Daytonian in Manhattan

The 1893 Jacob and Emma Wertheim House - 19 West 76th Street

2026-09-29T04:00:00.000-04:00

Born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1858, Jacob Wertheim came to New York City with his parents as a boy. He started working at the age of 14 and by 1893 had founded and owned several cigar making companies. That year, he and his wife, the former Emma Stern, purchased the newly built residence at 19 West 76th Street.

Real estate developer Cornelius W. Luyster had broken ground for this and two other upscale homes a year earlier. Designed in the Renaissance Revival style by esteemed architect John H. Duncan, 19 West 76th Street was 25-feet-wide and rose four stories above a high English basement. A handsome dog-legged box stoop, decorated with swirling volutes and rosettes, fronted the brownstone-fronted parlor level where shallow pilasters were carved with anthemions. The upper three floors were faced in tan Roman brick. A three-sided brownstone oriel dominated the second floor. The third-floor openings sat within molded architraves, and the fourth-floor windows were framed in terra cotta, their cornices crowned with urn-topped pediments. A deeply overhanging cornice with a terra cotta frieze crowned the design.

image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services

Jacob and Emma had five children: three daughters and two sons. The boy who left school to find work had come a long way. The Brooklyn Eagle said, "he engaged in the cigar business and made rapid progress, organizing one company after another." Eventually he consolidated them into the United Cigar Manufacturers, one of the largest independent cigar making firms of its kind.

The Wertheims were generous with their wealth. Calling Jacob "one of the most prominent Jews in this city," The Brooklyn Eagle noted that he was highly involved in the Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies and the Joint Distributing Committee.

The family's residency was relatively short-lived. On September 13, 1899, the New-York Tribune reported that Wertheim had sold 19 West 76th Street to "a Mr. Ullman." The buyer was Jacob Uhlman and his ownership, as well, would be short. He resold the residence in March 1902 to Henry A. Caesar and his wife, the former Laura F. Unger. The New York Times mentioned that they "will occupy the house after making extensive alterations." Those alterations most likely had much to do with modernizations like the installing of updated plumbing and electricity.

Henry A. Caesar was born in Brooklyn on May 15, 1856. Educated in Europe, he established the banking firm of H. A. Caesar & Company in 1886. He was, as well, a director of the Germania Life Insurance Company and of the Chemical Bank and Trust Company. Laura was his second wife. His first was Mathilde M. Muller, with whom he had two sons, Paul N. and Harry I. He married Laura in 1894 and they had a son, Charles U., born in 1897.

The Caesars' 39-acre country estate, Lauriston (named for Laura), was in Rumson, New Jersey. The mansion on the property was designed by Leon Cubberly in 1870.

The Colonial Revival mansion at Lauriston. image via Preservation New Jersey

Form was a weekly magazine that kept affluent American families abreast of incidents in society. Its masthead explained that it covered "the interests of American Society at Home and Abroad." On December 27, 1913, the periodical reported that Henry I. Caesar and Dora Porter would be married that day. The ceremony took place in St. Thomas's Chapel. The high-society surnames of bridal party reflected the families' status. Among them were Townsend, Hoagland, Slocum and Symington.

Henry and Laura Caesar sold 19 West 76th Street to Solomon Marcuse Stroock in April 1917 for $70,000. (The figure would translate to about $1.7 million in 2026.)

The son of German immigrants, Solomon Stroock as born in New York City on September 22, 1873. He graduated from the College of the City of New York in 1891, received his Masters degree from Columbia University in 1892, and his law degree from Columbia Law School in 1894. In 1907, he was appointed a Justice on the New York Supreme Court. He was also a partner with his brother Moses in the law firm Stroock & Stroock.

Solomon Marcuse Stroock, The Jewish Tribune, November 25, 1927

Stroock married Hilda Weil in 1904 and the couple had three children. Like the Caesars, they spent the summer months away from the city. On May 20, 1921, for instance, The American Hebrew noted, "Mr. and Mrs. Sol. M. Stroock of 19 West Seventy-sixth street will spend the summer at Ossining, N. Y."

