Cruger House

Many old New Yorkers remember the Cruger house in Fourteenth Street about halfway between Sixth and Seventh avenues, when it was occupied by the late Mrs. Douglas Cruger. The house, having a frontage of seventy-five feet, stood in the middle of a courtyard extending on either side about one hundred feet, separated from the street by a high wall. Now the courtyard has disappeared and the house, crowded closely on both sides by high buildings, seems completely dwarfed. Decorated with fire escapes and signs it has fallen from its high estate, and the whole street, formerly a quiet dwelling street, is now nearly given over to trade and noisy bustle. The entrance hall, twenty-five feet in width, extended from front to rear eighty-five feet, a wide staircase rising from the center at the end, the conservatory at the rear being of the width of the house. 

The rooms on either side were rather curiously divided, losing somewhat in what might have made a more imposing effect, not, however, enough to prevent their being an excellent place for the disposition of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum, which leased the house in 1873 for five years. The house is described in the annual report for that year as a "large and elegant building surrounded by spacious grounds, upon which grounds new galleries may be built, should they be required..." The room certainly had more unobstructed light than could be found in most private houses. It is now occupied by the Salvation Army.

The General Theological Seminary

Some time about the year 1750 Captain Clarke, a veteran of the provincial army, who had seen considerable service in the French war, built a country house, two or three miles north of the city, to which he gave the name of Chelsea. He gave it this name because he said it was to be the retreat of an old soldier in the evening of his days.

It has been thought that the name of Greenwich was given to the neighboring estate by Admiral Warren for a corresponding sentimental reason, but Mr. Janvier, in that very entertaining book, "In Old New York," shows that the name of Greenwich was in use long before the admiral's advent. Captain Clarke, unfortunately, was not destined long to enjoy the house he had built. During his last illness, the house caught fire and the captain came very near being burned with it, but he was carried out by neighbors and shortly after died in an adjacent farmhouse. Mrs. Clarke rebuilt the house on the crest of a hill that sloped down to the river about three hundred feet distant.

The estate descended to her daughter, the wife of Bishop Moore, and in 1813 it was conveyed to their son, Clement C. Moore, by whom the old house was considerably enlarged. The house was taken down when the bulkhead along the river front was constructed by the city. Mr. Moore gave the whole of the block bounded by Twentieth and Twenty-first streets and Ninth and Tenth avenues to the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church, and it became known as Chelsea Square. The building here shown was built about 1835 and is constructed of a gray stone. The modern buildings, however, are of brick and stone, of a Gothic style and, with the old trees remaining and the stretches of green lawn, produce, especially in summer time, a suggestion of English seclusion and repose quite at variance with the bustle and the crudeness of that part of the city.

The Langdon House

This house was usually called the Langdon house, although it was never occupied by the family of that name. Mr. Walter Langdon's house, directly opposite, was built much later. About 1845 the first John Jacob Astor wished to present his daughter, Mrs. Walter Langdon, with a city residence and built this house for her during her absence abroad. He built merely the shell of the house, and on his daughter's return gave her the sum of thirty thousand dollars for the purpose of decorating it. Carte blanche was given to a famous decorator of that day, and he proceeded to finish it in a style hitherto unknown in the city. The result was that in the end the cost of the interior had risen to sixty thousand dollars, considered a very large sum at that time.

A great deal of attention was paid to plaster and stucco ornamentation and woodwork. The most attractive feature of the house was the main staircase, which was made in England especially for the house. This staircase was rectangular and of a dark rich colored wood, was beautifully carved and of a very graceful design. It was lighted by a large stained-glass window overlooking Astor Place. The reception rooms were on the left of the main hall with a conservatory in the rear. At the right were the library, staircase, dining room, and offices. Mrs. Langdon, however, returned to Europe and continued to reside there until her death. Meanwhile it was arranged that the house should be occupied by her daughter, who had married an English gentleman, Mr. Matthew Wilks. Mr. and Mrs. Wilks continued to live there until the house was taken down in 1875.

The property had a frontage of about two hundred and fifty feet on both Astor Place and Lafayette Place (now Lafayette Street), from which it was shut off by a high wall. The enclosed courtyard was laid out as a garden, with large trees, and the rear was occupied by the stables. The garden contained a ring large enough for riding purposes. Of course during the Forrest-Macready riot in 1849 the house was almost in what might be called the storm center. In the midst of it one of the servants, who thought he had secured a perfectly safe point of observation on the roof, was killed.

