Nom Wah Tea Parlor

 

Nom Wah Tea Parlor is the oldest continuously-running restaurant in New York's Chinatown. It opened at 13-15 Doyers Street in 1920, and moved to the space next door in 1968, where it remains. Originally, it was primarily a bakery, but it is now known for its Hong Kong-style dim sum. The original owners are unknown, but is was run by the Choy Family in the 1940s, and sold to one of its employees, Wally Tang, in 1974. It's now owned by Wally's nephew, Wilson, who has expanded the business to other locations.

Doyers Street has one of the most infamous reputations in New York City history. It was named after Hendrik Doyer, a Dutch immigrant who built a distillery and tavern there in 1791. In the late 19th century, the area transformed into Chinatown, with the first Chinese language theater located on Doyers. The short street also became infamous for its tenements, gambling parlors, and opium dens. It is only one block, about 200 yards (183 m) long, with a sharp bend in the middle. That bend earned the name "Bloody Angle," because the sharp turn made it a perfect spot for rival gangs to ambush one another. In his book "The Gangs of New York," Herbert Asbury wrote, "The police believe, and can prove it so far as such proof is possible, that more men have been murdered at the Bloody Angle than at any other place of like area in the world." Doyers Street remains at the heart of Manhattan's Chinatown, though it's been a long time since it's seen warring tongs. Bloody Angle is now just the spot where tourists and hipsters line up to get into Nom Wah.

348 West 23rd St.

 West 23rd St., between 8th and 9th Ave.

In the late 19th century, the area of Chelsea had become a fashionable residential neighborhood featuring brick and brownstone buildings. But a new concept was emerging for affluent people - the apartment house, or "French flats," as an alternative to single family homes. Termed "French flats" to distinguish them from the overcrowded, unhealthy tenements of the lower class, these apartments were gaining in popularity. In 1885, the owner of No. 348 West 23rd St. decided to alter the house into an apartment. He hired Charles Pierrepont Henry Gilbert, a 24-year old engineer and architect who had recently returned to New York from adventures in mining towns in the West. C.P.H. Gilbert would later gain fame as the designer of some of the most opulent mansions in the city. I drew one of his Brooklyn homes a while ago. This was one of his first commissions in the city.

The building was transformed into four apartments - one per floor - that were rented to affluent residents, including men prominent in business and politics. Gilbert's eclectic style is on display with the Queen Anne-style ornamental facade and stained glass windows.

In 1929, the stoops of all the brownstones on the streets were removed for a widening of the street, a project which never happened. Other alterations occurred, including dividing the apartments into smaller units, turning the lower floors into commercial space, removing the stained glass and covering the facade in paint.

Two Buildings on South Elliott St.

 

This distinctive Queen Anne house in Fort Greene, Brooklyn has quite a history.

Originally built as a one-story, wood-frame house in the 1870s, it was bought and enlarged by a lawyer named Anthony Barrett. It was then purchase by Salvatore Cantoni, a wealthy Wall Steet banker, who expanded it even further, adding the towers and oriels and distinctive fish scale shingles on the facade. Cantoni rented the house out for years. Eventually, ownership passed to others, and by the 1980s, the house was deteriorating and going into foreclosure. The city wanted to demolish the building, but it had been landmarked as part of the Fort Greene Historic District in 1978. In 1993, in the middle of a building inspection, the house collapsed, leaving only the front facade standing.

The property continued to auction and sold for $45,100. However, the bidder thought he was buying a fixer-upper, not a single wall! And so he backed out of the deal. Eventually, another buyer was found, who rebuilt the house utilizing the remaining facade.

A few years later, the address made news for tragic reasons. In 2003, it was the residence of a man named Othniel Boaz Askew. Askew wanted to run for City Council, and had some sort of fixation on the current councilman, James E. Davis. He convinced Davis to allow him to accompany him to City Hall, thereby bypassing the metal detectors, Askey shot and killed Davis in the middle of the chamber, himself then being shot by police.

Next door is this two-family brick and stone house. It doesn't seem to have an infamous history to it. It was built sometime in the late 1800s, and has an adjoining twin, painted brown and red.

Cobble Hill Carriage House

 Converted carriage house in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.

Aubree

 Aubree, from a life drawing session last weekend.

Life Drawing

 Got back to life drawing twice last week!