TAMING THE BROWNSTONE MONSTER (1921)
******************************************************************************************************************************** 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? ******************************************************************************************************************************** By the 1920s, many New Yorkers had moved on from the brownstone. In fact, articles were being written on just how exactly to move on from what was seen as these “monstrosities.” Following the recommendations of self-appointed design entusiasts and contractors with an eye for the moderne, many brownstone townhouses were shaved of their detail and turned into drab brown boxes. The following story, dripping with sarcasm and barely veiled condescension, appeared in the New York Herald, showing just how the monstrosity at No. 17 East 75th Street was tamed.– Courtesy of The New York Herald, Sun., 23 January 1921 By HARRIET SISSON GILLESPIE. With each passing year one sees in New York city fewer and fewer of the relics of the horror period in American architecture the brownstone age. The grim old dwelling of the early 80’s with its sulky facade and its atmosphere of oppressive respectability is passing from our midst, but no one seems broken hearted over the fact. During the acute stage of the housing panic the hasty conversion of anything available into a hive of small suites rid the city of a few of the old time monstrosities, but by no means all of them have passed into the limbo of the kitchenette. Architectural beauty doctors […]
No. 2 EAST 75th ST, UES: A BRIEF HISTORY
******************************************************************************************************************************** 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? ******************************************************************************************************************************** “Hoyt House Sold for Apartments” ran the title of the New York Times articles on Fri., 21 February 1941. “The purchase of a large East Side residence and plans for converting it into an apartment building of small suites were announced yesterday when Albert Klein bought the five-story dwelling at 2 East Seventy-fifth Street from the Hoyt Estate. “The house occupies a lot 30 by 102.2 feet, adjoining the southeast corner of Fifth Avenue, and was sold through Douglas L. Elliman & Co., brokers. The adjoining residence at 934 Fifth Avenue was formerly the home of Charles E. Mitchell, who bought it from the estate of A. M. Hoyt through the Elliman organization. Thomas J. Watson, president of the International Business Machines Corporation, recently bought 4 East Seventy-fifth Street.” According to the Upper East Side Historic Designation Report, No. 2 is a neo-French Classic with Tudor detailing style home was built in 1893-95 by Richard H. Hunt for Henry R. Hoyt. A rear addition was added in 1907, a new limestone façade at the foundation wall in 1910, and a rear penthouse in 1919. It is not clear whether it was during the 1941 conversion that the large and distinctive bay window extension on the front of the building was removed. […]
No. 4 EAST 78th ST, UES: A BRIEF HISTORY
******************************************************************************************************************************** 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? ******************************************************************************************************************************** According to Christopher Gray’s Streetscapes: Reader’s Questions, of the New York Times, No. 4 East 78th Street, is a Queen Anne-style house “built in 188 by the developer-architect Edward Kilpatrick. Upon completion, Kilpatrick sold it to the family of Arnold Falk, then living in a rowhouse at 129 East 64th. Mr. Falk was in the tobacco business on Water Street with his brother, Gustav, who lived in an adjacent house, 131 East 64th. On East 78th, Mr. Falk lived with his wife, Fannie, their two children and four servants. In the 1910’s and the 1920’s the house was occupied by the family of Jacob Dreicer, a principal in the Dreicer & Company jewelry firm founded in 1869, which was prominent in this period. There are now seven apartments in the building.” (New York Times, Sunday, 2 June 1991) 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.
