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-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 #37
Subject: Retail shops in The Manhasset apartment building
Location: West side of Broadway between West 108th and 109th Streets
Date: December 1946
Image Source: New York Transit Museum
Clues: We’re looking across a street, probably an avenue, with a center island. On the UWS, that means Broadway. A uniform series of retail shops in a large building, maybe large enough to fill a city block. Not the Apthorp. The Belnord has retail shops on Broadway but not this many small stores. The Ansonia stonework is more elaborate. Pseudo balconies above the second floor … it’s the Manhasset!
The rest of the story: This is one more thing we love about the Upper West Side—a diverse retail ecosystem, with national chains and local one-offs coexisting. And lots of dining options, of course. The Manhasset’s stores are a mini UWS.
The Manhasset’s story is well-known: a risky venture to build a luxury building in the West 100s in 1898, several years before the subway came this far uptown. The owner promptly went bankrupt, lost the building, and the new owner doubled down by investing in grand new entrances and three more floors that gave the building its distinctive extra-tall Mansard roof. And then a third major construction stage, in 1910, propping up a massive building right next to the new subway line to add a string of a dozen retail spaces that have been there ever since.
…and that’s the story behind the mystery 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 Historical 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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That is 135th Street and Riverside Drive, I believe.
765 Riverside in the top right corner.
I’m thinking the exit of the WSH by 72nd, and the docked boat is on what’s now the pier opposite Pier i. Don’t think the curved building is still there, but if I could find it on Google Maps, it would certainly confirm the right location!
155th Street & Riverside. That’s Trinity Cemetery. Hardly the Upper West Side, though.
Re Manhasset photos – had no idea Gristede’s goes back to 1963 (maybe earlier??). Is that the original storefront? I know that now Gristedes is now what my father would have called “overpriced and underprivileged” but in the 70’s and 80’s I appreciated it because, well it was just always there. If I needed some random grocery item (s) there alway seemed to be a Gristedes nearby. NYC institution and personally I appreciated them.
The cars indicate the late 1920’s, perhaps 1928-29, and the roadway is the West Side Highway with an exit I think is west 72nd St.
April 1933 – Riverside Drive and around 155th Street.