William Muschenheim Residence, 1911 This house was the one-time residence of William Muschenheim, semi-known architect of the early to mid-20th century. He did not build the house himself--its style is considerably different from his own. Muschenheim was one of the first American modernist architects, drawing inspiration from European styles of design and utilizing color theory in the creation of his buildings. Some of his most notable achievements were the bath houses he designed on Long Island in the 1930s. The buildings were constructed from lead and asbestos. (This was, of course, before the health risks of such materials were widely known.) Muschenheim also designed buildings to hold the collection from the Guggenheim Museum in 1939 and 1947. Later in his life, from 1950 through 1972, Muschenheim taught architecture and design at the University of Michigan.

Henry Hudson Monument, May 25, 1937. A monument without its honoree! Pictured here in 1937 this tall pedestal had been without a statue for two and a half decades. During the Hudson-Fulton Celebration of 1909 (commemorating the 300th anniversary of Hudson's arrival and the centennial of Fulton's steamboat) a plan was developed to honor Hudson with a memorial. Land was donated, funds were amassed, architects Babb, Cook and Welch designed a 100-foot-high Doric column, and sculptor Karl Bitter began to model his statue of Hudson. The column was erected in 1912 but the project stalled in 1915 with low funds and the death of Bitter. In 1935, Parks Commissioner Robert Moses revived the monument plans as part of his Henry Hudson Bridge and Park project. Karl H. Gruppe, one of Bitter's students, created the statue which was finally placed on top of the 25-year-old column and dedicated in January of 1938.