This is the third in a series inspired by The New York Public Library's Digital Collection's The World's Loose Leaf Album of Apartment Houses. Printed in 1910, this album was a reference guide used by developers and real estate agents to promote apartment buildings to future tenants.
Ever wonder how buildings get their names? There are the obvious reasons...named after the owners, the street address, famous people, heroes, etc. But why the name Hendrik Hudson? This name is the Dutch version of Henry Hudson, the English explorer who surveyed the northeastern United States. Note that his namesake, the Hudson River is a few steps away from this building. The unusual spelling, in all probability, was inspired by Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle.
Some background on the story of Rip Van Winkle. It begins with a breakout. Trying to escape his wife, Van Winkle climbs high up in the Catskills Mountains only to make an amazing discovery. The famed explorer Hendrik Hudson is struggling to carry a heavy keg! Of course, Van Winkle offers to help and is invited to join Hudson and his Half-Moon crew for a drink. After one too many ales, Rip Van Winkle becomes drowsy. He falls asleep, only awakening many years later. The now older, Van Winkle discovers that the ghost of Hendrik Hudson returns to haunt the Catskills every twenty years and he just happened to stumble upon Hudson and his crew. To Van Winkle's fortune or misfortune, he slept away two decades but he also missed the horrors of the Revolutionary War. The allegory of Van Winkle is that life goes on, and change is inevitable.
Unknown Present day Hendrik Hudson Apartments
It's a great story and a great name for this Hudson River View apartment building. Although there is no solid evidence to support the Rip Van Winkle theory, it's easy to make that assumption. What can be known for sure is that the Hendrik Hudson Apartments has experienced its own Rip Van Winkle-like sleep. A derelict and aging building that would arise many decades later.
The history of the Hendrik Hudson Apartments is a fascinating study of the city's changing taste, the shifting owners, and the effect of government laws. The Hendrik Hudson, in its one hundred years, has changed from posh rental apartments to down-on-its-luck slum to well-heeled co-op. It was originally conceived as a residence hotel although these plans never came to fruition. Instead, the architectural firm of Rouse & Sloan was commissioned to design and construct a nine-story building with 72 spacious apartment units in the early 1900s. The structure spanned the whole block including two massive towers with lovely Spanish tiled roofs.
Andrew Alpern, author of Luxury Apartment Houses of Manhattan: An Illustrated History wrote this about the Hendrik Hudson Apartments, "Ambitious as the facade was, the 7- to 9-room apartments were also innovative. Walnut paneling, wood-beamed ceilings, mahogany doors with glass knobs, and the latest designs in porcelain bathroom fittings were all used to attract tenants. Also offered was a billiard parlor, a cafe, a barber shop, and a ladies' hairdressing salon—all for the exclusive use of the building’s occupants and guests. Rents ranged from $1500 to $3000 per year." ^
The building was one of the first to have two separate entrances for each apartment. One was the formal entrance for the family and guests. The other entrance was for the servants to use and for deliveries. What was novel about this was the servant's entrance was hidden away, far from the family's private quarters.^
tSo, it is no wonder when the building opened in 1907 that New Yorkers were clamoring to live in this Tuscan-styled fortress. It's ideal location, close to the Hudson River, a new subway stop, parks, and even Columbia University, added to the allure.** Because of the Hendrik Hudson Apartments' fantastic success, a year later, a twelve-story addition was constructed. Again, using the same architects, Rouse and Sloan, they built a structure that paralleled the original. Although not much information can be found on the Addition, it can be assumed that it was also successful. Currently, this building is part of Barnard College residence halls with a mix of students and tenants.
New York Public Library Digital Collection - Notice the similarities between the two buildings.
For the next three decades, the Hendrik Hudson Apartments thrived. Not even the Great Depression could diminish its fortunes. However, in the early 1940s, the neighborhood began to decline. In 1942, the Emergency Priced Control Act was created to help control the inflation of rent in the U.S.'s booming wartime economy. New York City enforced the freezing of rents, causing landlords to carve out more living space to make up for lost profit. Hendrik Hudson's large apartments were divided and subdivided. This eventually caused overcrowding and poor living conditions. Some of the apartments became SRO or single occupancy rooms much like a hotel. It could also be said that the "SRO" stood for standing room only, due to these apartments' ridiculously minuscule size. At the Hendrik Hudson lowest point, The New York Times went so far as to call the building a "slum with a view".
The late 1950s were not kind to the Hendrik Hudson Apartments. Rat infestations, unlivable conditions, and general decay led the courts to sentence the landlords to a sizable fine and thirty days in jail. Nevertheless, this did not improve the quality of life of the tenants. A year later, a young child was found crushed to death by an elevator in the building.**** Due to public outcry, the building was finally sold, and renovations began to eliminate the SRO apartments. Unfortunately, part of this renovation removed much of the building's distinctive facade. The roofs of the towers and their beautiful Spanish tiles were torn down. Later in 1971, further renovations caused one of the towers to be removed.
Slider Photographs: Brown Harris Steven Realty Lobby and Apartment Photographs
New York Public Library Digital Collection
Happily, change was on the horizon. In the early 1970s, the Hendrik Hudson Apartment would become a housing cooperative. The tenants now owned the building and would restore it to its former glory. As Rip Van Winkle had awoken after decades so did the Hendrik Hudson, arising refreshed and renewed. One final note, when the building went co-op in the early 1970s, a three-bedroom apartment was being sold for twenty thousand dollars. Today, those same apartments are now worth millions!!
What to know more? Here is a good place to start:
Andrew Alpern, Luxury Apartment Houses of Manhattan: An Illustrated History
Reference:
^Andrew Alpern, Luxury Apartment Houses of Manhattan: An Illustrated History
Photographs:
Top photograph New York Public Library Digital Collection