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 #31
Subject: Riverview Café
Location: Looking East on 112th Street from Riverside Park
Year: 1903
Image Source: Museum of the City of New York
Clues: The faint outline of St John the Divine through the trees in the left center of the photo shows one of the four great arches on which the Gustavino dome would rest. This is probably the key clue for readers familiar with the decades-long construction of the UWS’s great cathedral church. For Morningside Heights specialists, there are also glimpses of two buildings that are still standing: the west face of The Maranamay at 611-617 West 112th Street—now mostly hidden by 404 Riverside Drive—and, through the magic of pronounced foreshortening, the cornice of 2880 Broadway—the building with Tom’s Restaurant on the ground floor.
The rest of the story: so many stories, so little space! The unassuming building in the center of our mystery photo was called the Riverview Café in 1903 when this photograph was included in a tribute album prepared for a dinner honoring Cyrus Clark, “father of the Upper West Side.” The structure’s four corner chimneys hint at its age, which is uncertain but probably dates to the 1830s. It had passed through the family of H.W.T. Mali, Belgian counsel and founder of a fabrics business that at one time was the country’s leading importer of felt for pool tables. By the turn of the 20th century, it was owned by Collis P. Huntington, one of the Big Four robber barons who founded the Central Pacific Railroad. Huntington was holding the property for appreciation and wasn’t too particular about who he leased the old house to. In 1903 that was Elizabeth Clemens, widow and proprietor of the Riverview Café, better known as “The Widow’s,” and remembered in a 1920s New Yorker article as a place that “young people … found convenient for cocktails and embraces” that naturally led to babies who could then play nearby “on the back campus and in the cathedral close.” When a young woman was found dying against a nearby bench in Riverside Park on Christmas Day 1904—perhaps the very bench in the foreground of our mystery photo—it was assumed she was a low-life patron of The Widow’s. The coroner found that her neck had been broken, which made it a murder story. The victim was identified as Mary Mangan, who worked in a boarding house in Harlem, but her killer was never found. Renamed the Hudson Terrace, the old house survived until the 1920s, when the property was finally developed as 390 and 395 Riverside Drive.
…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 in the Upper West Side Historal Photo Challenges 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.
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Broadway /Amsterdam and 72nd 🙂
Grey’s Papaya
Southeast corner of 72nd St. and Broadway. The Automat became the Citibank. The corner became Grey’s Papaya., still there today. The bar in the middle was a bar until fairly recently, perhaps 20 years ago. Not sure of the date, but perhaps the mid-50s based on the cars. My exact neighborhood since 1983.
The 72nd Street Automat closed at the end of the business day on September 17, 1967, after its lease expired [according to AI]. Cars were mid/late 1950’s to early 1960’s.
i think that car to the left of the 1957 (?) Dodge is from around 1962.
72nd and Broadway (2090?) where Gray’s Papaya is. Early to mid-1960s?
This is the south east corner of 72nd and Bway
Its now Gray’s Papaya and some of the cheapest hot dogs
The H&H automat to its left is now a Citi bank
Is it the corner of a 103-102nd street and Broadway on the uptown side?
There’s a billboard for the Ford Mustang toward the top right, which would indicate it’s probably 1964 or 1965. And what was the supermarket on the east side of Broadway between 71st and 72nd?
Key Foods
72nd and Amsterdam
Southeast corner of Broadway 72nd St. showing the Horn and Hardart’s Automat and the corner where Grey’s Papaya is now.,
Looks like 72nd and Amsterdaam, where Papaya place is today.
Grey’s and Sleepys! W.72nd Street and Amsterdam, southeast corner.
Ditto. Broadway and 72nd, SE corner, around 1957. Just don’t drive off in that Thunderbird(?) after a few “Four Roses” at that lounge.
It’s 1964, the Ford Mustang’s first year, at the busy southeast corner where Broadway, West 72nd Street and Amsterdam Avenue meet. Cards N’ Books, now Gray’s Papaya, dominates the high-traffic corner and the bar on West 72nd, still there, had a nice canopy. Thank you Rob Garber.
There’s an ad for a Ford Mustang Fastback above where Gray’s and the mattress store are today. That model didn’t arrive until 1965. So, the photo dates to ‘65 or later. The bar just east of Broadway was Donohue’s. Between Donohue’s, The Donegal Inn (now Malachy’s) near Columbus, and The Emerald Inn near West End, 72nd Street was full of Irish pubs. Ironically, they were great places to gather and drink and stay out of trouble in high school in the 80s.
That 72nd Street corner on Broadway. Where papaya king is now
Bway &W72. When i lived in the Ansonia, 1965-66, I frequently ate at the automat. pictured.
I think that Dance Studio on the 2nd floor is still For Rent.
SE corner of 72nd & Amsterdam. I recognized Westland Roe! but I can’t tell you the. year. I commuted to the city in 1976 to take voice lessons in the neighborhood but I don’t remember seeing an Automat on this corner.
West 72 and Broadway (Amsterdam), south east corner.
SE corner of 72nd and Broadway – Automat turned into Citibank: Gray’s Papaya emerged from the bookstore; Sleepy’s on second floor; bar has been a pizza place and bakery and probably a few other things I can’t recall, Based on the car fins I’d guess it’s the early-mid 1960’s
All Still Standing, Greys Papaya! Yum!
C. 1960.
This is the corner of Broadway and West 72nd Street in 1963-64. The Automat art deco building is there today as well as many others. The Cadillac and white Dodge Dart on the left provide the date.