P. Lorillard Tobacco factory, 1927.

The recorded history of Yorkville begins in the 17th century when it was a tiny hamlet on the Boston Post Road, which ran northward from New York, which at the time only occupied the tip of Manhattan. It was long the province of farmers and wealthy landowners, including merchant Archibald Gracie, whose riverfront estate is now the official residence of New York’s mayor. In the 19th century, the area slowly began its transformation into the urban neighborhood we see today. Like most such transformations in New York, these changes were largely propelled by transportation improvements. In 1834, the New York & Harlem Railroad (later the New York Central) opened a station at 86th Street and Park Avenue, and in the 1850s, horsecar lines were completed along Second and Third Avenues. This opened the neighborhood to low-density residential development, a few remnants of which remain, including 412 East 85th Street. After two major economic depressions (in 1857 and 1873) and the Civil War, the area was finally primed for a major wave of construction in the late 1870s with the arrival of mass transit. The Third Avenue elevated train was completed in 1877-78, and the Second Avenue elevated in 1879-80. In a relatively short period, the Upper East Side was entirely built up, and the elevated trains segregated the area along ethnic and economic lines. West of Third Avenue, wealthy homeowners established the city’s most exclusive neighborhood, while east of Third Avenue became a thriving immigrant community (already known as Yorkville by the 1860s), which in many ways was a second-generation immigrant neighborhood—a place that recent arrivals aspired to live after filtering through the older, more congested downtown districts like the Lower East Side. Its housing stock was largely composed of tenements, but they were brand new and built after the Tenement Law of 1879 (the “Old Law”), so were subject to improvements. There were abundant employment opportunities, notably in the neighborhood’s breweries and at the Steinway piano factory in Queens, which was a short ferry ride away from the foot of East 92nd Street. The largest and perhaps most visible immigrant group in Yorkville was the Germans. Already an established presence in New York following a wave of immigration in the 1840s, they began moving uptown from their Lower East Side settlement, Kleindeutschland (Little Germany) to Yorkville, which by the turn of the century had become New York’s foremost German neighborhood. They brought with them many of their institutions, including churches and benevolent organizations, as well as cultural and commercial enterprises, such as beer halls and music societies. East 86th Street became the community’s main artery. Other groups had micro-neighborhoods in Yorkville, as well. Czechs began moving to the area in the 1880s and settled mostly between 71st and 75th Streets. Hungarians arrived around the turn of the 20th century on East 79th Street, though their institutions can be found throughout the neighborhood. Yorkville’s heyday as a distinct immigrant community was relatively short-lived. German immigration to New York peaked in 1882, and by the early 20th century, Yorkville’s Germans were already moving farther afield, using the recently built subway to access newer, more affordable neighborhoods in the outer boroughs. At the same time, anti-German sentiment during World War I led many Germans to downplay overt displays of national heritage. The Second Avenue and Third Avenue elevated trains were demolished in the 1940s and 1950s, respectively, removing one of the major boundaries between Yorkville and the rest of the Upper East Side. The neighborhood has seen its share of redevelopment since then, with large apartment buildings towering over the tenements. The recent opening of the Second Avenue subway re-established one of the area’s transit links, but may also put additional pressure on Yorkville’s surviving historic resources.

Bohemian National Hall ARCHITECT: William C. Frohne DATE: 1895-97 STYLE: Renaissance Revival Bohemian National Hall (Narodni Budova) is a rare survivor of the social halls built in the nineteenth century for New York City’s immigrant ethnic communities. Constructed in two phases in 1895 and 1897, it replaced an earlier National Hall on East 5th Street, which had served the Czech and Slovak population living in the Tompkins Square area of the Lower East Side. The five-story building was designed by William C. Frohne in the Renaissance Revival style. Richly ornamented, it is faced in buff Roman brick, stone, and terra cotta. Among its prominent features are a projecting entrance porch with paired granite columns and a two-story arcade with Ionic columns resting on lion’s-head bases.

View east from the southwest corner of First Avenue and East 70th Street, ca. 1935. The large tower of the Rockefeller Institute seen in the distance still stands east of York between 70th and 71st Streets. Today it is obscured from this view by the large Hemlsey Medical Tower.

