Gracie Towers, 1961. Completed in 1961 to the designs of architects Sylvan and Robert Bien, this 21-story Modern apartment building was advertised as a "Riviera on the River." Directly across from Gracie Mansion and Carl Schurz Park, the bright white glazed brick building featured balcony on nearly every floor that provided sweeping views across the river. Though unabashedly Modern, the architects embraced traditional features usually seen in older, classical style apartment buildings, including an entrance court with circular driveway, a grand double floor lobby, and an interior courtyard with formal gardens. Another selling point for the building was its swimming pool on the roof terrace (on the 22nd floor) and model apartments created by leading interior designers of the period. Yet even with all of these features, this structure was panned like so many Modern style buildings. William Knowlton Zinsser referred to it in his book, City Dwellers (1962) as, " a leviathan of ... dreariness."

Zion St. Marks, at 339 East 84th Street, was built in 1889 for The German Evangelical Church of Yorkville and designed by Michael J. Fitz Mahoney. The church, a stunning example of neo-Gothic architecture, has been a community space since the 19th century. When the Zion Evangelical Lutheran congregation moved into the building in 1892, it began offering German language mass, religious education, and social events. The congregation became a vital part of the Yorkville German community, and also provided a heaven for members of the Lower East Side’s St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, after that congregation was decimated by the 1904 General Slocum disaster when an excursion steamboat caught fire and sank during a chartered trip for the congregation. The two congregations merged in 1946 to create today’s Zion-St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. Just as the congregation proudly proclaimed its German heritage in the 19th century with an inscription in German on the facade, the church maintains that identity today, and continues to support Yorkville’s German community, with bi-lingual Mass in German and English, as well as with German language classes, and German film programs.

Founded by Maria Bowen Chapin, Miss Chapin's School for Girls and Kindergarten for Boys and Girls opened in 1901 at 12 West 47th Street with 78 students and 7 teachers. Eventually expanding and occupying a couple of buildings, the school moved to its current location in 1928. Delano and Aldrich, a New York architecture firm, designed and built the neoclassical building that the school still occupies at 100 East End Avenue. It was at this location that the school's name was changed to the Chapin School at Ms. Chapin's request.

German Delicatessen, ca. 1930. A German deli when pictured in 1930, this storefront was later the home of the Old Dutch Delicatessen, whose specialty was smoked eel. The building was razed sometime at the start of the 21st century and a new glassy structure completed in 2009.

Gracie Mansion in East River Park (now Carl Schurz Park), from East end Avenue below 86th Street, ca. 1900.

St. Stephen’s parish was founded in 1902 to serve the Hungarian immigrant population of the Lower East Side. With the upward migration of the Hungarian population to Yorkville, in 1928 the congregation constructed a new church, parochial school, community center, and adjoining rectory on 408 East 82nd Street. The Romanesque Revival-style building was designed by Hungarian architect Emil Szendy. The building’s inventive design combines the school and church into one structure. The church was an important and central place for the Hungarian community, and after World War II it became the center for actions directed against the Soviet Union’s occupation of Hungary. Today, the parish of St. Stephen’s has been relocated to St. Monica’s on East 79th Street, but the School is still active and popular for families in Yorkville.

Gracie Mansion, undated (1970-90). The Archibald Gracie Mansion was built between 1799 and 1801 on the site of a former Revolutionary War fort, overlooking Hell Gate and the East River from a promontory on Manhattan’s east side, then some five miles north of city development. Gracie, a Scottish-born merchant, entertained elite guests at his new country mansion, including John Quincy Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and the future King of France, Louis Philippe I. He sold the house in 1823, in order to ease financial pressures. In 1890, the estate and its grounds were incorporated into East River Park (renamed Carl Schurz Park in 1910), with the mansion initially put to use for park functions. From 1924 to 1932, Gracie Mansion was the first home of the Museum of the City of New York. After the Museum moved to its current home on Fifth Avenue, the mansion operated as an historic house museum. However, Robert Moses had different plans. In 1942, the Parks Commissioner designated Gracie Mansion the official residence of the mayor. Fiorello La Guardia was the first mayor to occupy the house. Sixty years later, the billionaire three-term mayor Michael Bloomberg elected not to take up residence at Gracie, allowing extensive restoration work to take place during his tenure.