St. Mark's in the Bowery

When Stuyvesant retired from office, after the British occupation, he withdrew to his "Bowerie" or farm near the site of the present church, then two miles out of town. In 1660 he built a small chapel near his house for the people of the little village that sprang up about the farm, as well as for his own family and the salves, of whom there were about forty in the vicinity. This chapel was torn down in 1793, and the Petrus Stuyvesant of that day offered to present the ground and eight hundred pounds in money to Trinity parish if it would build a church there. This offer was accepted. In May, 1799, the church was finished and the body of it has remained intact to the present time, but there was no steeple before 1828. One pew was reserved for the governor of the State, and the corresponding pew on the other side for "Mr. Stuyvesant and family forever," each pew being surmounted by a canopy. The negro servants (slaves) sat in the rear of the congregation.

In a vault under the chapel the governor's body had been placed after his death, in 1672, and in 1691 the body of the English governor (Sloughter) was also placed there. In building the church Stuyvesant's remains were removed and placed in a vault beneath the walls of the new edifice. The stone which may be seen fastened to the outer wall bears the following inscription: "In this vault lies buried Petrus Stuyvesant, late Captain General and Governor in Chief of Amsterdam in New Netherlands, now called New York, and the Dutch West India Islands, died A.D. 1671-2, aged 80 years." In July, 1804, the church was draped in mourning for the death of Hamilton, and was so kept for six weeks.

Fraunces's Tavern

In the year 1671 Col. Stephen Van Cortlandt built a cottage on the corner, of Broad and Pearl (Then Queen) streets, to which he brought his bride, Gertrude Schuyler. The house overlooked the waters of the river and bay. In the year 1700 he deeded this property to his son-in-law, Etienne de Lancey, probably wishing to retire to his manor on the Hudson. De Lancey was a French Huguenot of rank who had left his native country on the revocation of the edict of Nantes. He came to New York where he established himself as a merchant. On these premises he built a hip-roofed mansion several stories in height, of small yellow bricks imported from Holland. In dimensions and arrangement it ranked among the best in the colony. The property descended through his son James to his grandson Oliver. This part of the town having by that time become the business quarter in 1757, the house was abandoned as a residence and became the warehouse of De Lancey, Robinson & Co. On January 17, 1762, the building was transferred to Samuel Fraunces, who converted it into a tavern under the name of the "Queen's Head," and announced that dinner would be served daily at half-past one. In April, 1768, in the long room, the Chamber of Commerce was inaugurated with John Cruger as president.

On November 25, 1783, the day of the evacuation of the British, a grand banquet was given by Governor Clinton to General Washington and the French minister, Luzerne, and in the evening the "Queen's Head" and the whole town were illuminated. More than a hundred generals, officers, and distinguished personages attended the banquet and thirteen toasts were drunk commemorative of the occasion. Ten days later Washington here met his generals for the last time. After a slight repast Washington filled his glass and addressed his officers as follows: "With a heart full of love and gratitude, I must now take my leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable." In silence his former companions then took a final farewell of their chief.

This is one of the oldest buildings in the city, as the great fire of 1776 doubtless swept away most of those of earlier date. During the last century the building has gone through various vicissitudes, mostly on the descending scale. A year or two ago the ground floor was occupied by a saloon. Lately the building has been completely restored by the Sons of the Revolution and now presents very nearly its original appearance.

Burns' Coffee House

It was located on Broadway, opposite the Bowling Green. The tavern, known at one period of the colonial times as Burns' Coffee-house, and subsequently as "the Kings Arms," stood near or upon the site of the Dutch tavern of Burgomaster Martin Crigier. It had a considerable reputation as a public house, and also some historical interest in connection with public events in revolutionary times. From various advertisements of different early proprietors we learn that it had a large garden attached, where musical entertainments were given. It was kept, up to 1762, by Mr. Burns (Coffee-House), and in 1763, and for several years afterward by Mrs. Steele, a lady well known as hostess and caterer, who transferred to it the name of her former establishment in Broad street, "The Kings Arms," and was afterward (1768) conducted by Edward Barden. Its proprietor during the British possession is not known, but it is said that the traitor Arnold had his lodgings there after his desertion to the enemy. In modern times it had been a boarding-house, and a tavern, and public garden, by turns. Its latest designation, before its final demolition, being "the Atlantic Garden." It retained its original appearance, with trifling alteration, until it was taken down three or four years since. The premises are now vacant, and the grounds are used by one of the city railroad companies for depot purposes. The front of the house was of brick, the other parts of wood. The roof was partly tiled.

