January 7, 1905





RECORD AND  GUIDE





DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE  WEST   SIDE

A  Review of Past   and  Present  Phases





By     MR.    WALTER     STABLER





MR WALTER STAB'LER delivered an address on "The De¬
velopment of the West Side" before the Real Estate Class
of the Y. M. C. A., at its meeting held last Tuesday even¬
ing. Mr. Stabler took the section bounded by Fifty-ninth street.
One Hundred and Twenty-flfth street. Central Park West and
the Harlem River for his study.    He said in part:

It is probably witliin the memory of some of the members of
this class when the West Side was one vast stretch of farm land,
with practically one artery, which was the old Bloomingdale
Road. It was not until the flfties that charters were granted for
the running of horse cars. In 1855 the Eighth avenue line received
its charter, and four years later that for the Tenth avenue line
was granted. During the period 1868-1872, the Boulevard and
Riverside Drive were proposed, and in 1S78 permission for the
running of horse cars in the former thoroughfare was granted.

At tills time there was great speculation in avenue lots, which
collapsed with the panic of 1873, which was probably brought
about by the inadequate means of transportation. The East
Side, besides having several car lines also had steamboat service
which plied on the East River and was largely patronized and
v>-as an.important factor in the development of that section. A
glance at the map of 1879 showed but little of importance in
the way of buildings.

There were the St. Paul's R. C. Church at Ninth avenue,
Fifty-ninth and Sixtieth streets; a brewery at the northeast cor¬
ner of Ninth avenue and Sixtieth street; the N. T. Infant Asy¬
lum at the northeast corner of Tenth avenue and Sixty-first
street; flfteen three-story dwellings on the north side of Seventy-
first street, between Ninth and Tenth avenues; on Eighth ave¬
nue, between 'Seventy-flrst and Seventy-second streets, where
the Majestic now stands, were a row of two-story dwellings, and
.the same on the streets to the rear of the present hotel; on the
east side of Ninth avenue, between Seventy-flrst and Sev¬
enty-second streets, was the Bloomingdale Reformed Church,
'which is now at Broadway and Sixty-eighth street; a row of
detached dwellings on Sixty-ninth street, between Tenth and
Eleventh avenues, many of which are now standing; two rows
'of dwellings on the north side of Seventy-third street, east and
west of Ninth avenue, owned by the Clark estate; In Eiighty-
third and Eighty-fourth streets, between Eighth and Ninth ave¬
nues, rows of dwellings; small dwellings in Eighty-third street,
west of Ninth avenue; on the west side of Ninth avenue, be¬
tween Eighty-second and Eighty-third streets, stood the Bethany
Episcopal Chapel, which is now St. Matthew's Church in Eighty-
fourth street. The only public schools were No. 9, at West End
"avenue and Eighty-second street, and No. 54, at Tenth avenue
and One Hundred and Fourth street.

There was a row of twenty-one three-story brownsfone houses
on the north side of Ninety-second street, 'between E'lghth and
Ninth avenues; the R. C. Church of the Holy Name, now at
Tenth avenue and Ninety-sixth street, was a frame structure at
the northwest corner of Tenth avenue and Ninety-seventh street;
en the west side of Ninth avenue, between One Hundred and
One Hundred and First streets, were six houses, set 'back 'from
the avenue, which were destroyed about six years ago, when the
present Colonial building was erected. Old St. Michael's Episco¬
pal Church was on the site of the present fine structure on Am¬
sterdam avenue. Ninety-ninth and One Hundred streets; on
the north side of One Hundred and Fourth street, between Ninth
and Tenth avenues, were the Bloomingdale hot houses and nur¬
series. There were also old Elm Park, which occupied the block
bounded by Ninth and Tenth avenues. Ninetieth and Ninety-flrst
streets, and the old Apthorpe house. To show how little the
West Side was built at this time, a certain resident of Seventy-
third street, between Ninth and Tenth avenues, in 1884, could see
from his house the elevated trains on the One Hundred and Tenth
street curve.

At this time Ninth avenue, between Ninety-fifth and Ninety-
sixth streets, was used by the Elevated railroad as an ash dump,
and the ashes were piled up almost to the tracks of the structure.
It is presumably these same ashes which were used by the com¬
pany for the filling up of its former properties at One Hundred
and Tenth street. The West End Association was organized
about this time in the office ot Hudon Powell, a one-story frame
building at the southwest corner of Ninth avenue and Seventy-
'second street, the present site of Park & Tilford's store and the
Hotel Hargrave. The association took an important part in all
m_atters which added to the buiiding-up and improvement of-the
section. .                                                                   -           ,    '   "       '

An amusing incident is set forth in the association's minutes
which stated that in 1883 Cornelius J. Duyster, a prominent
builder,   had  stationed  a  man  at  Ninth  avenue  and' Setenfy-





second street to signal when an elevated train was approaching,
so as to prevent horses from running away.

