Tom Miller
@daytonian.bsky.social
Author and blogger, I write about the back-stories of Manhattan buildings and monuments that make a fascinating city even more so.
Designed by Buchman & Fox, the Darlington Hotel near Penn Sta had a sketchy history through much of the 20th c. The upper floors are apts today, and the ground floor has been the Molly Wee Pub for 46 yrs.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
The 1903 Hotel Darlington - 402 Eighth Avenue
photograph by Anthony Bellov In 1902, the northern edge of Manhattan's Chelsea district was just seeing the influx of industry. That year...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
January 10, 2026 at 11:28 AM
Designed by Buchman & Fox, the Darlington Hotel near Penn Sta had a sketchy history through much of the 20th c. The upper floors are apts today, and the ground floor has been the Molly Wee Pub for 46 yrs.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
In 1943 fledgling cook James Beard moved into an apt in this, at the time, highly altered Greenwich Village rowhouse. By the time he left in 1957, he was renowned. A startling restoration completed in 1992 returned it to its 1860 appearance.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
January 9, 2026 at 11:21 AM
In 1943 fledgling cook James Beard moved into an apt in this, at the time, highly altered Greenwich Village rowhouse. By the time he left in 1957, he was renowned. A startling restoration completed in 1992 returned it to its 1860 appearance.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
Starting in 1858, this Anglo-Italianate house was home to poet, orator and journalist Wm. Cullen Bryant and son-in-law Parke Goodwin and daughter Fanny. It holds 3 apts today.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
The 1854 Antonio di Alfaro House - 206 East 16th Street
Robert Voorhies purchased eight lots on the south side of East 16th Street, just steps from elegant Stuyvesant Square in January 1852 for ...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
January 8, 2026 at 11:37 AM
Starting in 1858, this Anglo-Italianate house was home to poet, orator and journalist Wm. Cullen Bryant and son-in-law Parke Goodwin and daughter Fanny. It holds 3 apts today.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
Originally an 1866 high-stooped brownstone, 23 Beekman Pl was home to famed actress Katharine Cornell and director Guthrie McClintic at mid-century. Architect Rudolph transformed it to a famed Modernist work and an individual NYC landmark.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
The Paul Rudolph House - 23 Beekman Place
The two-block long Beekman Place was opened in 1860. Running from 49th to 51st Street, it sat on land that had formerly been the Beekman ...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
January 7, 2026 at 11:20 AM
Originally an 1866 high-stooped brownstone, 23 Beekman Pl was home to famed actress Katharine Cornell and director Guthrie McClintic at mid-century. Architect Rudolph transformed it to a famed Modernist work and an individual NYC landmark.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
Designed by Thos. Graham in 1898, this Upper West Side mansion was acquired by the Japanese Methodist Church in 1921. It was home to Japanese men until 1967 when the Bloomingdale School of Music moved in.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
The Jacob Scheer House - 323 West 108th Street
London-born Thomas Graham was both builder and architect. In 1898, he took his 25-year-old son, William Van Wyck Graham, as his partner in ...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
January 6, 2026 at 10:53 AM
Designed by Thos. Graham in 1898, this Upper West Side mansion was acquired by the Japanese Methodist Church in 1921. It was home to Japanese men until 1967 when the Bloomingdale School of Music moved in.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
As theatrical lighting changed from limelight to electric, in 1920, Rialto Electric Stage Lighting moved into this vintage Hell's Kitchen bldg. It was razed in 1962.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
The Lost Stephen N. Simonson Building - 304 West 52nd Street
In 1941, a welding shop occupied the ground floor. Next door to the right was the Palm Garden Theatre. via the NYC Dept of Records & Inf...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:51 AM
As theatrical lighting changed from limelight to electric, in 1920, Rialto Electric Stage Lighting moved into this vintage Hell's Kitchen bldg. It was razed in 1962.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
Only 12.5 feet wide, 127 E 15th was home to the family of Thos. Davis and his artificial eyeball business for more than half a century. It holds 3 apts today.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
January 3, 2026 at 11:22 AM
Only 12.5 feet wide, 127 E 15th was home to the family of Thos. Davis and his artificial eyeball business for more than half a century. It holds 3 apts today.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
With his Tiffany & Co. proving successful, Charles L. Tiffany moved his family into this newly-built East Village house in 1854. It is a single family home today.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
The Charles Lewis Tiffany House - 125 East 10th Street
Identical to its next door neighbor, 125 East 10th Street is on the right. Robert Carnley, who lived at 191 Tenth Street, erected two hous...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
January 2, 2026 at 11:11 AM
With his Tiffany & Co. proving successful, Charles L. Tiffany moved his family into this newly-built East Village house in 1854. It is a single family home today.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
