NEW YORK’S MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN (1901)
******************************************************************************************************************************** Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. Do you know the history of YOUR house? ******************************************************************************************************************************** (From the Akron Daily Democrat, Sat., 16 November 1901.) Miss Harriet Sewell Smith, formerly of No. 177 Putnam Avenue & presently of No. 481 Franklin Avenue, who was selected by a committee of portrait painters as “THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN NEW YORK” and who lives with her father, Dr. E. F. Smith, in Brooklyn, tells the story of a perilous trip she made across the frail foot-bridge of the new East River bridge a week ago. Miss Smith made the journey from one shore to the other in less than an hour. Her companion and guide was Dr. Orville D. Westall, a dentist, of No. 98 Lafayette ave., says she: “Dangerous? Yes, just dangerous enough to be interesting. I heard Dr. Westall mention some time ago the fact that he had crossed the footbridge, and I immediately became possessed of a desire to perform the hazardous feat myself. I proposed that he be my guide, and he accepted, after some persuasion. “I did not tell my folks what I was going to do. We started from the New York side at 5:30 in the evening. I had a leather belt fastened about my waist to which a strap was attached. Dr. Westall kept a firm grip on this strap and […]
“LIFE IS BUT A DREAM” (1894)
******************************************************************************************************************************** Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. Do you know the history of YOUR house? ******************************************************************************************************************************** (From The New York Herald, Wed., 7 March 1894.) “LIFE IS BUT A DREAM.” So wrote Morris Cohen to his mother before he killed himself. Morris Cohen, thirty-five years old, committed suicide at his residence, No. 109A Bergen street, Brooklyn, yesterday afternoon by shooting himself in the heart. For a weak past, Cohen has complained of not feeling well. He believed the grip had attacked him. At noon yesterday he returned to his home from his place of business, No. 143 Smith street. He was met at the door by his mother, to who he said that he was going to his room to lie down. He asked her to call him at two o’clocl. At that house his mother went to his room and foudn him on the bed. In his right hand, tightly clutched, was a .38 calibre revolver. His clothing was covered with blood. The suicide had sent but one bullet into his body and this, from all appearances, had caused instant death. On the dressing case in the room was a letter written by Cohen to his mother as follows: “Life is but a dream.” My dream is o’er. I am going crazy to lie in a silent tomb. Dear mother, don’t shed a tear or wear […]
THE FARMS LINES OF BROOKLYN (1874)
******************************************************************************************************************************** Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. Do you know the history of YOUR house? ******************************************************************************************************************************** Brooklyn was once one giant farm. At some point, as the farms began to be split up to be sold to developers – those who wanted to build rows of prized brownstones – companies also began to pop up which developed maps showing what types of buildings existed on every “lot” within the city. Although no longer used for fire insurance purposes, they are great tools for those owners wishing to research the histories of their properties. If you own a home in New York City, these maps can help you to determine how old it is, what else had been built in the area when your house was new, and, on some maps, the name of the farmer that had once owned your land. Find yours HERE. Follow @BrownstoneDetec Share ———————————————————————————————————————– The Brownstone Detectives Brownstone Detectives is an historic property research agency. Our mission is to document and save the histories of our clients’ homes. From our research, we produce our celebrated House History Books and House History Reports. Contact us today to begin discovering the history of your home.
SELLING WHISKEY TO SOLDIERS (1918)
******************************************************************************************************************************** Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. Do you know the history of YOUR house? ******************************************************************************************************************************** “Until a few weeks ago the neat, frame dwelling at 228 Seventy-second street, Bay Ridge, displaying a sign reading “Dressmakers” in the parlor window did not attract more than a passing notice. Then, to the wonderment of its neighbors, sailors and soldiers began to be seen entering and leaving the house. Last night Detective Thomas McQuillen, Thomas Gray and Patrick O’Brien of the Fifteenth Inspection District visited the house disguised as sailors. They arrested Miss Crow for selling liquor to soldiers. On that charge she was arraigned today before Federal Commissioner McGoldrick and on the request of Federal District Attorney France bail was fixed at $500. Follow @BrownstoneDetec Share ———————————————————————————————————————– The Brownstone Detectives Brownstone Detectives is an historic property research agency. Our mission is to document and save the histories of our clients’ homes. From our research, we produce our celebrated House History Books and House History Reports. Contact us today to begin discovering the history of your home.
WOOLWORTH’S BEDSTUY BACKYARD (1889)
******************************************************************************************************************************* Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. Do you know the history of YOUR house? ******************************************************************************************************************************* In 1889, the head of the Woolworth “5 & dime” store chain, Frank Woolworth, bought a substantial brownstone house, No. 209 Jefferson Avenue, in what would become the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. Their home would soon become the center of life for the Woolworth family – and their friends and co-workers. After purchasing the brownstone in 1889, Frank Woolworth would frequently entertain his business associates there, bringing them together, at least once a year, for what he termed a “Grand Five and Ten Reunion.” These reunions lasted two or three days and were jolly affairs, generally culminating in a picnic or a seashore excursion, with plenty of food and liquid refreshment. The first “reunion” would be held just a month-and-a-half after buying No. 209 and would be held annually through the early 1890s. The picture above is from their first “reunion” in 1889. All of Woolworth’s regional managers, who were often family members, posed with Frank (seated with his topper at right) at a side fence, likely the one on the west side of their property as you can see buildings along Nostrand Avenue. Follow @BrownstoneDetec Share ———————————————————————————————————————– The Brownstone Detectives Brownstone Detectives is an historic property research agency. Our mission is to document and save the histories of our clients’ […]
THE BUSHWICK WHEELMEN CLUBHOUSES (1894)
******************************************************************************************************************************** Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. Do you know the history of YOUR house? ******************************************************************************************************************************** When the cycling rage began in the early 1890s, Bushwick’s “wheel” enthusiasts joined together under the moniker, the Bushwick Wheelmen. It would not be long before, as with other clubs of the era, that the Wheelmen would find a club house of its own. In 1894, the the club purchased its first Brooklyn clubhouse, No. 841 Lexington Avenue (which still survives), in today’s Bedford-Stuyvesant section. “The Bushwick Wheelmen have fairly settled in their new club house, at 841 Lexington avenue,” noted the Brooklyn Citizen in 1894. “Their membership list numbers about one hundred, and the financial condition of the club is excellent.” “An opening reception was held on Wednesday night and it proved a very enjoyable affair,” reported the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. “The club house was decorated and a large company of women were present. “At 11 P. M. a collation was served.” Throughout the next few years, numerous meetings, parties, and euchres were held in the 2-story wood-frame house. Around 1897, the house was sold to a private family and the club moved its clubhouse to “the corner of Bushwick avenue and Harman street,” No. 897 Bushwick Avenue. “It is situated in one of the choicest residential sections of the city,” said the Times Union. “The building is a three-story […]
