From The New York Times, August 25, 1991, Section 10, Page 5:
THERE must be some golden proportion for urban squares. The size and landscaping of some seem to be in absolute harmony with their surroundings, while others divide rather than unify.
Take Mount Moris Park, between 100th and 120th Streets, running from Madison Avenue to a line just west of Fifth Avenue. The western edge of the square is still largely residential, but the eastern edge is now down to two lone rowhouses as North General Hospital expands, eliminating what had been a solid block of century-old brownstones.
The park, opened in the 1860’s, is dominated by a central mass of rock rising perhaps 75 feet and topped with a fire lookout tower erected in 1856. Perhaps because it was so large, or perhaps because of the tower, the rock was never removed. Development came not long after the improvement of the Park Avenue railroad line and the erection of the Third Avenue Elevated, both in the 1870’s.
In 1881, the Real Estate Chronicle said “Madison Avenue in the immediate vicinity of mt. Morris Park is destined to be the place par excellence for elegant residents such as are needed by those people who, though of a refined home and pleasant surroundings, detest the hubbub and noise in other portions of the island.”
Thomas Treacy, an East Harlem builder, acquired the east side of Madison Avenue facing the park between 122d and 123d Streets and in 1882 completed a row of 10 houses there. The northern five were designed by Charles Romeyn, the southern five by Charles Baxter, but they were similar enough to be mistaken for a uniform row from a single hand.
Each house had a three-sided bay window running up the facade, a high stoop and carved panels of slightly varying design. The row was numbered 1883 to 1901 Madison Avenue and the side street elevations of the corner houses were rendered in deep red brick, a rich contrast with the chocolate-colored brownstone facing.
The earliest residents were fairly prosperous. No. 1891 was occupied by the family of Charles L. Dimon Jr., president of the Boston, New York and Southern Steamship Company. Some of the new residents already lived in Harlem, among them William Hannam. He had a flooring business on Union Square and he moved to 1883 Madison Avenue from an older brownstone at 54 East 124th Street.
By 1900, the Mount Morris Park area was almost completely built up with brownstones, a few churches and a few apartment houses. But because of the rock formation the residents on the east side were cut off, at least visually, from those on the west side. What the residents on the east side could see, though, was the giant new iron viaduct of the railroad up Park Avenue, right behind them, which was elevated in the mid-1890’s. It cast a pall over the nearby streets.
In 1906, the Hospital for Joint Diseases was established in a brownstone at 1919 Madison Avenue. By 1924 a hospital complex covered the blockfront between 123d and 124th.
In 1938, Father Divine, the religious leader, bought 1887 to 1889 Madison Avenue as his organization’s retreat. Gradually the residential character of the east side of Mount Morris Park began to disintegrate, but the west side remained fairly intact. In the 50’s, a public school was built on Madison Avenue between 120th and 121st Streets.
In 1971, the Landmarks Preservation Commission included the buildings on the west side in a Mount Morris Park Historic District, noting “the survival of a substantially unbroken row of handsome residences . . . is in itself rare in Manhattan.” The 122d-to-123d-Street rowhouses on Madison Avenue were still intact, all with their original stoops.
IN 1979, North General Hospital took over the buildings of the Hospital for Joint Diseases; it is just finishing a new hospital building on the Madison Avenue blockfront between 121st and 122d Streets. It is also assembling the 122d-to-123d-Street block for a low- and middle-income co-op housing project. Demolition of the brownstones there began in the mid-1980’s.
Now there are only two brownstones of the original 10, Nos. 1883 and 1887. No. 1887 is owned by the hospital, but 1883, at the 122d Street corner, is owned by Beula Brown. An attempt to reach her by telephone failed, but Reinaldo Higgins, a spokesman for the hospital, says that it is negotiating with the owner.
The residents on the west side of the square are nervous about institutional expansion in their neighborhood. According to Jeffrey Roualt, a neighborhood resident and counsel to the 500-member Mount Morris Park Community Association, the group has met with the landmarks agency to press for designation of the unprotected edges of the square.
But it is hard to imagine that the last two vestiges of the Victorian era on the east side of Mount Morris Park will remain standing much longer.
Below is a map showing how many brownstones once lined the east side of Marcus Garvey Park, with the Hospital for Joint Diseases between 123/124.
The view of 1883 Madison Ave, today:
Opportunities from the Manhattan DA
The Manhattan DA’s office is excited to announce that as of January 30th, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has begun accepting applications for the 2023 High School Summer Internship Program. The application is currently open to current sophomores, juniors, and seniors, who live or go to school in Manhattan. The deadline for applying is March 1st at 5 pm. This rigorous internship provides an insider’s view of the criminal justice system. Participants have the opportunity to engage in workshops and discussions about the role of the District Attorney, civic engagement, leadership, and more.
For more information about eligibility and application requirements, visit: https://www.manhattanda.org/careers/internship-opportunities/high-school-internship/.
If you have any additional questions, you can email [email protected] or call Imani Doumbia, Education Coordinator, at 917- 808-6421.
Marco Perez Jr.
East Harlem Community Engagement Coordinator
O: (212) 335-9679 | M: (347) 302-2765