The owner of this ca. 1855 Kips Bay house in 1879 was Dr. Robert Heinmuller, an inspector of contagious diseases. He died at the age of 29. Today there are 4 apts in the bldg.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
The Andrew W. Bogert House - 222 East 32nd Street
image via douglaselliman.com In the 17th century, the farm of Dutch settler Jacobus Hendrickson de Kype stretched northward along the East...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
January 1, 2026 at 10:45 AM
The owner of this ca. 1855 Kips Bay house in 1879 was Dr. Robert Heinmuller, an inspector of contagious diseases. He died at the age of 29. Today there are 4 apts in the bldg.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
This Anglo-Italianate house in Kips Bay was home to photographer and film maker Ralph Steiner beginning in the 1960s.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
The Edgar and Sarah Lasak House - 244 East 32nd Street
photograph by Anthony Bellov In the 1850s New York City had expanded northward into the Kips Bay district. Around 1855, a trio of Anglo-Ita...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
December 31, 2025 at 11:20 AM
This Anglo-Italianate house in Kips Bay was home to photographer and film maker Ralph Steiner beginning in the 1960s.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
Designed by Janes & Leo, this Upper West Side mansion was converted to apts in 1940. Living here in the early 2000s was actress Betty Buckley.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
The 1900 Albert Goldman Mansion - 305 West 105th Street
In 1899, real estate developer Hamilton W. Weed broke ground for four upscale residences on the north side of West 105th street between Ri...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
December 30, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Designed by Janes & Leo, this Upper West Side mansion was converted to apts in 1940. Living here in the early 2000s was actress Betty Buckley.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
Working under what newspapers called a "curse," 28 of America's most esteemed sculptors created the Dewey Triumphal Arch. It was demolished the following year.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
The Lost Dewey Triumphal Arch - Fifth Avenue and 24th Street
from the program of The Dewey Reception in New York City, 1899 (copyright expired) Commodore George Dewey's fleet was anchored near Hong K...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
December 29, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Working under what newspapers called a "curse," 28 of America's most esteemed sculptors created the Dewey Triumphal Arch. It was demolished the following year.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
Greatly altered today, this ca 1830 LES bldg was the home and barber shop of John Roesch for decades. Today apts fill the upper floors above a diner.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
The John M. Roesch House - 247 East Houston Street
Mary Ellison Lacour occupied the recently-built two-and-a-half story house at 247 East Houston Street in 1834. She was the widow of Peter...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
December 27, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Greatly altered today, this ca 1830 LES bldg was the home and barber shop of John Roesch for decades. Today apts fill the upper floors above a diner.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
Designed by Frederick C. Zobel, this Rose Hill building became the NYS Optometric Center in the 1970s and early '80s. It is residential today.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
The 1907 Camera Building -- 122-124 East 25th Street
On April 27, 1907, the Brunswick Realty Co. acquired the two vintage, three-story houses at 122 and 124 East 25th Street and hired archite...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
December 26, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Designed by Frederick C. Zobel, this Rose Hill building became the NYS Optometric Center in the 1970s and early '80s. It is residential today.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
This Greenwich Village flat building was threatened by Robert Moses's 8-lane Lower Manhattan Expressway. Happily that never happened.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/fran...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/fran...
Francis A. Minuth's 1889 19 Bedford Street
Cast iron piers on each side of the ground floor are all that remain of the 19th century storefront. When Bedford Street was laid out in 1...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
December 25, 2025 at 9:46 AM
This Greenwich Village flat building was threatened by Robert Moses's 8-lane Lower Manhattan Expressway. Happily that never happened.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/fran...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/fran...
Designed by James M. Farnsworth, this flat building sat within the East Village's art center at mid-century, home to artist Raymond P. Spillenger and the important March Gallery.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/jame...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/jame...
James M. Farnworth's 1886 95 East 10th Street
photo by Ted Leather During the trial over purported damages to properties caused by the New York Elevated Railroad Company's erection of ...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
December 24, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Designed by James M. Farnsworth, this flat building sat within the East Village's art center at mid-century, home to artist Raymond P. Spillenger and the important March Gallery.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/jame...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/jame...
