RENOVATIONS

A number of rare photos taken during the 1952 transformation of Tudor City into something more appropriate for a neighborhood that would mesh with the UN. Roads were widened, a parkside sidewalk was added, and the tunnel replaced by a modern overpass. The redesign also included a much disliked split-rail fence around the parks that remains in place for 41 years.

Looking south from a Manor window, Tudor City Place (at left) appears driveable, but the parks are in a state of wild disarray. Above, one can see the North Park's fountain basin (center bottom) and to its right, the pergola. They wouldn't last in the start-from-scratch plan. 

The opposite view, facing north, showing a new feature being installed: a parkside sidewalk.  

 

        Across the street, workmen in front of No. 25.

Finally, a pile of pipes lay near one of the gazebos. Like all of the decorative details of the park ‒ the lich gates, the fountain, the pergola ‒ the gazebos did not make the cut.

More MISCELLANY

Once again, a few interesting bits of trivia.

From last Sunday's Post comes a story about the vicissitudes of New York's real estate market, entitled Prices Growing, Growing, Gone! The study of the market over the last ten years, it was a uplifting tale ‒ particularly if 0ne is a real estate agent ‒ except for a couple of straggling neighborhoods.

The main straggler, according to the Post, is "Tudor City, an apartment complex that consumes the area between East 40th and East 43rd streets and First and Second avenues. It took the greatest hit, with prices falling 17% from $402,000 in 2014 to $335,000 last year." 

Thanks to Vanessa Groce for the tip.

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Photograph around 1929, showcasing the two Tudor City signs. Then there was another sign on The Woodstock's western wall. . .

WOODSTOCK TOWER is all we can make out, however.

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The oil painting, Festival of St. Roch by E. Debat-Ponsan, hung in the lounge of Hotel Tudor in the 1950s; this postcard celebrated it.

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Finally, John McKean calls for an emergency meeting in his newsletter of January 25, 1981. "We still can win, but we must fight!"

BRIDGEWORK

Today, some rare photos documenting the construction of the Tudor City Bridge in 1951. The bridge replaced a circa-1880 tunnel, built for horse-powered transportation and a notorious traffic bottleneck in the automobile age. 

The project was overseen by master builder Robert Moses, and one of many improvements to the area in preparation for the arrival of the United Nations.

1951. A construction crane begins demolition of the 42nd Street tunnel. 

The western side of the tunnel being dismantled. At center, under the umbrella, an enterprising hot dog vendor.

On Tudor City Place, a semicircular detour ‒ cut out of the parks ‒ was constructed to keep traffic flowing during the bridgework. View looks south from 43rd Street. 

Readying the forms for the reinforced concrete bridge. 

October, 1952. Ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Tudor City Overpass, as the bridge is officially known; Robert Moses, third from right.

PICTURE OF THE DAY: Skeleton Construction

From a 1927 issue of Architectural Forum magazine, a photograph captioned "Skeleton Construction, Tudor City, New York," made by George H. Van Anda. Pictured are Tudor City's initial units, The Manor and No. 45, under construction. They would open on September 30, 1927.

The archway framing the shot has vanished, most likely part of a rowhouse eventually demolished by the French Company. The vantage point appears to be the vicinity of what would later be Essex House.

TUDOR CITY ART: Martin Lewis

Martin Lewis. Building a Babylon, Tudor City, NYC.  1929.

This edition of Tudor City art features Building a Babylon, a drypoint etching by Martin Lewis.

Lewis (1881-1962) started out as a commercial illustrator, but aspired to be a fine artist. He began etching in 1915, hitting his stride between 1925‒1935 with a series of prints depicting gritty Manhattan locales at night. Lewis' studio was on E. 34th Street, and much of his subject matter was drawn from the surrounding neighborhood, including Tudor City.

Building a Babylon was among the etchings shown at his first solo exhibition in 1929, which made his name. Printed in an edition of 84, this work is currently for sale online at the Allinson Gallery for $12,500.

The view is northwest from the vantage point of 40th Street and First Avenue. The Woodstock is at top center, but what is that mysterious pitched roof hut just below it? 

A photograph of the same area made around the same time offers an answer, below.

Looking up First Avenue from 40th Street, showing the back walls of Nos. 25 and 45, as well as the mysterious hut, bottom left corner.

On closer inspection, a sign explains it all: THIS PROPERTY WILL BE DEVELOPED UNDER THE FRENCH PLAN AS PART OF TUDOR CITY. The property under demolition is the future site of No. 5 ‒ and the hut most likely a utility shed erected in the 41st Street cul-de-sac in preparation for it.

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Thanks to Geoffrey Barbey for the tip. More Tudor City artwork here.

WHO DREAMED UP TUDOR CITY?

BEFORE FRED FRENCH, Prospect Hill ‒Tudor City's future site ‒

was lined with tenements and boarding houses. 

Who thought up Tudor City? We believe the idea evolved through the efforts of three men. Here is their story.