Hampden Hall

The public house on the premises was situated on the late site of the Museum, corner of Ann Street. In 1760 we find the advertisement of John Elkin, its proprietor, offering to the public "breakfast from 7 to 9; tea in the afternoon from 3 to 65; the best of green tea and hot French rolls, pies and tarts drawn from 7 to 9; mead and cakes." In the time immediately preceding the Revolution the house was known as Hampden Hall, having been purchased by "The Sons of Liberty," (the celebrated political organization of revolutionary times,) for their headquarters. It was the scene of action of many of the riots and public disputes which characterized that era of our history. Subsequent to the Revolution its uses were private until its conversion into a museum by John Scudder, about the year 1830. Mr. Barnum went into possession of the Museum about the year 1840.

The Market

In reviewing the progress of improvements of the section of Broadway between Wall street and the Park, the principal incident of a public character was the erection of a market in the centre of the street, opposite Liberty (then Crown) street. This edifice was built in 1738, its dimensions being one hundred and fifty-six feet in length, and twenty feet three and a half inches in width. It remained about thirty-three years, and gave a character to the neighborhood very prejudicial to the beauty and to the legitimate prospects of the street. The buildings in the vicinity were chiefly taverns and lodging-houses, with an intermixture of small stores, while the country wagons and other vehicles congregating around the market almost precluded ordinary passage along the narrow thoroughfare (about twenty feet wide) on either side of the market. At length, after many years of unavailing effort to have the market removed by legislative authority, resort was had to the machinery of the law, and the building was indicted in 1771 as a public nuisance, and its removal was accomplished. A new market-house, bearing the same name, was erected on the southeasterly corner of Broadway and Maiden lane, its main front being on the latter street. By this arrangement the business establishments which had grown up around the old market-place were not materially injured, and they continued in occupancy for their former purposes until the great fire of 1776, which swept away all those situated on the west side of the street.

The Tontine Tavern

On the west side of Broadway the Tontine Tavern, afterward known as the City Hotel, was erected about the year 1794. This was justly considered a model of enterprise in those days and is said to have been the first building in the city covered with a slate roof. It soon took the lead as the scene of public balls, dinners, concerts, and festivities, and the old Assembly Rooms, which had formerly enjoyed a fashionable popularity, fell into a subordinate position. It was for a long time, in the early part of the present century, kept by John Lovett, and subsequently by Ezra Weeks, Chester Jennings, and other popular landlords, whom our space will not permit us to particularize. Its demolition within recent years makes it properly a subject of illustration. The view was taken after many improvements were made in the neighborhood, but shows the building in its original form.

The Barge Office

It is located at the Battery, and is a handsome granite edifice. It is described in connection with the Battery Park. It is the headquarters of the Inspectors connected with the Surveyor's office. When the arrival of a steamer or vessel from a foreign port is announced by the telegraph operator at Sandy Hook, several Inspectors are sent down in a revenue tug to take charge of her. As soon as they go on board the vessel they have absolute control of her passengers and cargo. Should the vessel be a steamer from abroad, they accompany her to her anchorage in the river, examine the baggage of the passengers, and take charge of all containing dutiable articles; see that the proper duties are levied and collected, and if the amount of the duties exceeds a certain sum, send the trunks or parcels to the public store for appraisement. They remain on the vessel until she reaches her landing, and then turn her over to the Custom House officials appointed to supervise the discharge of her cargo.

The Cooper Union

It occupies the triangular space formed by the junction of the Bowery, Third and Fourth avenues and 7th street, one square east of Broadway. It is a plain but massive and imposing edifice of brownstone, six stories high, with a large basement below the level of the streets. It was erected by Peter Cooper in 1857, at a cost of $630,000, and was endowed by him with $150,000, for the support of the free reading room and library. The street floor is let out in stores, and the floor above is occupied with offices of various kinds. These floors and the great hall in the basement yield a handsome revenue, which is devoted to paying a part of the expenses of the institution. The remainder of the building is devoted to a free library and reading room, and halls for lectures and for study. The institution was designed by Mr. Cooper for the free instruction of the working classes in science, art, English literature, the foreign languages, and telegraphy. Of late years there has been added to it a school of design for women. The course of instruction is very thorough, the ablest teachers being employed, and the standard of scholarship is high.

