My Archive Spring 2019 "A photograph of my grandmother Martha Shallek Wallenstein, on some occasion, in front of a car across the street from the entrance to 250 Cabrini Boulevard. Perhaps she was about to enter the car behind her?" —Ellen Wallenstein

Paterno Castle, August 23, 1938. Charles Paterno was an Italian immigrant who earned a medical degree at Cornell in 1899. Despite this accomplishment, Paterno would never practice medicine. He and his brother took over their father's real estate business, upon his death, and continued to work in the development of modern apartment houses on the Upper West Side. They were well known for their luxurious buildings (including 440 Riverside Drive, an apartment house named for them). In the process of this work the brothers became very wealthy. In 1905 Charles purchased a 7.5 acre plot in what is called Hudson Heights today, overlooking the Hudson River. He hired John C. Watson to build him, well, a castle. By 1909 the German style castle was ready for occupants, though it was not fully completed. Residents and visitors of the castle were required to enter through an underground tunnel that ran under the front of the home into a subbasement. Though the overall style of the castle exterior was medieval, in the interior, each room reflected a different period or style. The building was not the only over-the-top feature. The roof garden included an aviary, solarium, and large conservatory. The grounds also had an Italian garden with colonnades, pergolas, and fountains. The house was called complete in 1916, but by the 1930s, Paterno had a new idea for his picturesque plot of land. As upper Manhattan boomed and real estate became much more valuable (in many ways due to his actions) Paterno said this to the New York Times in 1938, “the many improvements in that part of the city...had led to a strong residential movement in that area with a definite demand for the finer type of garden type apartments.” To advance this residential movement (and his bank account), Paterno had the castle demolished and in its place, the massive Castle View apartment houses were built. Today the castle's guest house, which sits at the north end of the plot of land, remains (and went on the market in 2010 for $3.9 million).

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Our Saviour's Atonement, 1930. Our Saviour's Atonement Lutheran Church was created from the merger of two smaller congregations: The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Atonement, and the Lutheran Church of Our Saviour. The building that is used by the church today was in fact constructed as the parish house. Constructed in 1928 just before the stock market crash, the planned Gothic style sanctuary was scrapped in the financial crisis. The parish house became the church building. In the 1970s, the structure was transformed into the Cornerstone Center, a multi-use facility that provided space for a video studio, dance and performance space, a kindergarten, and a church for the deaf.

My Archive Spring 2019 "A photograph of my brother (John S. Wallenstein) & myself on our tricycles, circa 1955, taken by my father, Herbert J. Wallenstein. Seems to be winter as I am bundled up." —Ellen Wallenstein

Did you know New York City encompasses the highest terrestrial point on the Atlantic Coastal Region? The city's unique geography, including great schists and terminal moraines left over from the last ice age, give each borough a unique high point. Take a look at the highest spots in New York City.

Hebrew Tabernacle of Washington Heights ca. 1994 The Hebrew Tabernacle of Washington Heights was founded in 1906; its first home was at 218 West 130th Street. The congregation relocated to 161st Street in 1923. In 1973, it relocated again, this time to a former Christian Science church at 185th Street and Fort Washington Avenue. The domed ceiling in the sanctuary remains from the building’s days as a Christian Science church. It has been updated with a Star of David to represent the congregation that now prays in that space. The ceiling is quite impressive, and it gives the sanctuary a very open feel. In the 1930s and 1940s, Washington Heights became the home to German Jewish refugees and Holocaust survivors. Many of them joined the Hebrew Tabernacle, swelling its congregation. German Jews continue to be the lifeblood of this Reform congregation today. In 2002, the Hebrew Tabernacle consolidated with Beth Am, the People’s Temple, and now offers various service styles to reflect its diverse congregation.

875 West 181st Street, November 18, 1936. This structure, the Stirling Towers, consists of several units; the main entrance being shown on the left. Appearing partially on the right is the Dunncraggan, No. 867, midway between the Drive and Northern Avenue.

