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.

Instagrammed

Once again, we welcome our intrepid Instagrammers to the dance floor. Drum roll, please.

by westgatenyc                    

         by imveryvero                     

by riskegan                    

by victorianycphotography                           

by 4unda3hundo                      

HELLO and GOODBYE

We begin with a hello to Turken House that has finally opened its doors on the southeast corner of 41st Street. This was a project of the Turken Foundation, a nonprofit set up to help Turkish students find housing and scholarships, and will serve as their dormitory space while in New York. It took five years to complete.

The building looks exactly like its renderings, down to the jazzy facade along Second Avenue.    

Seen in a closer view, its lacy design also decorates the Turkish Embassy around the corner on 46th Street and First Avenue.

At the junction where Hatfield House and Turken House meet, the former is now under scaffolding. Oh well, someday. . .     

At the same time, it's lights out for the Field of Light, installed by the owner, Stefan Soloviev, to attract some good publicity for his plans for the three-block-long property along the river that has remained vacant for a very long time. His plans include a big ask, a gambling casino. Time will tell.

ARTIFACTS Again

Two artifacts from the past today ‒ a pair of souvenir snapshots courtesy of a guest of Hotel Tudor, and a teaspoon.  

The first photo depicts the interior of a room in the Hotel Tudor, which we can see is decorated in Early American style.  The most notable of items is the telephone, the old-fashioned candlestick model. To the right is the bathroom, stocked with bathroom accessories.

The other photograph is taken on 42nd Street outside the hotel. The signs advertise the HOTEL TUDOR, the TAILORING LAUNDRY / SAME DAY SERVICE, and a HOSIERY concern. While the back of the photo is dated 1950, the view suggests it's from the mid-to-late '40s ‒ the street has yet to undergo widening and flattening for the arrival of the UN.

‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒

 

The second artifact is a teaspoon, above. Despite its delicate design, it is very strongly made.

But we are more interested in the markings on the top, which prove to be Fred F. French's monogram, FFF. Read more about it here.

On the reverse side, TUDOR CITY.

"A VIGOROUS LIFE," Part Three

We conclude our exploration into the life of Fred French with a final series of photographs. 

Cordelia, Fred, and Leonard Thomas in Central Park, 1919. Thomas was a roommate of Fred's during his brief stay at Princeton. 

French and his secretary, Dorothy Driscoll, in a rowboat at Pawling, New York. Miss Driscoll was an excellent secretary who had become close with the family through such visits. 

In front of the Pawling estate (which Fred had built as his family's second home) stand Fred Jr., Miss Driscoll, Cordelia and John.

This photograph was made the day Knickerbocker Village broke ground, October 11, 1933. Along with the banner, another sign identified its builder, the Fred F. French Company. This would prove to be French's last completed project before he died.

Anatomy of a Photo

Once again, our Anatomy of a Photo series. This time out, we have a panoramic view looking north from about 39th Street and 3rd Avenue. It feels like the rooftop sun deck of a hotel.   

First we have No. 25 and No. 5, offset by shrubbery and patio furniture.  
 

The Woodstock and No. 45, along with the sign.

In the center of the photo, there's a sign advertising the Beaux-Arts apartments, the Queensborough Bridge, and the Hotel Tudor sign.

More patio furniture. The articles on the table appear to be magazines.

Finally, the Daily News building, just barely clearing the awning.

MISCELLANY

It's a new year and the perfect time to clear off the work desk and start anew. Here are some also-rans from the past year.

A friend recently sent this postcard and wondered if there was any connection to the hotel in Tudor City. In a word, nope. This Florida building is from 1939, and became part of the Art Deco Historic District of Miami Beach when it was formed in the 1970s. Today it's called the Dream Hotel South Beach, yet it still has the original Tudor Hotel sign in place.      

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

Looking down 42nd Street, around 1937. This photograph nicely frames The Woodstock, the building with the spire in the center.  

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

This picture is a collaboration of the Works Progress Administration and the New York City Tax Department to compile a photographic record of all the buildings of the five boroughs around 1940. We found it interesting that an Esso station used to be so close to home.

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

Finally, our annual report as to whether or not a building is undergoing exterior renovation.

Has Scaffolding

The Manor

No. 45

The Woodstock

The 3Hs

Essex House

Hotel Tudor

Scaffold-Free 

The Cloister

The Hermitage

No. 25

No. 5

No. 2

Happy New Year!