The Bible House

It stands immediately facing the Cooper Union, and occupies the entire block bounded by Third and Fourth avenues and 8th and 9th streets. It is a massive structure of red brick, covers an area of three-quarters of an acre, and is six stories in height. It was erected in 1852 and 1853, at a cost of $303,000, but is today worth more than twice that sum. It is the property of the American Bible Society, and besides the portion occupied by that organization, contains fifty stores and offices, which return a rental of more than $40,000. Many of the stores on the ground floor are occupied by dealers in religious books, and the offices are mainly taken up by benevolent and charitable societies. The greater portion of the building is occupied by the offices, the printing establishment, and the bindery of the American Bible Society. Over six hundred persons are employed in these establishments, and six thousand Bibles are printed, and three hundred and fifty Bibles are bound and finished, and sent to the warerooms every day.

The National Academy of Design

It is located at the northwest corner of Fourth avenue and 23d street, and is one of the most beautiful and artistic buildings in New York. It is built in the pure Gothic style of the thirteenth century, and is constructed of gray and white marble and bluestone, artistically blended, and producing a novel and pleasing effect. The 23d street front is eighty feet, and the Fourth avenue side ninety feet in length. A double flight of steps leads to the main entrance, and is ornamented with beautiful carvings and a drinking fountain, all of which blend harmoniously with the general design. The main entrance on 23d street, leads to a handsome vestibule, paved with variegated marbles. From this a massive and imposing stairway leads to the exhibition galleries, which are located in the third story and lifted from the roof. The first and second stories are devoted to the reception room, offices, lecture rooms, art schools, and the library. All the halls and rooms are finished handsomely in white pine, ash, mahogany, oak, and black walnut, in their natural colors, no paint being used on the woodwork of the building. Great care is exercised in the admission of pupils, as it is designed to restrict the schools to those who intend to make art the profession of their lives. 

The Women's Hotel

It was located at Fourth avenue, 32d and 33d street. The building was erected in 1878 by Mr. Stewart and has been completed in accordance with his plans and purposes, as a Home For Women, who support themselves by daily labor. Its regulations will be such as govern first-class hotels, except that all applying for Board will be required to present a satisfactory written certificate of good character and conduct from their employers or other persons known to the Hotel Managers. Eight large reception rooms are provided for visitors; but the Dining-rooms, Parlors, and Library will be exclusively for the use of Boarders. Steam elevators convey passengers to every floor, and the building being fire-proof through-out, each floor is thus made equally desirable and convenient. The sleeping room, over Five Hundred in number, are furnished uniform in quality, and equally well ventilated and adapted to the comfort and convenience of the occupant. Board and lodging for each person will be at the rate of six dollars per week, which is for the cost of the meals, lodging, attendance &c.

Washington Hall

On the southeast corner of Reade street a stable was afterward erected, and remained until the erection of Washington Hall, which was commenced in 1810, and finished in 1812. This building, in an architectural point of view, was, at the time of its erection, one of the handsomest structures in the city. The architect was John McComb, and the building Committee of the Washington Benevolent Society, under whose auspices it was erected, were Robert Morris, Jr., John McComb, Richard Furman, and John B. Coles. It was erected about the same time, that Tammany Hall was built by the opposite party.

Its subsequent uses were as a public hall, for meetings, assemblies, &c., and it was also kept as a hotel, being conducted during many of its early years by Peter McIntyre. Its early history is also intimately identified with the old Federal party, of which it was the headquarters, and in its hall of meeting were witnessed many of the exciting events which characterized our political history at about the period of the last war with Great Britain. It was not well adapted to the uses of a public house, and was finally purchased by Mr. A. T. Stewart, who erected upon its site the elegant marble building which was the pioneer of that class of structures on Broadway. 

The New York Society Library Association

This institution, which was the oldest of the kind in New York, had previously been located in Nassau street, opposite the Dutch church (now Post-office). They sold their property in 1836 for $44,200, and with those and other funds derived from the New York Athenaeum, then merged with them, they purchased the site in Broadway, containing sixty feet front and one hundred feet deep, at a cost of $47,500. The edifice cost about $70,000, the result leaving the Library considerably in debt. The building was completed in 1839. The Library Association occupied the premises until 1853,, when they sold to Appleton & Co., publishers, for the sum of $110,000, by whom it is still occupied.

