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.

THEN AND NOW: Christmas Edition

   Looking west on 42nd Street, then and now.

1932

2018

Merry Christmas from Tudor City Confidential 

Even More MISCELLANY

Here's the latest batch of random items.

A Daily News plane is about to pass Tudor City and the Daily News building in this photograph that ran in the paper in 1934.  

The 2022 class of interns at the Ford Foundation atop the building on National Intern Day. No. 45 and the UN provide the background.

 

A sign advertising Tudor Paws, tucked away in No. 5 in the 41st Street cul-de-sac. Taking over the Tudor City Wines space, it offered pet care but lasted only a year ‒ 2013 ‒ before closing. 

Finally, No. 25 takes the cake this year with this all-out Christmas jamboree hullabaloo.

THEN AND NOW: 326 East 43rd St

 

1940

It was not until recently that we became aware there was another rowhouse ‒ 326 East 43rd Street ‒ pressing up against the western wall of The Hermitage. No. 326 looks like its fellow survivors up the street (Nos. 336, 338, and 340) and all were most likely built in 1870 by architect John Sexton.        

  2025

Finally yielding in 1963, No. 326 is bought and demolished to make way for the new Ford Foundation headquarters in 1967. Today, The Hermitage and the Ford Foundation have some kind of Tudor-Revival-meets-Brutalist look.

For more about Nos. 336, 338, and 340, see here.

The FORGOTTEN Entrance to No. 5

Continuing our interest in 1st Avenue, we turn our attention today to views looking south. At first, this shot taken from 41st Street and 1st Avenue showed nothing unusual ‒ until we spotted a canopy leading into a building that turned out to be No. 5.  

 

A closer examination reveals the name Windsor Tower on the marquee. We look around further. One of the building's workers is on a ladder doing something, while nearby, a passerby takes in the scene.

A second photo ‒ taken on the same date, February 21, 1931 ‒ seems all about the Socony sign, which fronts a gas station. But again, a close-up view is more telling:   

This is an elevated view of the long-forgotten canopy, which would be gone within a year. Perhaps the street repair outside contributed, who knows.