Artifact: HOTEL TUDOR HOTELETTER

A bit of fun today via a printed artifact, circa 2007, picturing Hotel Tudor. It had been just been bought by the Procaccianti Group, a real estate investment and management concern, and this 'HOTELetter' celebrated the occasion. 

       

Above, the unfolded item. The reverse is blank, awaiting your inscription.  

The folded envelope.

⸺⸺⸺⸺

And now, we come upon the website of Freedom Plaza, here. Talk about a story that won't die. . .

RESTAURANTS: Convivio

Today, we cover Convivio, which once operated in the restaurant space in Prospect Tower that's been there since Tudor City began.

The story actually begins with L'Impero, the restaurant that preceded it. Owned by Chris Cannon, it featured chef Scott Conant in the kitchen. Several good reviews later, the restaurant was a hot ticket, the first time that ever happened in Tudor City.

Then Cannon and Conant had a falling out, and the chef left. Cannon searched and came up with another chef with the apt credentials.

 The new chef, Michael White (above) came aboard and it was decided to spruce the place up with a new name and some decor enhancements. This was done and the place was opened in 2007.

Inside, it was all kinds of luxe, from the wraparound crimson banquettes to the ceiling's six-coats of car paint to make everything shimmer. The winning combo of Convivio (and Alto, another fine-dining restaurant) was further enhanced when they took on a business partner and added a third, Marea. Everything reached its peak when the New York Times awarded all of them with three stars apiece.

A year passed, and suddenly White and the new business partner wanted out. In the acrimonious settlement, they took Marea, while Cannon took Convivio and Alto. And then came the final blow; an alleged tipping scandal at Alto caused him to shrug his shoulders and walk away. Convivio, and Alto, were closed.

That's all there is to the story. We leave you with a view of the outside, around Christmas time.

The Lamp Post Refurbished

Today's pictures come from a cache discovered in the archive of Tudor City Greens, depicting the 2006 raising of the refurbished lamp post in the North Park. Why this particular lamp post is the only one left still standing is lost to history, as are the identities of the installers. Here they are anyway.

This lamp post's renovation was a gift from Mrs. Bette McKean, the wife of John McKean. More about him, here.   

Tudor City on Film: UGLY BETTY

This installment of our ongoing series of films shot in the enclave is taken from the ABC comedy series Ugly Betty.

It tells the story of Betty Suarez, who lands a job at a glam fashion journal despite having a kooky personality and a one-of-a-kind style. 

The particular scene we are interested in is Season 4, episode 2, entitled The Butterfly Effect, Part Two.



At the start of the sequence, Betty and her boss walk along Tudor City Place, following a nearby U.N. conference.

They make small talk about office gossip. . .

. . . as they make their way across the street.

After many more shots of the pair, and some mutual confessions, he pronounces they should be "friends" forever, and throws his arm casually over her shoulder. 

Cut to next scene.

THEN AND NOW: Graffiti Edition

Included in New York's Phase 2 recovery is graffiti removal, happy news indeed, and last month’s vandalism to No. 45 and the granite wall beneath it on 42nd Street is gone. A then-and-now comparison, below.

May 7, 2020, southeast corner of No. 45

June 23, 2020

May 7, 2020, 42nd Street wall beneath No.45

June 23, 2020

A shout-out to the boards and shareholders of No. 45 and The Manor for underwriting the cleanup, particularly Michael Gribin and Konrad Wos, who spearheaded the project. Graffiti removal was permitted starting June 22nd, and the blight erased on the 23rd because of their efforts. Well done!

THEN AND NOW

Looking west from 42nd and First, then and now. 

Circa 1935

Looking west down 42nd Street from First Avenue, the view is dominated by the mammoth 42nd street tunnel. Erected in 1880, it would stand until the late 1940s, when it was demolished and replaced by the Tudor City Bridge.

2020

A more streamlined approach to the traversing the street, the Tudor City Bridge is so minimal that it's barely visible, obscured by a stoplight, traffic signs and foliage.

New York Edison's WATERSIDE STATION

Waterside Station postcard, circa 1907. 

Venturing slightly afield of Tudor City's borders, today the Wayback Machine goes back in time to 1901, when the New York Edison Company opens the Waterside Station power plant along the East River between 38th and 40th Streets. It fits right in with its industrial neighbors, a ragtag mix of slaughterhouses, coal yards and freight depots along First Avenue. 