Trinity Church

Trinity Church was erected in 1696; the first sermon being preached on the 6th February, 1697, by Rev. Mr. Vesey, who continued as pastor until his death, about fifty years subsequently. The church was enlarged in 1737, it being one hundred and forty-eight feet in length and seventy-two in breadth. The steeple was a hundred and seventy-eight feet high. In 1761, it was struck by lightning, and consumed to the belfry. An excellent organ, brought from London, was one of the attractions of this edifice. Beneath the floor were vaults of the leading families attached to the congregation, denoted by sculptured entablatures along the side walls in the building.

After the return of peace, a new edifice was erected, which was consecrated by Bishop Provost, in 1791. The size of this building was somewhat less than the former, being one hundred and four feet by seventy-two. The steeple was one hundred and ninety-eight feet high, and contained a chime of bells. In the interior were galleries on the two sides; an organ loft at the east end. At the west end was the chancel, in front of which were the desk and pulpit. Several elegant cut glass chandeliers depended from a gothic ceiling. The windows were of gothic form, with very small panes of glass. A very large gothic window, containing over a thousand panes of glass occupied the west end of the building.

In 1839, Trinity Church was demolished and gave place to the present elegant structure. There have been no interments in the church-yard since 1822, about which period a law was passed forbidding interments south of Canal street. It was said that at that time that the church records showed upward of a hundred and sixty thousand burials to have been made within that small enclosure, but it is probable this was an exaggeration.

The House Where Theodore Roosevelt Was Born

The house in which the former president was born stood until quite recently at No. 28 East 20th Street. This once beautiful home had degenerated into an ordinary restaurant and a sign bore the legend "Come and dine in the house where Theodore Roosevelt was born." It has entirely disappeared now and soon will stand in its place a handsome building for business uses. An interesting fact developed during the dismantling of the house which shows that all sentiment is not dead in this money making age. Two bricks were selected out of the wreckage to be transmitted to Col. Roosevelt as a memento of the spot where he first saw the light of day. No doubt these bricks will be a much cherished addition to the collection of souvenirs the Colonel already possesses. 

The home in which the Roosevelt's' father and mother first lived after their marriage stood on the corner of 14th Street and Broadway, as is still seen in many of the old engravings of Union Square in the late ' 50's and '60's.

The City's Office Building

The Municipal Building, the grandest and highest municipal building in the world, covers three irregular city blocks. It is occupied exclusively by the employees of the city, who number over 7,500, quite a town by itself. The building has 26 stories, rising to a height of 330 feet above the street, surmounted by a tower 210 feet high, and holding eight stories. The total height from the subway arcade to the top of the 24 foot figure on the tower is 560 feet. The principal front, facing Centre Street, is 448 feet long, the rear on Park Row is 361 feet, the Duane Street side is 339 feet and the Tryon Row side, facing the south, is 71 feet long. The foundation is 130 feet below the street level and 90 feet below water level. The cost of the building is about $10,000,000. The Mayor's office and the chambers of the Board of Aldermen, and offices required by close subordinates of the Mayor and Aldermen and the Police, Fire and Dock Departments are still continued in the City Hall.

Under the Municipal Building is the most important passenger transportation point in the city. Here converge the subways of the east and west sides of Manhattan, the Fourth Avenue to Brooklyn and Coney Island, and the Elevated under the East River to East New York, Cypress Hills and Jamaica. When the entire system of subways is completed it will be possible to take a train here and go to any part of the Metropolis.

The Columbia War Hospital

The Columbia War Hospital is a unique institution. It is designed to care for the sick and wounded soldiers returning from the trenches or those invalided to New York from camps. The hospital is organized on military lines both as regards the administrative and medical organization. Physicians and surgeons who propose to enter the military service of the United States during the World War can receive their training and education at this hospital.

The hospital was made possible by an act of impulsive generosity on the part of Mr. Daniel G. Reid. Dr. Alexander Lambert, president of the Medical Society of the State of New York and brother of Dr. Samuel W. Lambert, dean of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, who worked out the plans of the hospital and was also seeking the necessary funds, laid the facts before Mr. Reid and he immediately contributed the amount required to complete and equip the plant, $175,000, making the laconic remark, "Now, get busy." The hospital was finished in record time. Dr. Adrian V.S. Lambert, who was also active with his brothers in the project, is the medical head of the hospital. It is built on Old Columbia Oval in the Bronx, the Trustees of the University giving the use of the ground.