As had been the case in the two previous owners, the Stroocks would not remain here especially long. On September 17, 1924, The New York Times reported that they had sold 19 West 76th Street "to a buyer for occupancy." That was only partially accurate. The house became The Liberta School, a private co-educational progressive school.

The Christian Science Monitor, February 12, 1925 (copyright expired)

Among the students here was nine-year-old Mary Elizabeth Steele, who lived with her mother at 66 West 77th Street. The prodigy was an accomplished pianist--so accomplished, in fact, that she was invited to give a private concert for President Calvin Coolidge and the First Lady in the White House. Mary Elizabeth and her mother, Mrs. C. O. Steele, left their apartment on March 17, 1925. They left Mary Elizabeth's dog, Frisky, with the building's superintendent. The New York Times remarked that the wire-haired terrier "had been Mary's companion almost since his birth, frequently sitting beside her as her nimble fingers played compositions of Bach, Chopin and other masters."

Mary Elizabeth played the concert on the evening of March 21 and the following day she and her mother were invited to meet the President at the White House. On March 27, The New York Times began an article saying, "Her joy at being received by President Coolidge in the White House several days ago was dispelled upon her return to New York, Wednesday night." The superintendent had lost Frisky. It is unclear whether Mary Elizabeth's precious pet was recovered.

In March 1926, just one year after moving into 19 West 76th Street, The Liberta School sold the house to Carl and Hulda Steen. Their son, Jens H., born in 1914, was a scholar. After graduating from George Washington High School, he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Cooper Union in 1934. He continued studying at New York University and on July 9, 1936, Louise Whitfield Carnegie, the widow of Andrew Carnegie, awarded him a scholarship for foreign study. The New York Sun reported, "He will sail abroad...for Sweden, where he will spend [a] year at the University of Lund, majoring in Economics."

The Steens leased 19 West 76th Street in 1939, and sold it in 1942. The house avoided being converting to apartments until 1974, when it was renovated into a total of 14 units. The exterior, however, is nearly unchanged after nearly 135 years.

photographs by the author

The Lost 1812 Washington Hall - 282 Broadway

2026-09-28T04:00:00.000-04:00

Lithographer George Hayward produced this lithograph in 1853. from the collection of the New York Public Library

On Independence Day 1809, the Washington Benevolent Society laid the cornerstone of Washington Hall on the southeast corner of Broadway and Reade Street. (The 1876 Centennial, Illustrated commented, "in earlier times the Negro Burying Ground was located here.") John McComb Jr., whose City Hall was rising a block to the south, was responsible for the design.

Edwin C. Hill explained in the 1922 The Historical Register, "Although intended to be used as a public hall for meetings and assemblies, it was also kept as a hotel." Washington Hall would be considered one of the finest structures in the city.

Construction would take four years to complete. On July 3, 1812, the Building Committee was disbanded, "except so far as respects a settlement of claims," reported The Evening Post. The "claims" were the workers' salaries, materials and such necessary to complete the building. Those, said the article, would be "presented to Mr. John McComb, Junr."

Five months later, an announcement in The Evening Post on December 29 read:

This elegant and spacious Building, situated in Broadway, corner of Reed-Street [sic], is now nearly completed; and will be Let or Leased from the first of May next, or sooner if required. It is well calculated for a splendid Hotel, having forty one Rooms, thirty-two of which are supplied with fire places.

The article deemed the large 35-by-56 foot meeting room as "the largest and most elegantly finished in the city; and has a large orchestra finished in superior style." (The "orchestra" was the balcony for musicians.) There were also six "elegantly finished" rooms for "dining or supper parties." Two of them were connected by folding doors for larger affairs.

Americana Illustrated, January 1912 (copyright expired)

Daniel W. Crocker had answered that ad. He leased the building and on October 18, 1813 announced in The New-York Evening Post that Washington Hall, "is now opened for the accommodation of the public as a Hotel." He described it as being, "replete with every convenience." Somewhat oddly, guests would not be sleeping in Washington Hall proper. Crocker wrote, "The rooms are spacious and airy, and the bed-rooms (in a building separate from the Hotel) are neat, convenient and retired, with one bed in each room."

