No 35 West 54th St. - Walter Tower Rosen House

 

In the 1880s, the north side of West 54th St. was dominated by the large campus of St. Luke's Hospital. The rest of the area consisted of respectable, but not particularly extravagant, brownstone rowhouses built after the Civil War. That began to change as John D. Rockefeller and other wealthy elites began building mansions along Fifth Ave. In 1896, the hospital was demolished, making many lots available and leading to the rapid development of mansions for the wealthy.

No. 35 was built in the Italianate style, and was originally owned by businessman Edward Scheitlin, an importer of hosiery and gloves. Dr. Allan M. Thomas, who had developed a proto-incubator for infants, purchased it shortly after 1900 and gave it a makeover, replacing the facade with an up-to-date Beaux Arts facade of brick and limestone.

In 1916, it was purchased by Walter Tower Rosen. Rosen was a lawyer and a banker, and also a pianist and art collector. His wife, Lucie Bigelow Dodge, was also a musician and a patron of the arts. Among the artists they supported was the Russian inventor Leon Theremin, inventor of the eponymous instrument. Now known primarily for 1950s retro Sci Fi soundtracks, the theremin was originally intended as a concert instrument for avant-garde music. Lucie performed as a part of a 10-person ensemble of theminists at Carnegie Hall in 1930.

Walter Rosen died in 1951; Lucie in 1968. In 1977, the mansion was converted to apartments.

Star Wars Day 2026

 May the Fourth Be With You.

Rosemary

Life drawing from this past Saturday. Model was Rosemary.

No. 35 West 57th St - Schieffelin Bowne House

 

On West 57th St., between 5th and 6th Avcnues, stands this lone Beaux Arts-style mansion. Large vacant lots flank it, awaiting construction, and a graint I-beam structure to its west seems to be holding it up.

In 1891, it was given, fully furnished, as a wedding gift to Maria Louise Vanderbilt, great-granddaughter of "Commodre" Vanderbilt, patriarch of the Vanderbilt dynasty, and William Jay Shieffelin, a descendent of John Jay, the first chief justice, by Maria Louise's mother. At the time, the area was block after block of these brownstone mansions. Several of the Vanderbilts lived in the enclave, including Cornelius Vanderbilt.

They only lived there until 1898. Commercial development began to encroach into the area, and the "hustle and bustle of that area made the residence undesirable," according to Wayne Craven's book, Gilded Mansions. So Maria Louise's mother built and furnished another brownstone for the couple, this one on 66th Street. The 57th Street building was sold to a business man named Samuel Bowne in 1899. By 1910, most of the mansions on the block were demolished, but No. 35 somehow survived and was converted for commercial and business use. 

In recent years, the first two floors were occupied by restaurants, Cafe Classico and The Great American Health Bar. In 2021, demolition permits were filed by the ownder, Solow Reality, who tried to push out the commercial tenants. However, the tenants had leases that ran through 2040, and the owner of Solow died in 2020. The company in now owned by his son, but no new permits have been filed. Cafe Classico is gone, but The Great American Health Bar is still there. But it's unclear if it's actually still in business. I've seen workers going into the space, but it didn't look like an active business. It stands there in this weird, kind of surreal limbo.  I can't imagine this building remains very much longer.

Sources:

Ephemeral New York: 35 West 57th Street

Dayton in Manhattan 1891 Schieffelin Bowne House

New York Yimby: Demo Permits Filed For 35 West 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan

Patch New York: Old Vanderbilt Mansion Billionaires Row Be Demolished

15 Greene Ave

 

A row house in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. It was built in 1860, along with its two neighbors. Designed by Nicholas Rhodes, they followed the Italianate style typical of brownstones of the time, but featured peaked roofs which distinguished them from the usual flat-roofed buildings around them.

Yu Interiors, on the first floor, has been there for a long time. I used to live in this neighborhood in the early 2000s, and it has been there at least that long.

Guillermo

 Life drawing from last weekend.

Ash

 Life drawing from a few days ago. The model was Ash. I went to Minerva's Studio, the former Spring Street Studio. I used to go there all the time, but it's been awhile. I'm glad it's still around.