Erected in 1872, this Italianate rowhouse would be commonplace anywhere else in the city, but is surprising on the Upper West Side. Living here at mid-century was pioneering Black ballet dancer Janet Collins.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
The Edwin and Carolyn Islee House - 49 West 92nd Street
photograph by Anthony Bellov Sidney C. Genin was among the first of the developers to recognize the potential of what was called the West ...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
December 23, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Erected in 1872, this Italianate rowhouse would be commonplace anywhere else in the city, but is surprising on the Upper West Side. Living here at mid-century was pioneering Black ballet dancer Janet Collins.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
Designed by Jacob W. Mould, the Church of the Holy Trinity stood on its Midtown site only 8 yrs.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
The Lost Church of the Holy Trinity - Madison Avenue and 42nd Street
from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York A succinct announcement in the New-York Daily Tribune on August 20, 1864 read, ...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
December 22, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Designed by Jacob W. Mould, the Church of the Holy Trinity stood on its Midtown site only 8 yrs.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
Long the home of the Laird family and its fish and oyster stop, this 6th av bldg. was recently renovated. The Wine Gallery has been here since the 1970s.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
The James L. Laird House - 576 Sixth Avenue
The windows originally wore molded lintels. Around 1851, a brownstone-faced four-story house-and-store was erected at 252 Sixth Avenue, ju...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
December 20, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Long the home of the Laird family and its fish and oyster stop, this 6th av bldg. was recently renovated. The Wine Gallery has been here since the 1970s.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
Greatly altered and covered with stucco, this 208-yr-old wooden building is among the oldest in Greenwich Village.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
The 1817 385 Bleecker Street
image via loopnet.com In 1815, retired clothing merchant Aaron Henry purchased a large tract of land in Greenwich Village. The recently b...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
December 19, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Greatly altered and covered with stucco, this 208-yr-old wooden building is among the oldest in Greenwich Village.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
Designed by Walter M. Mason, the Springs Bldg, known as the The Exchange today, has an extraordinary history of crime and one murder.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
The 1926 Springs Building - 15 West 47th Street
Even before Eli Baxter Springs arrived in New York City from the Deep South, he had had a fascinating life and career. He was born at his...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
December 18, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Designed by Walter M. Mason, the Springs Bldg, known as the The Exchange today, has an extraordinary history of crime and one murder.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
Erected on land rented from Hamilton Fish, tenants in this East Village house have included an opera singer, an actress, and a one-legged pedophile. It is a 2-family home today.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/d-j-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/d-j-...
D. & J. Jardine's 1867 110 East 10th Street
photograph by the author U.S. Senator Hamilton Fish inherited land from the estate of his mother, Elizabeth Stuyvesant Fish. On May 1, 18...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
December 17, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Erected on land rented from Hamilton Fish, tenants in this East Village house have included an opera singer, an actress, and a one-legged pedophile. It is a 2-family home today.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/d-j-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/d-j-...
The scene of a sensational murder in 1923, this Thom & Wilson-designed rowhouse was converted to apts in 1954. Among its tenants beginning in 1958 was singer Billie Holliday.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
December 16, 2025 at 11:15 AM
The scene of a sensational murder in 1923, this Thom & Wilson-designed rowhouse was converted to apts in 1954. Among its tenants beginning in 1958 was singer Billie Holliday.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
Built in 1821 and faced in marble, the Washington Institute was situated on 13th St, north of the city. In 1845 the school moved to Murray Hill and this bldg was razed.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
The Lost Washington Institute - 13th Street and Third Avenue
The district around the facility was decidedly rural. In the background is the city's new reservoir. Views in New-York and its Environs...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
December 15, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Built in 1821 and faced in marble, the Washington Institute was situated on 13th St, north of the city. In 1845 the school moved to Murray Hill and this bldg was razed.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
Erected in the mid-1850s, this Kips Bay rowhouse straddles Greek Revival and Italianate styles, and was owned by just 2 families in the 19th c. A 4th floor was added in 2007.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
The Nehemiah Cohn House - 250 East 33rd Street
photo by Anthony Bellov Around 1855, a long row of brick-faced homes was erected on the south side of East 33rd Street between Second and ...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com
December 13, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Erected in the mid-1850s, this Kips Bay rowhouse straddles Greek Revival and Italianate styles, and was owned by just 2 families in the 19th c. A 4th floor was added in 2007.
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...