Webster Branch, November 20, 1928. Constructed in 1906 to the designs of the architectural firm of Babb, Cook & Willard, the Webster Branch of the New York Public Library became an important community hub for the neighborhood's large Czech population. The library provided Czech newspapers and magazines, children’s story hours in Czech, a location for Bohemian Club meetings, and exhibition space for cultural displays.

"That Gracie Mansion, the official home to the Mayor of the City of New York, has survived this long can be credited to its being a shape-shifter. History knows Archibald Gracie more for his house than for him. He was hard-working, industrious, scrupulous, and successful until President Jefferson’s embargo in 1807. Thereafter, it was all downhill. To pay off his debts, Gracie sold the house in 1823 to Joseph Foulkes, who later sold it to Noah Wheaton whose family kept it until his death in 1896. The family sold it to the City of New York, and not knowing what to do with it, the City of New York allowed it to languish, but never to the point where it was beyond rescue. It served time, variously as an ice cream parlor, a public bathroom, and the Museum of the City of New York. In its rooms today are fine old Georgian furniture, paintings, carpets, and some cannonballs from the days when this site was a Revolutionary battlement..." Read this post in its original context here.

Greek Orthodox Church of St. John the Baptist, 1930. This church building, which according to the photographer's notes was once a synagogue, has had some major facade alteration since this image was taken. The circular windows have been made rectangular, the stairs now sit snug up against the building and flat roofline cornice has been removed.

Frame House at No. 412 East 85th Street, 1932. This still standing, three-story, Italianate style, wood-frame home was likely built in 1861 for a James R. Reed. It is a somewhat unlikely survivor. Only a few years after its construction, a law was passed banning the building of wood-frame structures below 86th Street. Similarly these wooden structures were often targeted for demolition and redevelopment in the late 19th century, being seen as fire hazards and detriments to neighborhood improvement and progress. In the 1890s the original single family house was converted into three apartments with a commercial ground floor space. From the first decade of the 20th century until the 1950s the ground floor was occupied by J. Herbst and Sons, a monument and gravestone business (samples of their products can be seen in this photograph). During the later part of the 20th century the house fell into disrepair, but in 1996 new owners restored its facade to closely resemble the earliest known look of the building.

412 EAST 85TH STREET HOUSE, MANHATTAN Address: 412 East 85th Street c. 1860 This Italianate style house stands as a reminder of Yorkville’s transition from farmland and country estates to a denser, residential character. The building appears to date to circa 1860, though it is possible that it was built earlier as an ancillary farm structure, moved to this location and renovated in the Italianate style, as this was a common practice. If it was, in fact, constructed circa 1860, it is one of the last frame buildings to be constructed before the city fire code outlawed wood frame construction south of 86th Street. The house has sustained some changes over the years, including conversion to apartments with a commercial ground floor, the removal of some of its details and the re-cladding of the façade. However, it has been cared for time and time again. In 1996, a major restoration was undertaken to simulate the building’s original appearance.

Doctor's Hospital, 1937. Founded in 1929, the Doctor's Hospital was a private medical facility that was known as a "fashionable treatment center for the well-to-do." (By the first few decades of the 20th century, hospitals were where everyone visited for medical treatment, and while New York City had plenty of public hospitals, this facility filled the need for those whose who did not wish to visit public wards.) The 14-story building opened in 1930 and had 264 private rooms, with an additional 32 hotel-like rooms for patient's families. The interiors were unsurprisingly lavish, as was the service (champagne with dinner delivered to your room on silver). And for much much of its history patients did not need to be ill to be admitted, they could simply need some time for rest. Famous folks treated here include Marilyn Monroe, Eugene O'Neil, Robert Moses (who came for "rest") and Huguette Clark. The reclusive heiress checked into Doctor's Hospital in 1991 at age 85 stayed the rest of her life (another 20 years). By the 1970s the hospital no longer only catered to the wealthy. In 1987 Beth Israel Medical Center purchased Doctor's. It closed in 2004 and was razed in 2005 (Huguette Clark was transferred in 2004 to another Beth Israel facility where she died seven years later at 104).