WHEN THE BUILDERS GOT TO WORK.
Regardless of the fact that the Elevated railroad was finished
to Harlem in the late seventies and the early eighties, there was
very little building until 1884 or 1SS5. About this time the
building loan operators took hold and began to sell lots with
loans. As a rule, the building was started around the "L" sta¬
tions, but there were several building operations carried on ih
Seventy-third and 'Seventy-fourth streets, west of the Boulevard,
and on West End avenue, and on Seventy-first, Seventy-second,
Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth streets, from Eighth to Tenth
avenues. On Manhattan Square, north and south, large expen¬
sive dwellings were erected, and D. W. James and J. G. Prague
built considerably at Eighty-fifth, Eighty-sixth and Eighty-sev¬
enth streets. Ninth and Tenth avenues, and the Clark estate
erected the Dakota in Eighth avenue. In 1883 Colonel Aueh-
mutty bought the plot, lOOxlOO, at the southwest corner of Ninth
avenue and Ninty-third street, paying $18,500 for it, and two
years later he erected the present structure.

In December. 1885, Ottinger Brothers bought the block front
on the east side of Ninth avenue, between Ninety-eighth and
Ninety-ninth streets, 200x100, for $48,100. The property was sold
to builders with loans and the finished product sold readily. In
18S3 eight lots on the south side of Ninety-fifth street, between
Eighth and Ninth avenues, sold for about $3,000 per lot. I sold
these in 1892 for about 1)112,250 each. On both sides of Ninth
avenue at Eighty-flrst street, on Eighty-first street, west of
Ninth avenue, on Seventy-ninth and Eighty-second streets, be¬
tween Ninth and Tenth avenues, and on Eighty-third .and Eighty-
fourth streets, between Eighth and Ninth avenues, were many
buildings erected about this period. There are several reasons
why the West Side did not develop faster than it did. Large
slices of the property were in the hands of the Astors, Higglnses
and Marshes, who wouldn't sell. The Bloomingdale road, which
runs between Amsterdam avenue and the present Broadway,
cut off the depth of many of the avenue lots and in many cases
clear titles could not be given. About the time when Riverside
Drive and the Boulevard were projected came the wild specula¬
tion in lots in which inside lots brought as much as $25,000 each.
Those who managed to hold their property during the subse¬
quent panic demanded prices which would pay them for carry¬
ing it, and which at that time were exorbitant. As an example,
about ten years ago the owner of the southeast corner of Broad¬
way and Eighty-first street, a plot 100x100, wanted $500,000 for
his property.

OHARACTER OF THE BUILDING.
'The great majority of flats built on Ninth avenue, between
Seventy-fifth and Eightieth streets, were chiefiy of the low-grade
double type. There were some four-family houses in the lower
Sixties and ^Ninth and Tenth avenues and in the upper Ninties
and lower One Hundreds, the former type prevailed. There were
very few elevator houses at this time, the Dakota at Seventy-
second street, the Beresford at Eighty-first street and Eighth
avenue, three corners at Ninth avenue and Seventy-second street,
and the corner of Eighth avenue and Eighty-third street, being
about all. Most of the streets between Eighth and Ninth ave¬
nues, from Sixty-eighth to Ninety-second streets, were either
restricted or improved with dwellings, as were also the blocks to
the west. The section north of Seventy-fourth street, between
Tenth avenue and Broadway, was either improved with stables
or remained vacant. Streets between West End avenue and
Riverside Drive were well developed, and their only drawback
was the distance from the Elevated road and the miserable ser¬
vice of the surface lines.

In the early nineties began the erection of the better class of
five-story flats, the single type occupying lots of twenty to twen¬
ty-five feet wide and the double ones, lots of thirty to forty
feet, wide containing steam heat, open plumbing, etc. These
proved very good paying investments until about 1895, when
over-building caused a generai j-eduction of rents. But they were
salable and with few exceptions were sold by their builders.
About 1896 the electric light companies began to run their lines
for light and power and then began the development of elevator
houses, which has reached such large proportions. There were
many houses built fifty feet wide, of six and seven stories, with
elevators. These caused active competition with the high-grade
five-story houses, and the latter suffered still more. In 1901
there was passed by the State Legislature the law known as the
Tenement House Law, under which, with some ■modifications, we
are now working. This caused the great success which the old
type of structure i? now enjoying.   With the advent of the trol-