Anatomy of EAST 41ST STREET

Today we examine a photo made in 1930, above, depicting the Hotel Tudor and Essex House. Let's take a closer look.

 

The Hotel Tudor will be opening in two months, and there is still construction going on, with trucks backed up to the 41st Street entrance. Across the street, a row of trees in front of the 3Hs exudes calm amidst the chaos.

Judging from the way cars are parked, 41st Street was a two-way thoroughfare. At bottom right is a Regent 1000, part of the Yellow Taxi Corp of New York. 

Looking upward, the Daily News building, Hotel Tudor and Essex House, a view unchanged nearly a century later.  

At the bottom of the photo, the credits: Fred F. French Company New York / 305-311 E. 41st St / 7-17-1930.

MISCELLANY

Hello and welcome to this edition of miscellany. This manipulated photograph by our good friend Garth Justice is entitled "The Lantern."

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

A screen shot from The Tick, showing the title character holding onto a bus for dear life so that the passengers have enough time to scramble off.  (Their bus has crashed through the barrier on Tudor City Bridge and hovers 50 feet in the air above 42nd Street.) More on this, here. 

In our opinion, the best use of special effects in Tudor City to date. Streaming on Amazon Prime.

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

42nd Street, around 1937. You can actually make out the Tudor City sign in the distance. 

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

Finally, there is a graffiti problem once again, with No. 45, No. 25 and the Tudor City Bridge all tagged by the same person, "Zoot." Though none of these tags can be seen when you walk down Tudor City Place, they are there. Facing a New York City icon, the Secretariat of the United Nations, to boot.

No. 45

 

No. 25

Tudor City Bridge

TUDOR CITY, circa 1940

A couple of months ago, we came upon a collaboration of the Works Progress Administration and the New York City Tax Department, a photographic record of all the buildings of the five boroughs in 1940. Although its purpose was quickly forgotten, the indecipherable numbers remain in every picture.

Here are all the buildings that were part of the original Tudor City. Though some got short shrift ‒ hello No. 25 ‒ all were recorded. 

No. 45, Prospect Tower

The Cloister and The Manor

The Hermitage

No. 25, Tudor Tower and No. 5, Windsor Tower

No. 5, Windsor Tower

The 3-Hs: Haddon Hall, Hardwicke Hall and Hatfield House 

Hotel Tudor and Essex House

Hotel Tudor

The Woodstock

REAL ESTATE REPORT: What's Your Apartment Worth?

  Recent Tudor City sale prices via Streeteasy.

Sign in No. 5 Lobby

The Cloister 

$795,000, Apt 812, two bedroom

$710,000, Apt 310, two bedroom

Essex House

$962,500, Apt 701, two bedroom

$962,000, Apt 601, two bedroom

Haddon Hall
$785,000, Apt 1101C, one bedroom
$781,000, Apt 703C, two bedroom

Hardwicke Hall
$740,000, Apt 702B, two bedroom
$325,000, Apt 303B, studio 

Hatfield House   
$335,000, Apt 408A, studio
$338,120, Apt 1103A, studio

The Hermitage 
The Hermitage is a rental-only building. Recent monthly rentals:
$6,395, Apt 805, three bedroom

$4,998, Apt 1004, two bedroom

The Manor  

$475,000, Apt 206, one bedroom

$450,000, Apt 315, one bedroom

Prospect Tower, No. 45
$550,000, Apt 707, one bedroom
$487,500, Apt 1807, one bedroom

Tudor Gardens, No. 2
$1,225,000, Apt 9HS, two bedroom

$950,o00, Apt 15ES, one bedroom

Tudor Tower, No. 25
$435,000, Apt 1205, one bedroom
$425,000, Apt 1519, one bedroom

Windsor Tower, No. 5
$475,000, Apt 1125, one bedroom
$450,000, Apt 1920, one bedroom

Woodstock Tower

$745,000, Apt PH-3206, one bedroom

$465,000, Apt 2310, one bedroom

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

The entrants for best million-dollar listing include a two bedroom unit at $1,199,000 or a three bedroom spread with a terrace at $1,900,000, both of which are in No. 2. There is also a three bedroom in the Essex House for a cool $1,580,000.

And then there is this one bedroom at $1,950,000 in No. 5. Yes, it's a penthouse. And one of the least expensive ones because of its smaller size ‒ around 1,000 square feet. But it's arranged over three floors, one of which is a swell little terrace. 

PH5: Entry level main room with 18-foot-high ceiling.

PH5: Top level garden terrace.

We wrote about this same penthouse back in 2017, when it was off the market; more about it here. And its up-to-the-minute listing here from Compass.

Artifact: PROMO BOOKLET, circa 1987

We have spent a considerable amount of time of late examining Tudor City's early days, so today we'd like to look at another occurrence that happened more recently, thirty-five years ago. This was the announcement that the complex was to be turned into cooperative apartments. 

There was a lot of hubbub, and a promotional booklet was produced as a free give-away. Here it is, without comment for a change.

 

More MISCELLANY

Welcome back to our never-ending supply of miscellaneous items that might not qualify as full-fledged posts, but still are too choice to let pass by. 

We begin with some snowy photos. The occasion was the blizzard of 1947, which dropped 25.8 inches of snow on the city on December 26th.

The Tudor City photos taken at the time were pre-UN renovation, thus they showed the 42nd Street tunnel, the ramps, and Whelan Drugs on the corner. None of them would make the cut in the coming years. 