St. Joseph’s Church, the tallest building on the block in this 1934 photo, was built in 1884 by architect William Schinckel. The congregation was founded a decade before by Jesuit priests, seeking to serve the growing German population of Yorkville. The Romanesque Revival building at 420 East 87th Street still retains much of its architectural integrity, including the ornate rose window and distinctive copper-clad bell tower. Throughout its history, St. Joseph’s has been dedicated to fostering German culture and traditions. In 2008, German-born Pope Benedict XVI led a prayer service in St. Joseph’s during his visits to New York City.

Gracie Mansion ca. 1923 Built originally by Archibald Gracie, this house is beautifully situated on the East River. As the one-time home of the Museum of the City of New York, it was preserved for us; as the Mayor's house, it is well cared for today. It is probably the only one of the old country seats of Manhattan which remains a family dwelling.

St. Joseph's Roman Catholic, April 7, 1928. The origins of St. Joseph’s Parish date to the 1860s when a small German-speaking community of Catholic immigrants worshiped the chapel of an orphanage on the Upper East Side. In 1873 the community approached the Jesuits who ran the first church in the neighborhood (St. Lawrence O’Toole Church, now St. Ignatius Loyola) and requested a German-speaking priest. St. Joseph's was established that year and a new, modest, brick church was dedicated the following year. The German community, Yorkville, boomed over the next few decades. A school was established and the church passed from the jurisdiction of the Jesuits to the Archdiocese of New York. By the middle of the 1890s, the church building was deemed too small. William Schickel, a well-known architect and German immigrant, himself, was commissioned to design a larger space. Completed in 1895, the Romanesque Revival church included extensive stained glass windows and a new, modern organ. The bell tower was not completed until 1926 (seen here a few years later). The local German community grew even larger in the first decade of the 20th century, with German speakers leaving Kleindeutschland and moving to Yorkville. Though there is little trace of the once vibrant German population here today, the church continues to serve the local community from its 19th century home.

Rowhouses at East 87th Street and East End Avenue, ca. 1882. The corner building is No. 558 East 87th Street. This development of 32 Queen Anne houses, built between 1880-1882 by the Lamb & Rich firm and developer John Henderson, comprises the Henderson Place Historic District (so named for the one-block dead-end alley at the rear of the homes pictured).

Gracie Mansion has had a long and rich history since merchant and shipowner Archibald Gracie built it in 1799 as his country residence. Innumerable important figures have crossed its threshold in the years since, and it remains one of the oldest surviving Federal-style wood structures in Manhattan. This tour seeks to impart some of the illustrious history of the building that is now called the "People's House."

Henderson Place, 1927. Henderson Place was a grouping of 32 buildings constructed in 1881-1882 by developer John C. Henderson. These lovely Queen Anne style dwellings were built for “persons of moderate means.” Designed by the architectural firm of Lamb & Rich, the homes featured wide arched entryways, steep roofs, terra cotta details, and projecting bays windows. The eight homes on the west side of this quaint dead end street (seen here in the photo) were demolished by the time the enclave became a historic district in 1969. They have been replaced by a large residential tower. The homes on the east side of Henderson Place remain in excellent shape.

My Archive Summer 2019 “I took this picture in the late 1970s. I was fascinated by the woman leaning out the window and didn't notice the other person walking by until later when the roll of film was developed. It was a matter of luck. I was kicking through the neighborhood.” —Joe Raskin

St. Monica Roman Catholic Church, ca. 1905. Founded in 1879, St. Monica's was the fourth Catholic parish established on the Upper East Side. While the first services were conducted in a small second-story store space, the church moved into its first new church building in 1883. In 1906 the firm of Schickel & Ditmars, well known for their Catholic church architecture completed the current church. The Gothic Revival building opened for services on Thanksgiving Day.