New York Hospital under construction, 1940. The original New York Hospital was founded in 1771 by Edinburgh graduate Samuel Bard in lower Manhattan. The hospital moved a number of times in the ensuing centuries until it landed at its current location in 1932 (it had become affiliated with Cornell University a few years earlier in 1927).

Mount Vernon Hotel Museum ARCHITECT: Unknown DATE: 1799 STYLE: Federal The charm of this Federal style stone stable converted into a comfortable headquarters for the Colonial Dames is to be found in its superb masonry construction and its excellent proportions. The sharp profiles of the low pitched pedimented gable roofs cut a clean line that is both severe and pleasing to the eye. A smooth-faced stone belt-course separates the rock-faced masonry of the lower floor from that of the second story clearly defining the building’s perimeter.

Col. Smith House (also known as the Adams Mansion), 1924. This building was originally a carriage house on the estate of Colonel William S. Smith, aide-de-camp to Washington and husband of Abigail Adams, the daughter of President John Adams. The estate was known as "Smith's Folly." After his failure in business, about 1800, the buildings were brought by William T. Robinson and were said to have been completed by him. In 1826 the main house burned, and in 1830 the carriage house was bought by Jeremiah Towle, remaining in the possession of his family until 1906. It was later purchased by the Colonial Dames of America.

Schermerhorn Farmhouse ca. 1913 The Schermerhorn Farmhouse, built in 1747, was located on a peak overlooking the East River on the southern edge of the Schermerhorn Farm, which spanned from the East River to Third Avenue between 63rd and 68th Streets. The farmhouse was likely built by the Hardenbrook family, who owned the southern portion of the farm before it was purchased by Peter Schermerhorn. Tradition holds that the farm was once the country home of Governor George Clinton, who served as a member of Continental Congress, Governor of New York State, and Vice President of the United States for two terms under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. The Schermerhorn estate was purchased by John D. Rockefeller in 1903 as the site for the Rockefeller Institute of Medical Research. The farmhouse was demolished in 1914 and the site is now home to the Rockefeller University campus.

501-7 East 71st Street, at N.E. corner of York Avenue. In the foreground is the excavation for the Cornell Medical College-New York Hospital, July 31, 1930.

Allan Stillman, the founder of "T.G.I. Fridays" unknowingly created what would become one of the most beloved and hated eating establishments of its era. Stillman, a perfume salesman, put down $5,000 (plus an additional $5,000 he borrowed from his mom) to turn a divey boy's bar into a hoppin' singles hangout, velvet ropes and all. Read on to learn the history of T.G.I. Fridays.

My Archive Spring 2019 "On a sizzling Indian Summer afternoon on September, 1958, on a New York sidewalk, Eileen M. Scanlon, a June, 1958 graduate of Julia Richman High School, with her KODAX in hand seized the moment, for posterity, via a picture of her youngest sister, Francie (right) and best friend, outside of that very high school." —Francie Scanlon

New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center (now NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center), ca. 1931. The view is from Roosevelt Island, then known as Welfare Island.

Mount Vernon Hotel Museum and Garden, ca. 1939. Located on 61st Street between 1st and York Avenue, this plot was originally purchased by Colonel William S. Smith, a Revolutionary War veteran and politician. Smith found the property with his wife, Abigail Adams, the daughter of founding father and second U.S. President John Adams. The two bought the land with intentions to develop it into an estate called "Mount Vernon," named for George Washington's plantation in Virginia. The couple eventually sold the land, never beginning construction of their planned estate. Instead, William T. Robinson, who owned a house nearby, purchased the property to build a stone carriage house and stable. He continued to call the area "Mount Vernon." Unfortunately, Robinson's main estate was lost to a fire in the 1820s. In 1826, the former carriage house was converted into a hotel by Joseph Coleman Hart. Surrounded by rural lands, the stone house provided an easy getaway for Manhattanites looking to spend a day in the country. In an era with no public parks, the area provided New York City's elite with a place to roam free and participate in many activities, such as boating and hiking in proximity to the East River. Mount Vernon was more of a country club than a hotel, and many guests returned home to the city in the evenings by steamboat or stagecoach. The hotel closed in 1833, likely put out of business by nearby competitors. It was purchased by Jerimiah Towle and converted into a private residence for his family. As photographs indicate, by the early 20th century the Standard Light and Gas Company began building tanks in the vicinity of the property and eventually purchased the home in 1905. The building's ownership was eventually passed down to the Colonial Dames of America, a patriotic society, who converted the former hotel into their headquarters in 1924. Coinciding with the New York's World's Fair, the building was converted into the Abigail Adam Smith Museum, which was later renamed the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum and Garden to better reflect its history. The Colonial Dames of America still operate the Hotel Museum and Garden, which focuses on the history of New York City after the construction of the Erie Dam in 1925.