Leonard Gans
Gans is real estate broker who specializes in assembling multiple properties into large parcels. In 1924, he discovers Prospect Hill, a rundown area flanked by malodorous industry along the East River. Gans pays the slaughterhouses and steam plants no mind. He's transfixed by the view to the west ‒ the booming Grand Central Terminal business district. Within walking distance. He thinks it's the ideal site for a residential community.

He pitches the site to a few prospects, with no takers. Then he arranges a meeting with a business acquaintance who works for Fred French named Paine Edson. Edson has been with the company since 1916, and over time has gained French's ear.

Paine Edson
Gans meets Edson at Prospect Hill and launches his pitch. It's a big idea ‒ five acres of land ‒ which impresses Edson, as does the walk-to-work angle. Gans leads him over to the Prospect Hill Apartments, then under construction on 41st Street. The building is already fully rented ‒ from plans. Edson says he will talk to Fred French.

Fred French
Edson buttonholes French into visiting the site. At first, his boss is aghast. "Look at those slaughterhouses and smokestacks and the rookeries around them, and think of the fumes! Phew!" French reportedly says.

Edson perseveres, extolling the scale of the project, which vastly appeals to French. He adds that the land would be half the cost of what French is paying on Park Avenue. French likes that too. Then Edson takes him by the fully-rented-from-plans Prospect Hill Apartments, and that seems to seal the deal.

And so, French signs on to building the planned community that would ultimately be his legacy. Thereafter, he refers to Paine Edson as "the Daddy of Tudor City." Gans is hired to assemble the land and acquires nearly 100 properties in a record 35 days. Edson eventually takes an apartment in The Manor, an easy walk to his office in the French Building. 

AFTER THE SALE, the future site of Essex House and Hotel Tudor, at left,
and The Woodstock, at right, adorned with 'Tudor City coming soon' signs. 

PICTURE OF THE DAY: First Girder Edition

Photo and caption from the June, 1934 issue of Tudor City Service, the monthly community gazette.

Tudor City Place GETS PAVED

Today we spotlight June 6, 1952, a watershed date in community history, the day Tudor City's streets get paved.

Prior to this, the roads are cobblestone. We believe that these stones ‒ most likely Belgian granite ‒ were installed around 1870, when the neighborhood was on the upswing following the Civil War. Fast forward to 1952, when Tudor City's streets are finally paved with asphalt as part of the overall neighborhood spruce-up for the arrival of the United Nations.

Below, 'before' pictures of the cobblestones in place.

Looking east down 43rd St. toward the U.N., circa 1951.

Looking south down Prospect Place, showing the North Park around 1930.
Parking was a breeze in those days.

The paving of the road causes quite a stir among the residents. Times were simpler then. Below, photo-documentation and captions of the phenomenon from Tudor City View, the local magazine.

The cobblestones are still there, buried beneath the asphalt, Every now and then, they reappear in a breach in the pavement, a glimpse of Tudor City of yore.

Tudor City is 90 YEARS OLD today

Today marks a most auspicious occasion, the 90th birthday of Prospect Tower and The Manor, which both opened on September 30, 1927. This date also marks the debut of the Tudor City Restaurant, and, of course, is the official birth date of the enclave itself.

No. 45 and The Manor are the first two units completed, construction having begun in early 1927. They're faced with red brick, part of a record-breaking order ‒ 10,000,000 bricks in all ‒ shipped in by barge and offloaded at the foot of 42nd Street.

The apartments are small but efficiently designed, and come equipped with name-brand products of the era like Frigidaires and Murphy beds. They are quickly rented out and remain so thereafter. 

The Manor and Prospect Tower under construction, 1927

New York Times, Oct. 1, 1927

The French Company celebrates the opening with a luncheon in Prospect Tower's restaurant, where self-congratulatory speeches are delivered by various company executives. There are 150 guests in attendance.

The final speaker, Fred French, concludes his remarks by producing a rusty sword that was unearthed during the excavation of the site. Waving it in the air, French explains it has been identified by arms experts at the Metropolitan Museum as a Revolutionary War Hessian cavalry sword.

And so, with a flash of a blade, Tudor City is off and running. French keeps the sword displayed in his office for years after. Today it is in the collection of the New-York Historical Society.

More about Prospect Tower here and The Manor here.

See them rise here.

REAL ESTATE REPORT: Here Comes ONE VANDERBILT

This blog usually doesn't venture too far afield from Tudor City, but today we're traveling a few blocks west to the site of a planned tower opposite Grand Central Station. Right now, it's a giant hole, but it will soon be One Vanderbilt, one of the tallest buildings in New York, and a nine-minute walk from Tudor City.

Soaring over the Chrysler Building, One Vanderbilt will be hard to miss.
Please note that this is a rendering, as are all illustrations in this post.

Here's everything you need to know about it, in bullet points.

One Vanderbilt. Grand Central at right.