Many houses of worship on the Upper East Side are devoted to a myriad of individual traditions, which contributed to our neighborhood’s multi-ethnic identity. The Church of the Holy Trinity, at 316 East 88th Street, is somewhat unique because it was not built to support just one of these traditions, but welcomed everyone. Holy Trinity was conceived as a “Settlement Church” by Serena Rhinelander, a member of the prominent Rhinelander family, which held vast land in Yorkville and was known for real estate and philanthropy in the neighborhood. Originally founded in midtown in 1864 as a Protestant Episcopal Church, Holy Trinity was designed as a community complex by the architectural firm Barney and Chapman. Their work on the Holy Trinity includes a French Gothic bell tower, which the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission calls an “outstanding example of the French Gothic spirit adapted to a late Nineteenth Century brick and terra-cotta religious structure,” and a French renaissance Parish house that has served as a community oasis since it opened in 1897. Then as now, the Parish House offers an auditorium, classrooms, and meeting rooms serving the needs of neighbors of all ages. Holy Trinity was designated a New York City landmark in 1966 (so one of the City’s first) and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979

East side of First Avenue between 87th and 88th Streets, Glaser's Bakery (at no. 1670) is the light colored building second from right), October 9, 1934.

Eberhardt's House of Vienna, date unknown. In the 1960s this spot at 320 East 79th Street was bar and restaurant called Eberhardt's House of Vienna. Then it became Ma Pomme, a French restaurant. By 1972, it was the Neopolitan Noodle which was the scene of a mistaken mob hit on August 11, 1972. Here is the story: To avenge the death of Joseph “Crazy Joe” Gallo, a member of the Colombo crime family, a hitman was hired to kill four men who had supposedly set up Gallo's murder. They were Colombo family acting boss "Little Allie" Persico and three mob lieutenants. (This was an intra-family crime wave.) The man arrived and sat at the bar, where his marks were supposed to be sitting as well. Instead, they had moved to a table, and the hitman mistook four kosher meat sellers for his targets. He pulled out two long-barreled pistols and began shooting. Two of the meat sellers died while the others were seriously injured. The gunman was never found. Today, the building that housed these restaurants as well the others that followed (Chez Z and Vienna ‘79) is the Albanian Consulate. Thanks to UA user Anne Raso for this tip about this spot's interesting history.

Residence of Lieutenant Abraham Quackenbush, ca. 1885. “The house was built in 1851 and demolished in 1890; Lieutenant Quackenbush's great-grandchildren are pictured in the photograph.”

10 Gracie Square ca. 1945 One of the most exclusive and prestigious addresses in New York 10 Gracie Square on 84th street and the east river overlooking Carl Schurz Park was designed by Pennington and Lewis in 1930. Vincent Astor the developer of Gracie Square wanted to create a new upper class residential district. Gloria Vanderbuilt, conductor Andre Kostelanetz, critic Alexander Woolcott, publishers John Fairchild and Horace Havemayer III were a few of the residents of the 42 large duplex apartments. The exterior is red brick except for the main façade in limestone with an "asymmetrical fenestration" pattern. The intriguing rooftop loggia made from square columns and chimneys sets it apart as the grandest and most desirable residence.

Carl Schurz Park, ca. 1936. This park consists of 13 acres, east of East End Ave., (left) to the East River and extending northward from Gracie Square (East 84th Street) to East 89th Street. The northern portion of this park was known as "Horn's Hook" and figured very prominently in the wars of the Revolution and 1812. This northern tip contains a spacious house, known as Gracie Mansion; built in 1813 by Archibald Gracie and later occupied by the Museum of the City of New York. The playground, walks, skating rink, landscape gardening, building improvements were all are the work of the W.P.A. Notice on the right the new Triboro Bridge (also a P.W.A. project) silhouetted against the curved span of the Hellgate.

The Church of St. Monica was founded in 1879 by the same pastor that had founded St. Joseph’s. St. Monica’s grew out of humble beginnings, with the mission to serve the expanding Irish Catholic population of the neighborhood. The current building at 413 East 79th Street, shown here at the year of its completion, 1905, was designed in a Gothic Revival style by the firm Schickel & Ditmars. Its facade on East 79th Street remains nearly unchanged since construction.