On the ground floor was the Coffee Room, "in which the daily papers will be kept and which will be open to the public," said Crocker. He noted that it and the public dining room opened onto Broadway. On the Reade Street side was the Porter Room, which Crocker described as "not excelled for convenience and cosiness [sic]," adding, "Here refreshments (of every sort) may be had at the shortest notice." Crocker described the main Assembly Room on the second floor as "the most elegant and spacious" in New York City or, "perhaps in the United States."

Edwin C. Hill explained that the Washington Benevolent Society "was not organized as a political association, its members were mostly of the Federal Party." Because of that, Washington Hall would become the headquarters of the Federal Party.

Five months before the hotel was opened for business, the Assembly Hall saw its first grand event. The United States and Great Britain were engaged in the War of 1812. On February 22, 1812, Captain James Lawrence's USS Hornet sank the HMS Peacock, an 18-gun Royal Navy warship. Lawrence and his crew visited New York City in May 1813 and the City Council hosted a lavish banquet in his honor. (One month later, during the battle in which he famously ordered "Don't give up the ship!", Lawrence was fatally wounded.)

Another lavish affair linked to the war was held in the Assembly Room the following year. Valentine's Manuel of Old New York would recall in 1921:

One of the most notable events of its history was when in 1814 a magnificent ball was given to celebrate the longed-for restoration of peace between England and America. The superb ballroom was magnificently decorated and was crowded with a brilliant company of the elite of old New York. The newspapers of the day described the scene as "a picture of feminine loveliness, beauty, fashion and elegance not to be surpassed in America.

Among the groups that rented rooms here was the Bread and Cheese Club, a literary group founded by Fenimore Cooper in 1824. In its February 16, 1920 issue, The Mentor noted that the club "took its name from the fact that candidates were balloted for by bread and cheese." Among its members were William Cullen Bryant, Henry Halleck and Gulian Verplanck.

The hotel portion hosted notable figures, none more so than President Martin Van Buren who stayed here in 1839. On July 7, he was visited by Hannah Gouge. The 104-year-old, according to The Morning Herald, "retains the possession of all her faculties, and has a most perfect and vivid recollection of her visit to General Washington." Hannah, who lost three sons in the Revolution, had been presented to every President except Andrew Jackson.

Washington Hall continued to be the venue of glittering balls, prestigious banquets, meetings and entertainments. On January 26, 1844, for instance, separate articles in the New-York Daily Tribune announced the "special meeting of the Third Ward Clay Club;" an upcoming concert by Sophie Gjertz, "pianist to the Royal Family of Denmark;" and a lecture "of Mr. Shea" that would "possess the deepest interest to lovers of Ireland."

At the time of the articles, the building had recently been "repaired and fitted up at considerable expense," according to the New York Herald, which added it was "decorated in a most superb manner."

Both Sides of Broadway, From Bowling Green to Central Park, New York City, 1910 (copyright expired)

The Assembly Room was booked for a ball on July 5, 1844. At 7:00 that morning, a small fire was discovered in "one of the chimneys at the back of the building," as reported by the New York Herald. It was quickly put out and forgotten. Then, about three hours later, "it was found that the roof at the back immediately over the upper bedrooms was in flames." The fire spread rapidly and several fire engines were on the scene within minutes. The newspaper said the firefighters were "followed by a great mob whose evident object was plunder, for they kept running about from room to room making 'confusion worse confounded,' breaking the furniture and pilfering little articles that were lying about." The New York Herald said that firefighters warned the intruders that they would be trapped by flames if they did not leave "and in a very short time the building was comparatively cleared of these blackguards."

In the meantime, employees rushed to salvage valuable items, like the large portrait of George Washington, some mirrors and furniture. The New York Herald said in part:

The ball-room was kept locked until the roof began to fall in, and the flames to make their appearance...It was found impossible to save the splendid chandeliers with which this room was adorned, in consequence of the burning fragments which was [sic] continually falling, and the beams from which they were suspended having become ignited. In a short time afterwards the chandeliers fell, and were utterly destroyed.

On October 16, 1844, The Evening Post reported, "Washington Hall (or rather the ruins of Washington Hall) was sold yesterday for $62,500 to Mr. Stewart, dry goods merchant, of Broadway, who will convert it into handsome stores." (Department store mogul Alexander Turney Stewart was among the nation's wealthiest merchants.)