Third Avenue Railroad Company car barn, behind the tracks of the Third Avenue El at 65th Street, October 8, 1936. This imposing French Second Empire structure opened in 1861 and later expanded to cover the entire block between Second and Third Avenues, 65th and 66th Streets. The car barn served as a storage and transfer facility for Third Avenue streetcars and also included stables until horse-drawn streetcars were discontinued in 1899. In the early decades of the 20th century, elevated trains, subways and the increasing prevalence of automobiles combined to make the streetcars redundant. When the fleet switched to buses in the 1940s, that spelled the end for the car barn: in 1946, the dramatic Victorian building was sold to New York Life and demolished. The Manhattan House, a groundbreaking modern apartment building, was completed on the site in 1951.

The Memorial Hospital (now part of Memorial Sloan Kettering) moved to its new location following a donation of land and millions of dollars from John D. Rockefeller Jr. amongst others. Officially reopening in 1939, the Memorial Hospital was one of the city's leading cancer hospitals.

Col. Smith House (also known as the Adams Mansion), 1924. This Federal style structure was originally built as the carriage house for the large 23-acres estate of John Adams' daughter Abigail and her husband, William Stephens Smith. Despite grand plans and an idea to name the estate after George Washington's home, the Smiths were forced to sell the estate due to financial troubles. This building was completed in 1799 by the next owner, William T. Robinson, a well-to-do merchant. By the 1820s the building and its nearby structures and land were purchased and converted in the Mount Vernon Hotel, which was a day hotel catering to a rising middle class looking to escape the crowding and congestion of downtown. The hotel would only stay open for seven years. For the rest of the 19th and early 20th century it was a private residence. The building was sold to Standard Gas and Light Company in 1905. The Colonial Dames of New York purchased it in 1924 (the year this photo was taken) and turned it into a museum. It has continued in that capacity into the 21st century.

1314-1318-1322 York Avenue (Avenue A), at and adjoining northeast corner of 70th Street, 1928. No. 1314 (at corner) was built around 1905 on the site of the Davis Moulding Mill (1895). No. 1322 (at left) was built around 1895, as a cigar factory, and circa 1916 by the American Tobacco Company. These buildings were demolished soon after this photograph was taken in 1928. They were replaced by a building for the New York Hospital and Cornell Medical School, which included residences for nurses. Today that structure is called the Hemsley Medical Tower and is a residence for families of patients at New York -Presbyterian Hospital.

Court of the First Model Tenements in New York City, 1936 At the time of the 1879 Tenement House Act, which first regulated the City’s low-income housing, Mayor Edward Cooper invited a group of prominent businessmen to form the Improved Dwelling Association. The Association invested $300,000 in the first model tenement and by law was limited to a five percent return on its investment. Constructed in 1882, the tenement was laid out along the perimeter of First and Second Avenues and 71st and 72nd Streets, with an open courtyard in the center admitting light and air. Fifty years later, Abbott documented the courtyard, which had become a communal laundry line: ropes with pulleys led from apartments to five-story poles embedded in concrete. She later recalled that winter day: the laundry was frozen stiff, and the children were huddled together, too cold to move. In the 1960s, the tenement was replaced with a full-block, white brick apartment building.