This memorial commemorates the Battle of Fort Washington, which took place here on November 16th, 1776. The memorial was sponsored by James Gordon Bennett and the Empire State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution in 1901. The park, at which this memorial sits at the foot of, is named for James Gordon Bennett. Fort Washington was the last stronghold of the Continental Army in New York after British General William Howe gained control of Long Island earlier that fall. General George Washington ordered General Nathaniel Greene to defend this outpost - however, his army of 3,000 men was no match for the 8,000 British soldiers who took the fort from multiple sides. The fort was lost to the British at 3:00 PM, with over 600 lives lost. The fort was returned to American possession on November 25 of 1783.

Paterno Castle, with the George Washington Bridge in background, 1938. Charles Paterno was an Italian immigrant who earned a medical degree at Cornell in 1899. Despite this accomplishment, Paterno would never practice medicine. He and his brother took over their father's real estate business, upon his death, and continued to work in the development of modern apartment houses on the Upper West Side. They were well known for their luxurious buildings (including 440 Riverside Drive, an apartment house named for them). In the process of this work the brothers became very wealthy. In 1905 Charles purchased a 7.5 acre plot in what is called Hudson Heights today, overlooking the Hudson River. He hired John C. Watson to build him, well, a castle. By 1909 the German style castle was ready for occupants, though it was not fully completed. Residents and visitors of the castle were required to enter through an underground tunnel that ran under the front of the home into a subbasement. Though the overall style of the castle exterior was medieval, in the interior, each room reflected a different period or style. The building was not the only over-the-top feature. The roof garden included an aviary, solarium, and large conservatory. The grounds also had an Italian garden with colonnades, pergolas, and fountains. The house was called complete in 1916, but by the 1930s, Paterno had a new idea for his picturesque plot of land. As upper Manhattan boomed and real estate became much more valuable (in many ways due to his actions) Paterno said this to the New York Times in 1938, “the many improvements in that part of the city...had led to a strong residential movement in that area with a definite demand for the finer type of garden type apartments.” To advance this residential movement (and his bank account), Paterno had the castle demolished and in its place, the massive Castle View apartment houses were built. Today the castle's guest house, which sits at the north end of the plot of land, remains (and went on the market in 2010 for $3.9 million).

Survey photograph of 656 Ft. Washington Ave. for the construction of the IND Eighth Avenue Line. Shows a large frame house. Original photographic logbook notation reads: Camera at Sta. 1071/50, on west side of Fort Washington Avenue, looking east, showing frame building No. 656. 11:52 A.M.

514-522 Fort Washington Avenue, ca. 1922. This photograph perfectly captures a very specific time in the history of upper Manhattan. The large brick apartment building signals the new population and real estate boom that occurred in the first few decades of the 20th century, while the two modes of transportation seen at front (horse-drawn carriage and automobile delivery truck) denote a time period where both these vehicles were viable options.

As a museum, the Cloisters is unique in New York as its collection extends to include the architecture of the building that houses it. The second of the Metropolitan's museums, the structure is an ensemble of four cloisters and three chapels brought to New York from Europe. The collection is founded on American sculptor George Gray Barnard's personal holdings of medieval objects. Barnard had established a medieval art museum in Upper Manhattan, but constantly prone to financial mismanagement, he was forced to sell his preliminary medieval museum to John D. Rockefeller in 1925 to avoid bankruptcy. Rockefeller established the Cloisters as part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1938 on the newly purchased land of Fort Tryon Park. This story takes us through the history of the four cloisters that make up the museum.

Dr. Henry L. Hirscher, Dog & Cat Hospital, 1932. In 1939 a wealthy New York woman named Louise Baier passed away and left her former alley cat, Tommy, a trust fund of $5000. Dr. Henry Hirscher was the cat's veterinarian and was entrusted with his care. When the doctor requested a payment of $2 a day for the cat's housing and care, the executors of the estate refused and the case went to court. A judge ruled that the bequest to the cat was illegal. Dr. Hirscher, who had also been left a sum of money in the woman's will, decided to keep the cat despite it no longer having its own trust fund.