On the night of April 7, 1845, Mayor Philip Hone wrote in his journal that Stewart "is preparing to erect on the ground a dry goods store, spacious and magnificent beyond anything of the kind in New York." He noted, "In removing the rubbish after the hall was burned the corner stone was brought to light and exhumed this morning."

On the site of Washington Hall, Stewart erected his "Marble Palace," which, enlarged, survives.

from the collection of the New York Public Library

The Howard and Frances Poillon Mansion - 174 East 80th Street

2026-09-26T04:00:00.000-04:00

In 1873, Mary Barter, a widow, lived with her adult daughter, Ellen, in the newly-completed "double flat" at 174 East 80th Street just west of Third Avenue. Ellen C. Barter was a teacher in the primary department of School No. 33 on East 66th Street. There were two apartments per floor in the building and the Barters' neighbors were respectable and working class, like Peter Dunigan, who worked as a carpenter.

The Edward Haas family lived here in 1877. Haas was a policeman and his daughter was a music teacher. For some reason, the young woman left New York headed to Ocean Grove, New Jersey on January 31 that year in what the New-York Tribune described as a "furious northeast gale." She boarded a New-Jersey Central Railroad train that left New York at 5:15. Because of the dangerous weather conditions, the conductor and engineer were told to run the train "carefully as far as South Amboy."

When they arrived at Red Bank, "the conductor of the train received orders to go to Long Branch, and stop the train there," reported the New-York Tribune. Miss Haas and the other four passengers were enraged and "insisted on being taken to Ocean Grove." After an hour's delay, the train continued. At Deal Beach, the conductor and head brakeman got off and walked the track for 300 yards. They returned and reported that the track seemed safe as far as they had gone. The New-York Tribune reported, "The train had scarcely moved a hundred yards when the track gave way and the engine toppled over into the Great Pond, carrying the head brakeman, the engineer, and fireman."

The engine plunged into the water, pulling the baggage car behind it. The baggage master "jumped for his life." Tragically, one passenger, 24-year-old Dr. Laird, had moved forward into the baggage car and was killed. The sole passenger car remained on the tracks. The three male passengers helped rescue the engineer and fireman and the baggage master "plunged into the pond and dived under the wreck of the engine," looking for the brakeman. He was finally found alive, trapped under the fire-box of the engine. The New-York Tribune explained, "This was two hours or more after the accident."

The article said, "The passengers, one of whom was Miss Haas...then walked back to Deal Beach. The lady was taken care of there, and a conveyance was obtained to convey the other passengers to Ocean Grove."

On April 15, 1920, The New York Times reported that Harriet A. Reinig had sold "the four-story flat" to Eugene Klapp, who "will make substantial alterations." Instead, a year later on June 27, 1921, the New-York Tribune noted, "Howard Poillen [sic] is the new owner of the flat at 174 East Eightieth Street."

Born in 1879, engineer Howard Andrews Poillon graduated from Columbia University School of Mines in 1901. He married Frances Wright in 1914 and the couple had three children, Cornelius III, Jeanne, and Peter. The family's country home was in Westhampton Beach, Long Island.

Howard Andrews Poillon (original source unknown)

Poillon had prospected for gold in Alaska for ten years before co-founding Poillon & Poirier in 1913. He was a vice president of Research Corporation, Consolidated Asbestos, Ltd., Federal Asbestos Co., D. M. Steindler Holding Co., and president of Crescent Lorraine Mining Co. He was also a director in several other corporations.

The Poillons hired the architectural firm of Ford, Butler & Soliver to convert the vintage apartment building into a private home. Although designated by the Department of Buildings as a single family dwelling, the Poillons rented out the upper two floors. On September 17, 1922, they advertised in The New York Times:

An unusual duplex apartment. 174 East 80th St.--10 rooms, three baths, automatic elevator, two open fireplaces, living room 16x23.6, dining room 14.6x19; use of laundry in basement; occupancy Oct. 1. Howard Poillon 42 Broadway.

