By Rob Garber for the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group
Welcome to another installment in the Rag’s Historical Photo Challenge. The image above was taken somewhere on the Upper West Side, sometime in the past. Can you figure out where, when, and what it shows? Look closely; this week’s challenge photo, like the others in the series, includes clues that will help you identify the scene, if you’re a dedicated UWS history sleuth. And even if you don’t recognize the picture—not to worry! Come back in two weeks and I’ll decode it, show you the clues that help identify it, and—best of all—tell you a story the image unlocks, because this column isn’t just a test of your neighborhood knowledge; it’s also a rolling celebration of the people, buildings and events that wove the tapestry of the Upper West Side.
Ready? If you think you know where and when the photo was taken and what it shows, post your answer as a comment on this column.
Solution to Historical Photo Challenge #30
Subject: Put Them in Order Challenge
Correct chronological order (photos below the answer key):
How’d you do? The biggest surprise among my test group was that the Miracle on the Hudson happened nearly 20 years ago.
…and that’s the story behind the image in the last challenge. Now scroll back to the top of the column and take on your next one, Sherlockians! If you’ve missed any pictures in this series, you can find the complete set on my author page. All photos used with permission.
About the author: Rob Garber has lived on the Upper West Side since the late 20th century and is a member of the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group. To learn more, visit their website at upperwestsidehistory.org. All photos in Upper West Side Historical Photo Challenge are used by permission.
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Roughly 112th Street looking towards the early construction phase of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Based on the early construction I’m guessing around 1892.
Riverside Drive 111th to 112th Street around 1915
RSD ? looking east at St John under construction
The photo is probably from the early 1900’s, near Riverside Park and before the advent of automobile, as the prominence did “Riverside Stables” suggests that horses were in abundance. LIkely that the Hudson River is behind the house and the stables. As to where along Riverside, i can only guess that it might be in the 80’s, 90’s and 100’s. Great photo!
I agree it’s probably near Riversaid Park, but I think the clue is at the left: the arch which I think was a loading crane for trains. But the only train depot I know of is at 69th Street. The house on the mound of earth reminds me of the Schwab mansion but this certainly is not it.
There is no historical record of a “Riverside Stables.” And the Riverside Sheds were on the Hudson River at ~West 12th Street. So we would have to be looking WEST. ??
West 110th Street looking North around 1900 with the unfinished Cathedral of St John the Devine faintly in the background.
112th Street and RSD. That could only be St. John The Devine under construction in the distance.
In which case it could be looking west from Morningside Ave or Drive.
Correction: DIVINE, not devine.
Bloomingdale Asylum near Columbia. You can see St John the Divine in the background.
Vey confusing photo, since the structure we can see dimly in the back on the left certainly does look like the beginnings of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, which began construction in the early 1890s.
But the Riverside Sheds were on the Hudson River at ~West 12th Street. Unless there were two.
So could the structure on the left be the beginnings of a different house of worship?
I’m stumped.
Photographers back is to the Hudson River so we’re looking East across what would become Riverside Drive. You can see a park bench on the right which would naturally be facing the river.
W 112th St & Riverside Drive, approximately 1902-1907, based on the state of construction of St John the Divine visible down the street. The Bromley Atlas for 1897 identifies the building on the Drive as St Christopher’s Home. I’d assume it was one of the numerous charitable establishments on the west side of upper Manhattan serving the needs of orphans, the elderly, and the indigent.
Riverview Hotel, on the corner of 112th and Riverside. Looking east across Riverside Drive with the cathedral being erected in the background. (c1905)
The photo dates from 1905 looking east up 112th Street towards an arching St. John the Divine in the distance from the lower roadway of Riverside Blvd.
This photograph features the historic Hamilton Grange National Memorial, the country home built for Founding Father Alexander Hamilton.
Hamilton Grange (Hamilton Heights, Manhattan)
hamilton grange about 143rd st.
This is looking East from the Hudson River.at 110th Street. Possibly 112th Street. I’m guessing that this was taken in 1899 or there abouts.
It is taken from Riverside Park facing east along 112th St. Clues: it shows the early split roadway of Riverside Drive and Park, and the low rise of what is now unofficially referred to as Tilden-Kossuth Island. The final giveaway: the Cathedral of St John the Devine under construction in the far distance, which dates it to the 1880s, shortly after the park first opened.