❊ The centerpiece of the city's plan to modernize East Midtown's business district, home to some celebrated but rapidly aging skyscrapers ‒ the Chrysler Building, the Daily News Building, etc. Rezoning the area to allow for supertall towers was an initiative of Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

❊ Will be one of the tallest buildings in town, soaring 1,401 feet in the air. Over a million square feet of interior space. 67 stores high ‒ somewhat surprising since the Empire State Building has 102 floors ‒ but One Vanderbilt is a building of the future. Ceiling heights throughout range from 14 to 20 feet. 

❊ Ground broken October, 2016, the foundation poured February 2017. Completion date: 2020. Estimated cost: $3.1 billion.

Some nice fringe benefits come along with the building.

Celeb chef Daniel Boulud has signed on to operate a swish, 100-seat restaurant, yet to be named, on the second floor (rendered above). He's also planning a takeout outpost, Épicerie Boulud, on street level.

A key part of the deal is One Vanderbilt's agreement to pony up $220 million in transit improvements for Grand Central ‒ starting with a direct connection from the building to the subway and Metro North, shown above. Other upgrades include a new public transit hall, a refurbishment of the subway mezzanines, and additional staircases down to the platforms.

A new pedestrian-only walkway is planned between One Vanderbilt and Grand Central. 

From left to right, One Vanderbilt, the Empire State Building and, way downtown, One World Trade Center.

Topping off the tower will be a public observation deck at 1,020 feet with bird's-eye views of Tudor City. No word yet on the admission fee.

Tudor City Rising

Today, a fun time-lapse series of photos showing the first two Tudor City buildings ‒ Prospect Tower and the Manor ‒ on the rise.

The Manor (left) and No. 45 (right) begin construction, late 1926. All views look north up Prospect Place, today's Tudor City Place.

The tiny Tudor City rental cottage (bottom right corner) was nestled rather precariously beside the looming skyscraper.

May 6, 1927. No. 45 and the Manor will open several months later, on Sept. 30.



Winter, 1927. Christmas tree in place for the community's first holiday season.

The TUDOR CITY Land Grab

By 1900, Prospect Hill has fallen on hard times. The smelly factories along the East River and the sooty 2nd Ave El to the west have reduced the once middle-class neighborhood into a motley mix of tenements and boarding houses.

Leonard Gans, a real estate broker, sees potential in the area ‒ cheap land but a few blocks away from the booming Grand Central Station business district ‒ and convinces Fred French to build there. Gans is hired as chief assembler of the property.

Before Fred French showed up:  Prospect Place (now Tudor City Place), 1925

Speed and subterfuge are of the essence when buying contiguous properties, and Gans's team manages to secure much of the parcel before word gets out. When it does, rumors sweep the hill ‒  oil has been discovered there, various Vanderbilts and Rockefellers are the secret buyers, the New York and New Haven Railroads are planning a rail station, and so on.

In the end, Gans assembles the five-acre parcel in a record 35 days, acquiring 96 buildings for $7,500,000. There are some holdouts: three rowhouses on 43rd Street, and one on 41st Street, which still stand today, landmarked as part of the Tudor City Historic District.

And then there is 8 Prospect Place, a dilapidated, four-story relic at the south end of the street. Its owner buys the property in 1925 for $27,000, then steadfastly refuses Gans's offers that start at $50,000 and escalate to $120,000. Finally, the French Company acquires it in 1945, and the entire lot, united at last, is opened as Tudor Gardens (2 Tudor City Place) in 1956.

Holdout 8 Prospect Place (arrows) keeps the large lot opposite Windsor Tower undeveloped 
for over 25 years. View looking east from 40th St. and Second Ave.

The good news for locals is that the vacant lot houses tennis courts in the 1930s and 1940s, a much-publicized Tudor City amenity. View looks east toward No. 5, Windsor Tower.

TUDOR CITY: First Sketch

The first preliminary sketch for Tudor City, issued by the Fred F. French Company in 1925.

View looking east toward Long Island City. A lone skyscraper straddles 42nd Street, with a series of tunnels beneath it leading to First Avenue. 

The sketch is extremely preliminary ‒ a note on the drawing explains "the completed operation may not look at all like this sketch" ‒ and the completed operation did not look at all like the sketch. Instead of a wall of skyscrapers along Tudor City Place, there was only one, dramatically poised over 42nd Street. There are no parks, both sides of the streets lined with modest-size dwellings.

A note attached to this rendering states:

This is the first study of a perspective elevation of the proposed TUDOR CITY, which is to be financed, constructed and managed under the FRENCH PLAN. The study has been made to be used in obtaining certain consents desirable in connection with the development of TUDOR CITY. It is possible that the completed operation may not look at all like this sketch, but we thought that our stockholders would be interested in the study as it gives some idea of the scope and magnitude of the operation.

PROSPECT HILL APARTMENTS INC., the preferred stock of which is now being offered to the public will own and operate a portion of TUDOR CITY as a separate owning corporation under the FRENCH PLAN.