The building likely looked similar to the one on the right in this 1940 tax photograph. image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

The ad was answered by three siblings: Catherine, Margaret and Henry Stanton Leverich. They were the children of the late Edward Leverich and the former Annie Frederica Schuchardt, who died in 1886 and 1918, respectively. Henry was a real estate operator. The New York Times described the siblings as descendants "of Colonial families identified with Rhode Island and New York." They traced their paternal roots to the Rev. William Leverich, a Puritan clergyman who arrived in Rhode Island in 1634, and on their mother's side, according to The New York Times, from "the Remsen, Rutgers and de Peyster families of New Amsterdam."

The Leverich sisters moved within polite society. On November 18, 1923, for instance, The New York Times reported, "Miss Margaret D. Leverich, of 174 East Eightieth Street will give a large luncheon on Wednesday, Dec. 5, at the Colony Club for Miss Margarette S. Delafield."

Calling him the "well known club man of New York city," on February 22, 1924 the Otsego Farmer reported that Henry Stanton Leverich would be married in Cooperstown, New York the next day to Jessie Reid Birdsall. The New York Evening Telegram remarked, "Mr. Leverich was graduated from Yale in 1901 and is a member of the Union and Turf and Field clubs." Following their honeymoon "through Italy, France, Belgium and England," according to the Otsego Farmer, "they will make their home at No. 174 East 80th Street."

Also moving into the upper floors was Jessie Reid Birdsall's daughter from her previous marriage, Gertrude Carlton Reid Birdsall. On August 1, 1926, Town & Country reported on her engagement to William Richard Galt Duane. The article noted that she "is a graduate of St. Agnes School, Albany, and has been studying in New York and Paris."

In 1927, Howard Andrews Poillon was promoted to president of Research Corporation in 1927. The firm was described by The New York Times as, "an engineering foundation organized to transact business for the advancement of science."

Frances, in the meantime, kept herself busy within society. On June 27, 1929, for instance, the Standard Union reported on the happenings at the Westhampton Country Club. "The women's golf tournament for the Tombstone Competition was held yesterday," said the article. "Mrs. Howard Poilon [sic] of 174 East Eightieth street, Manhattan, is chairman of the women's golf committee."

Jeanne Poillon attended the private Brearley School and graduated from Rosemary Hall in Greenwich, Connecticut in June 1938. In March 1939, her parents hosted a tea to announce her engagement to Wellington Vandeveer.

When America entered World War II, Cornelius and Peter Poillon joined the U.S. Army and were deployed to Europe. Jeanne's husband also enlisted. Vandeveer joined the United States Naval Reserves. With her husband fighting abroad, Jeanne and her two young daughters, Pamela and Judith, moved back into 174 East 80th Street with her parents. The family was at the Westhampton Beach house on September 5, 1944, when Jeanne, who was 25 years old, died "presumably of Rocky Mountain fever," according to The New York Times.

In 1944, Howard Poillon suffered a debilitating stroke. It necessitated his stepping down from the presidency of Research Corporation. In 1948, he was admitted to the Westchester branch of New York Hospital in White Plains. He remained there until his death on January 20, 1954.

No. 174 East 80th Street next became home to the Morton Fearey family. Born in New York City in 1913, Fearey was a graduate of Yale University and the Yale Law School. Now a partner in the law firm of Davis, Polk, Wardwell, he had served as a naval aviator in World War II. He and his wife, the former Mary Senior, had two sons, Morton Jr. and John, and a daughter, Mary. The family's country home was in Edgartown, Massachusetts.

Mary's dizzying debut to society included a dinner dance in the Colony Club on December 26, 1956. The New York Times remarked that she "attended the Grosvenor Ball in the Plaza last month and the Debutante Cotillion and Christmas Ball in the Waldorf-Astoria last Friday. She also will attend the Mayfair Assembly in the Pierre New Year's Eve."

The social spotlight turned to Morton Jr. in 1964 when he was married to Beverly Ann McMonagle on February 8. The ceremony as performed by the Right Rev. William Appleton, "retired Bishop of Western Massachusetts and granduncle of the bridegroom," as reported by The New York Times.

Two years before Morton Fearey's death in 1988, the couple sold 174 East 80th. Their former residence was converted to offices.

It became home to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, the Association of Art Museum Curators & AAMC Foundation, and The New York Preservation Archives Project.

photographs by the author