival of the Sutherland house may be endangered.  An application to replace the building with a new structure in June 2017 was disapproved; however new plans were filed in November 2019.

photographs by the author