Sledding on 41st Street.

 

The Manor and No. 45 as seen from No. 25.

‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒

Governor of New York Kathy Hochul has a glass of wine in the Tudor City Steakhouse, joined by her spouse, William Hochul, and Mirso Lekic, the restaurant's owner.  

‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒––––—

This evocative portrait taken on the Tudor City Bridge features Ruby Lynn Reyner, a figure of Downtown New York in the '70s and '80s, who was famed as a performer with the Playhouse of the Ridiculous. She was on a photo shoot in Tudor City, date unknown.  

‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒

It has come to our attention that the Manhattan Ventilation Building does have signage after all: on a fence outside it reads QUEENS-MIDTOWN TUNNEL, above. Which although true, it doesn't come close to explaining what the building does. For the answer, see our earlier post.

INSTAGRAM Again

 Once again, a tip of the hat to the inspired Instagrammers whose work makes up this week's post.

 

BY GETTINVIGGY                        

BY SNOVAMASHA                       

BY AASHISH.KAUL                      

                     

BY WALKINGWITHLUCY                     

      

BY JOHN2001ABC                        

REAL ESTATE REPORT: What's Your Apartment Worth?

  Recent Tudor City sale prices via Streeteasy.

Sign in No. 5 Lobby

The Cloister 

$636,406, Apt 304, one bedroom

$298,000, Apt 515, studio

Essex House

$920,000, Apt 1002, two bedroom

$695,000, Apt 105, two bedroom

Haddon Hall
$999,000, Apt 202C, two bedroom
$900,000, Apt 501C, two bedroom

Hardwicke Hall
$999,000, Apt 202C, two bedroom
$875,000, Apt 205B, two bedroom 

Hatfield House   
$359,000, Apt 1403A, studio
$339,000, Apt 1103A, studio

The Hermitage 
The Hermitage is a rental-only building. Recent monthly rentals:
$5,395, Apt 501, two bedroom

$2,495, Apt 406, studio

The Manor  

$1,100,000, Apt 814, tw0 bedroom

$675,000, Apt 1022, two bedroom

Prospect Tower, No. 45
$575,000, Apt 901, one bedroom
$519,000, Apt 1511, one bedroom

Tudor Gardens, No. 2
$690,000, Apt 6JN, one bedroom

$522,500, Apt 6FN, one bedroom

Tudor Tower, No. 25
$459,000, Apt 1512, one bedroom
$436,500, Apt 1519, one bedroom

Windsor Tower, No. 5
$665,000, Apt 1838, one bedroom
$450,000, Apt 805, one bedroom

Woodstock Tower

$399,000, Apt 1616, studio

$395,000, Apt 1508, studio

⸺⸺⸺⸺

The most expensive apartment for sale in Tudor City at the moment is this one bedroom unit in No. 2. It features two terraces if that is your thing, and the asking price is $995,000. See the full Douglas Elliman listing here. 

REAL ESTATE REPORT: What's Your Apartment Worth?

 Recent Tudor City sale prices via Streeteasy.

The Cloister 

$572,500, Apt 1008, one bedroom

$555,000, Apt 302, one bedroom

Essex House

$975,000, Apt 902, two bedroom

$585,000, Apt 608, one bedroom

Haddon Hall
$930,000, Apt 802C, two bedroom
$900,000, Apt 501C, two bedroom

Hardwicke Hall
$875,000, Apt 205B, two bedroom
$328,000, Apt 1303A, studio

Hatfield House   
$330,000, Apt 306A, studio
$329,000, Apt 903A, studio

The Hermitage 
The Hermitage is a rental-only building. Recent monthly rentals:
$5,895, Apt 505, three bedroom

$5,495, Apt 604, three bedroom

The Manor  

$1,250,000, Apt 808, three bedroom

$440,000, Apt 316, one bedroom

Prospect Tower, No. 45
$550,000, Apt 910, one bedroom
$495,000, Apt 1211, one bedroom

Tudor Gardens, No. 2
$1,100,000, Apt 8BS, tw0 bedroom

$660,000, Apt 5GN, one bedroom

Tudor Tower, No. 25
$482,500, Apt 1712, one bedroom
$465,000, Apt 505, one bedroom

Windsor Tower, No. 5
$3,200,000, Apt PH 4, two bedroom
$435,000, Apt 720, one bedroom

Woodstock Tower

$599,000, Apt 2418, one bedroom

$435,000, Apt 1810, one bedroom

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

Penthouse 4 in Windsor Tower has sold for its asking price, $3.2 million (see our coverage here) and the nearly-million dollar studio has not sold yet (see more here). Such is the nature of the real estate market these days. 

The biggest ask at the moment is Apartment 9HS in Tudor Gardens, a two-bedroom priced at $1.35 million. 

The dining room of Apt 9HS with windows facing south.

Brown Harris Stevens is handling the sale. More details, here.

Hotel Tudor's Balconies

Above, a slightly different view of Tudor City ‒ the Westgate New York (aka Hotel Tudor), The Woodstock, Essex House, No. 25, No. 5, No. 2, and the 3Hs. The picture is enhanced because it was photographed with a fish-eye lens. The following photos all came from the hotel's Instagram account, westgatenyc, and show a different point of view.

An early-morning commune with nature.

Using The Woodstock for dramatic effect.

Beauty and the Beast.

Wedding day. 

What is he thinking?