Designed in the Beaux Arts style, the mammoth edifice actually houses two power stations, the second arriving in 1905. Producing both electricity and steam, the plant undergoes numerous renovations over the years to keep up with advances in power technology. The New York Edison Company is renamed Consolidated Edison in 1936.

Above, an aerial view from 1926, when Tudor City was still on the drawing boards. Waterside Station was powered by coal, which burned pungently and abundantly. Soot would be a problem in the enclave for decades, even after coal was replaced by natural gas in 1958. 

Although most of Tudor City turned its back on the East River, No. 5 offered industrial-chic riverside views. 

The red-brick power plant as seen from Queens around 2000.  It was decommissioned on April  29, 2005, after 104 years of continuous service.

Waterside Station was sold by Con Edison to real estate tycoon Sheldon Solow for $680 million, and demolished in 2007. The property is a vacant lot today.

Tudor City on Film: THE CAVEMAN'S VALENTINE

This installment of Tudor City on Film zooms in on The Caveman's Valentine, a rather obscure 2001 drama starring Samuel L. Jackson as Romulus Ledbetter, a homeless paranoid schizophrenic who was once a Julliard-trained pianist. Now he lives in a cave in Inwood Park, wears his hair in epic dreadlocks and is convinced that the Chrysler Building is beaming death rays at him.

There are two Tudor City segments, both featuring our homeless hero lurking around No. 25. 

When the film opens, Romulus, outside No. 25, gets into a conversation with one of its residents.

He leads his new friend over to the Tudor City Bridge. . .

 . . . . and gazes down 42nd Street at the Chrysler Building.

The Chrysler Building responds with a fiery blast. Whoa!

Later in the film, the conversation between the two men continues in front of No. 25, showing its stained glass to fine effect.

Romulus sneaks a peek at the Chrysler Building. . .

. . . and the Chrysler Building blasts more death rays his way.

Too bad the Evil Chrysler Building subplot is largely abandoned when the plot shifts to a lengthy murder investigation, led by our hero, the "psycho Sherlock Holmes." The picture gets a 45 on Rotten Tomatoes, enough said.

KATE WINSLET Encounters the Tudor City Sign

Harper's Bazaar cover, August 2009

Another entry in our ongoing series of beautiful people lollygagging around the Tudor City sign. Today's installment features film star Kate Winslet, posing for Harper's Bazaar. Photographed by Peter Lindbergh, the shoot produced a striking cover image, above.

Above and below, Winslet establishes a rapport with the sign.

At left, with photographer Lindbergh. Right, Winslet exiting No. 45.

TUDOR CITY ARTIFACT: Kate Spade Credit Card Case

Today's artifact, a luxurious credit card case, is of recent vintage, circa 2000. Made by Kate Spade New York, it's part of a leather accessories line that included wallets, organizers, holders for passports and business cards, and the like. The name of the line? Tudor City, of course.

The credit card case, above. Though the line has been discontinued, the item remains on the Kate Spade website, along with the news that it's out of stock. The website copy reads

Designed and built in the 1920s to be an urban utopia on Manhattan's East Side, Tudor City has become one of New York's most famous residential enclaves. We designed our latest take on a credit card case with that in mind, crafted it of smooth leather with a flap and a magnetic snap closure.

Though the Tudor City line has been sunsetted, many items are available from resale outlets like eBay. Yesterday's latest thing is tomorrow's collectible, just saying. . .

Tudor City on Film: THE INTERNATIONAL

This edition of Tudor City on Film features The International, a slick 2009 thriller starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts as Interpol agents out to expose a corrupt, arms-dealing international bank bent on worldwide domination.

The picture lives up to its name with a globe-trotting scenario that touches down in Lyon, Berlin, Milan, Istanbul and Manhattan (most memorably in a sequence inside the Guggenheim Museum).

Tudor City makes two short appearances in the film, essentially establishing shots, but shots that mark the big-screen debut of The Woodstock.

Hot on the trail of an assassin, Clive Owen arrives at The Woodstock. This bird's-eye view of the entrance was shot from the South Roof of No. 45.

Owen is headed for the apartment of a suspicious orthopedic doctor who's designed a leg brace for the gimpy assassin. Or something like that. (We lost interest in the details as the interior sequences were not shot in The Woodstock).

Later, when Owen revisits the ornery orthopedist, there's another establishing shot of The Woodstock. That's Gary, the terra cotta lion (subject of an earlier post), at bottom center.