Located between 65th and 66th streets between Second and Third avenues, Manhattan House (1947-51) occupied a full block in an area that was undergoing significant change as the elevated train tracks that had imprisoned that swath of the city was either recently demolished or scheduled for demolition. An old trolley barn, tenements, and assorted commercial buildings were so affordably priced that New York Life bought extra property in the surrounding blocks. The clean, crisp modernist design by architect Gordon Bunshaft, principal at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), which was associated with the firm Mayer & Whittlesey on the project, was an immediate success and attracted famous tenants such as Benny Goodman, Grace Kelly, and furniture designer Florence Knoll, as well as Bunshaft himself. The apartments were spacious, but the overall density was an impressive 478 pp/acre. Thanks to New York Life’s interest in long-term profits, the building was more “tower in a garden” than “tower in the park” and covered a higher percentage of land (59 percent) than the vast publicly subsidized projects that were its contemporaries. Manhattan House inspired its share of glazed brick imitators, but the truth about private investment in postwar New York was grim. With unrelenting middle-class flight, the demand for high-quality, higher-priced apartments in Manhattan remained comparatively weak. Density reduction, given these facts, made more sense to both private and public developers. Had density levels of Manhattan House been pursued across large areas of the city during the postwar years, it is likely that the city would already be accustomed to much greater density as is the case in crowded cities like Hong Kong. Instead, market failure in postwar New York was used to justify an aggressive strategy of subsidized low-density living.

My Archive Spring 2019 "A photo of my father in front of the building we lived in—242 East 72nd Street in Manhattan, taken by my brother for a class assignment." —Jill Melamed

Seen in this undated photograph, the First Hungarian (Magyar) Reformed Church at East 69th Street, has a distinguished history, architect, and design. Originally established on the Lower East Side in 1895, the congregation commissioned, in 1914, Hungarian-American architect Emery Roth to design their new church in Yorkville. Roth was born in Hungary and immigrated to the United States as a child. He opened a New York City office in 1895, and over the next forty years, he designed some of the most iconic apartment houses in New York City in a variety of styles. The First Hungarian Reformed Church was the architect’s only ecclesiastical building, and it displays a Hungarian vernacular style that incorporates Art Nouveau motifs. The structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 and as a New York City individual landmark in 2019.

Abigail Adams Smith House, 1935.

Public School 183, 1920. A C.B.J. Snyder school was constructed in 1902 and opened in 1903. The school has a long history of promoting science-based learning and has been nicknamed the "School of Discovery." Today the school remains P.S. 183 and is named after Robert Louis Stevenson, the Scottish novelist and travel writer.

Manhattan House ARCHITECT: Mayer & Whittlesey; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill DATE: 1947-51 Considered by many writers to be the first white brick apartment building, it was also notable for being one of the first multiple dwellings in New York City to attempt “an indoor-outdoor synthesis” through the integration of large windows and deep projecting balconies, as well as landscaped driveways and a block-long rear garden enclosed by a low granite wall. Manhattan House generated considerable media attention and in 1952 received an award from the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, which described it as “extremely attractive in appearance and beautiful in detailing.” Future New York Times and Wall Street Journal architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable also praised its design, commenting in 1960 that Manhattan House was “one of the best examples to date … notable for its clean architectural shape, as well as for its superior execution in a highly competitive, speculative, building field.”

Postwar, the private sector showed signs of renewed interest in high-density housing. The resurgence of the city’s service sector, as embodied in gleaming office towers of midtown, indicated a real estate vitality not seen in the city since the 1920s. Modernist apartment projects pointed the way to stylish, in-town living. Explore the entirety of the Skyscraper's Museum's Exhibit: Housing Density From Tenements to Towers.

Rockefeller University (formerly Institute), ca. 1980.

Originally founded in 1895 by Slovakian immigrants on the Lower East Side, the Church of St. John Nepomucene moved north to East 57th Street, before finally settling in Yorkville at First Avenue and 66th Street. Their current building, seen here in 1927 two years after it was completed, was designed in a Romanesque Revival Style by architect John van Pelt. The prominent tower, rose window, and brick and stone facade with intricate details stand out along the busy avenue to this day.

67th Street Branch, NYPL, July 26, 1930. Built in 1905 by Babb, Cook & Willard, the 67th Street Library has the Italian Renaissance Revival design of many of the Manhattan Carnegies. The most distinctive feature of the building is the unusual Art Nouveau transom window above doorway (seen at right).