INSTAGRAMMABLE

Once again, it's time to say thank you to all of the talented Instagrammers for all their hard work.

Chrysler Building gargoyles set against a backdrop of The Manor ‒ with The Cloister in the shadows ‒ by gettinviggy

"Rolling the dice in Tudor City" by hecticful      

"RIP Tudor City Greens" by thewigmusic        

"Lost in nothingness" by perceptionshot                   

        

  Manhattanhenge madness by chief770                       

Illustrations from "The French Plan"

 

Today's post deals with illustrations found in the book, The French Plan, and we have chosen some pictures that are rarely seen. The first depicts the North Park ‒ through the branches can be seen The Manor.  

The Tenth Unit is Essex House (that's The Woodstock rising behind it).

Haddon Hall, Hardwicke Hall and Hatfield House, the 3Hs, aka the Eighth Unit.

The Hermitage assumes Sixth Unit status.

The Eleventh Unit was never built, but was still being talked about in 1929 as an option. See our earlier post here.

Showing The Manor, No. 45 and No. 25. 

For more about the French Plan, see here.

THE INQUIRING FOTOGRAPHER Returns Yet Again

Once again, it's time for a trip down memory lane via a tribute to the Inquiring Fotographer, a question/answer/photo column published every day in the Daily News. 

April 9, 1952

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November 28, 1969

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June 6, 1973 

Past collections of the Inquiring Fotographer can be found here and here and here.   

More MISCELLANY

Another serving of items from times past and present.

First, there is this picture of the Tudor City neighborhood. The smokestacks of the ConEd plant were painted red, white and blue, how festive! 

     

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Made in in 1920s, this photo depicts the intersection of 42nd Street and 1st Avenue. Going north are three titans of meatpacking industry: New York Veal & Mutton, United Dressed Beef Company, and Wilson & Company. As for the building with the billboards, the main one advertises a Brake Specialist, while the others are indecipherable.   

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From the New York Times, March 24, 1927 [six months before opening].

The Tudor City businessman may commute for two months and still not travel as far as the average commuter does in a single day. For his commuting to the great midtown business district consists of a five-minute walk.

Tudor City has the dignity and repose of Park Avenue, but a more convenient ‒ quieter ‒ and with materially lower rentals.

Tudor City will be under the single management of the FRED F. FRENCH Companies, the guarantee of a most efficient service. . .

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Another item has turned up for the elusive Woodstock Tower Restaurant, this postcard of its interior.

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Finally, we have Missy Peregrym, one of the leads in the TV series FBI, photographed with the owner of the Tudor City Steakhouse, Mirso Lekic. 

Prospect Tower's MILLION DOLLAR listing

It has taken Prospect Tower nearly a century, but again there is a glimmer of hope: a sale price of over $1,000,000. This three-bedroom, three-bathroom unit ‒ on and off the market since 2021 ‒ is now available for $1,695,ooo.

  

 The northern-facing living room is so large. . .

. . . that it requires two photographs to capture its length.

It has a kitchen that's semi-concealed behind glass doors.

The master bedroom.

The smallest bedroom comes complete with two modern Murphy beds, as shown above. 

The floor plan.

Here is its Streeteasy listing.

The FORGOTTEN Restaurant in No. 5

Imagine our surprise when we were looking over some material from earlier posts, when we came upon this:

This photograph is apparently the only physical evidence that there once was a restaurant in No. 5, on the 1st Avenue side of the building.  

A close-up shows the words Wine & Cheese Restaurant on the northern wall, accompanied by painted flats over doorways. Here one finds a contented patron opposite tables and chairs. What's happening above the central window is pretty much anyone's guess.

The next pair features the silhouette of a lady opposite a vacant chair, beside what looks like a cash register opposite a vacant chair.   

This pair proved the further one got away from the entrance, the harder the image was to read. To the left, it appears to be the name of the place, Something Something Restaurant. On  the right, a lady drinks a cup of coffee, we think. . .

This last trio is indecipherable to us, alas.

We posted the photograph nine years ago as part of story of Helmsley-Spear's takeover of Tudor City. In the spring of 1970, they had three non-residences to rent out, one of which was near the restaurant space in No. 5.

    

Here it is pictured on the flyer from 1970. Anyone out there with any pictures or memories of this mythic spot, please let us know. We give bonus points for menus.

As for the earlier entire post, here it is.

Artifact: FRENCH MANAGEMENT Letter

Welcome back to the ongoing saga of Elizabeth McLoud and Apartment 1430 in No. 5. Since she was only taking the flat for seven months, there were a few basic items she needed. 

First, there is a letter from the management stating that some furnishings have been added to her apartment, with an addendum attached. 

The three items attached ‒ a coffee table and two lamps ‒ are charged at $1.50 per month. This is for an additional rental; apparently a similar charge was made earlier.

And thus Miss McLoud's story ends, living the rest of her life offstage.