AD CAMPAIGN, 1931

Hello today from August, 1931, when the following newspaper ad campaign ran. 

 

A Seat in the Shade Three Blocks from Grand Central

Here it is ‒ waiting for you ‒ a shady seat, just three blocks from one of the hottest, busiest parts of New York. It's in a Tudor City park, inviting you now. So walk across town today; feel the temperature drop as the breeze from Tudor City's parks blows about you. Low thermometer, reasonable prices. What more can you ask? . . .

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

Fresh Green Leaves Untouched by City Grime

Tudor City's two blocks of private parks are far enough away from the grime and dust of metropolitan traffic to stay continually fresh and green. Just as Tudor City, itself, while only three blocks from Grand Central, has an air of restfulness and peace hard to find in New York today. Come to Tudor City ‒  look at our apartments, our parks, our restaurants ‒ see how living is made easy for you in this unique community. . .

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

Privet Hedges-Flowering Shrubs Bring Suburban Atmosphere to 42nd Street

At Tudor City's doorstep are two blocks of the most delightful parks in all New York ‒ parks where you'll find only your kind of people ‒ for they are private parks, the property of Tudor City. Its parks are only one of the characteristics which make Tudor City unique. . . 

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

Fluttering in a River Breeze Which Cools All Tudor City

When the rest of New York is breathless in midsummer, there's a breeze in Tudor City. A breeze that comes from the river, refreshing every apartment with its cooling breath. The minute you step inside one of Tudor City's apartments, you'll notice the coolness, the freshness of the air. . . 

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

Ice Cold Melon Served at a Cool Corner Table

If you want to live in comfort, come to Tudor City. . . Every table in each of the three airy restaurants is pleasantly cool even on the hottest day. Come for dinner tonight – get an idea of the restfulness, the coolness, the relief from parched city streets that every Tudor City resident enjoys. Look at some apartments ‒ the same coolness, the same breeze that made your dinner a delight will greet you in every Tudor City room. . . 

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

Old World Charm at the East End of 42nd Street

While it is modern as can be in arrangement and conveniences, Tudor City has an Old World charm not to be found elsewhere in New York. As with the manor houses of Old England, so with Tudor City ‒ well-tended lawns, clipped hedges, flowers and trees form a background for its beautiful buildings. And from this breezy setting, perched on Prospect Hill at the east end of 42nd Street, one gets magnificent views over river and city. . .

Even More MISCELLANY

Time again to clear off the desk and share some miscellaneous items.   

                           First is the shedding of the leaves of the London Plane trees along Tudor City Place, an annual occurrence that inaugurates the winter season. Mauricio Cegueda captures this colorful event on the Tudor City Facebook page, above.

A landscape made in early 1927, featuring no. 45, all by itself in a hazy fog. 

Dutch colonist David De Voor arrived in 1677 to oversee farm land that included Prospect Hill. No. 25 commemorated him with this stained glass window, one of the few windows bearing a name. Thanks to Sally Hill for the photo.

One of the tax record series, this depicts 39th Street and 2nd Avenue, looking north. The Woodstock takes top billing, backed up by No. 25, lurking in the shadows.

Last but not least is this Spiderman ad featuring the lead taking a brief nap, presumably dreaming about Tudor City. This too came via Sally Hill, nothing gets by her. Thanks Sally!

Dueling Billboards

The other day, a very intriguing photograph came our way:

It was a overhead shot of 43rd to 41st Streets, bordered by 1st Avenue and the East River, probably taken from a hallway window of No. 45. Of particular interest to us are the two billboards at center right.

The top banner urges the public to vote Democratic, a slate headed by its candidate for mayor, William O'Dwyer. Below this, an advertisement for 7up with the tagline "Here's What Guests Like." And, finally proof that the building rented out signs not only on their south wall, but the north one as well.

Skelly's Beer & Ale and Sutton Motors are the signs of the south wall at 42nd and 1st.

Anatomy of a Photo

Welcome back to Anatomy of a Photo, where we look at a photograph in close-up. 

Here is the photograph, made around 1938 by Percy Loomis Sperr, a staff photographer for the New York Public Library who specialized in pictures showing buildings about to be razed. The photo was made at 36th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues and looks north.

At upper right are the smokestacks from the Waterside Station of the New York Edison Company, against a hazy backdrop of the Queensboro Bridge.    

The trio of buildings ‒ Nos. 5, 25, and 45 ‒ on what was then called Prospect Place.   

The Woodstock.

The most prominent building in the photograph is St. Gabriel's School, pictured above on 36th Street. Along with its nearby namesake church, it would soon be demolished to make way for the Queens-Midtown tunnel entrance, a very sore subject among locals. 

Tenements south of Tudor City.

For more about Percy Loomis Sperr, see here.

Some Instagrams

Once again, it's time to say thank you to the Instagram posters responsible for today's entry. Drum roll, please.

"Tudor City express" by everydayimshuttering         

"Autumn in NYC" by martha.aurelia888            

 "Tudor City 1931" by jensen.austin    

The Manor by georgioudominic           

A grotesque by zeldman   

"Big Apple" by sonamempire            

                  

The First TUDOR CITY SIGN?

What might be the first Tudor City sign ever was the above billboard, posted at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street early in 1927. Simply stating it's a "7 minute walk directly east" to Tudor City, it helpfully includes an arrow pointing in that direction. The photos which follow were made by the photographers Drucker and Baltes, who were hired by advertisers to document their presence.

April 27, 1927. The signs, from top to bottom, promote Tudor City/Circuline/

Butterick Delineator.         

August 26, 1927. The signs are Tudor City/Nestle/Star Ham/Butterick Delineator.   

September 27, 1927. Three days later, Tudor City would officially open. The signs are Tudor City/Nestle/Colgate.

⸺⸺⸺⸺

Here is our annual list of buildings under repair. While it's certainly an improvement over last year, bear in mind that September 30, 2027 ‒ the date of our centennial ‒ is fast approaching. A scaffold-free Tudor City is our goal.

Has Scaffolding
No. 45
The 3Hs
The Woodstock

Scaffold-Free
The Cloister
Essex House
The Hermitage

Hotel Tudor
The Manor
No. 2
No. 5
No. 25

Finally, all the graffiti has been removed except for the 'artwork' on the back side of No. 25. What is the holdup, one wonders.

Tudor City on Film: FBI

This edition of Tudor City on film concerns an episode from the longtime television staple, FBI. 

Entitled "Ratlined," it starred Missy Peregrym and Zeeko Zaki as the chief on-the-ground team for the New York City branch of the FBI. They manage, one way or another, to get everything thrown at them done.          

Our story begins with two professionals ‒ a reporter and a cameraman ‒ headed out of the 41st Street cul-de-sac.

They arrive at No. 5, which has been transformed into the Luxury Suites Hotel. A line of cars pull up, and the Prime Minister of Jordan gets out. The press begins shouting questions, but for some reason, he answers the girl. Then, suddenly, shots ring out.

The gunman apparently misses the Prime Minister and instead kills the reporter, the FBI initially believes. Later it turns out that the reporter was in fact the target.  

The plot percolates along elsewhere for a while, then returns to the North Park. 

There are diplomatic meetings held, in this case the delegate from China meeting an FBI higher-up to discuss the case. Who cares what they're saying, the park looks great.

And finally, in the last sequence, the male lead's girlfriend breaks up with him in a restaurant. As she exits, the painting behind her indicates it is the Tudor City Steakhouse. In 1928, artist Georgia O'Keeffe painted East River from the Shelton Hotel from her 30th floor suite in the hotel. A much larger copy was made and now hangs in the restaurant.