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 #33
Subject: Ginkgo planted to honor Ulysses S. Grant
Location: Behind Grant’s Tomb on Riverside Drive
Date: early 1900s
Image Source: Museum of the City of New York
Clues: Hudson River—check. Glimpse of the long-since-demolished Claremont Inn on the right—check. So, we’re looking north from about 120th Street and either Grant’s Tomb hasn’t been built or it’s out of sight just behind the camera. Why, this is the ginkgo tree with the plaque that we’ve all walked by—and indeed, it’s immediately behind Grant’s Tomb. It leaned a bit to the east when it was planted nearly 130 years ago, and it leaneth still. It’s just a couple of hundred steps from the Amiable Chlld memorial that some of you guessed.
The rest of the story: When Ulysses Grant left the presidency in 1877, he was in his mid-50s, vigorous, and perhaps the most famous living American. He and Julia Grant embarked on a 2½ year trip around the world, meeting heads of state and promoting peaceful solutions to conflict. In China, Grant met with Li Hongzhang, a prominent general and statesman, who asked Grant to intervene with Japan in a dispute over the Ryukyu Islands. Grant did so, in an early example of American influence in international affairs that predated by a quarter century Theodore Roosevelt’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning involvement in ending the Russo-Japanese War. Li Hongzhang remembered Grant’s gesture, and when Li visited the United States in August 1896, he paid his respects at Grant’s temporary tomb in Riverside Park. When Grant’s permanent tomb was completed less than a year later, Chinese minister Yang Yu planted a ginkgo tree behind the tomb with a bronze plaque dedicating the tree in Li Hongzhang’s name. The plaque and the tree are still there. According to a contemporary newspaper account, the ginkgo was transplanted by the Parks Department from Morningside Park. The tree next to the ginkgo is of interest as well: It is a “companion tree” in accordance with Chinese tradition. It is a Phellodendron, a species with medicinal properties commonly known as the Amur Cork Tree.
…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 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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I don’t know but what’s up with the ramp? Was Evel Knievel in town?
Columbus circle area 58th/59th CPW/BWY circa 1920s
Present-day Columbus Circle looking East, ca. 1918 (WWI “War Campaign” billboards)
Columbus Circle looking almost straight crosstown to the east as seen from where the Deutsche Bank Center is now. Gainsborough Studios is the big giveaway.
I have an old photo of Columbus Circle oriented the same way, but from a higher vantage point taken in the 1920’s. Bought it from the Essex House Hotel when it was being refurbished in the early 1990’s.
This is Columbus Circle, looking east, circa 1922
Columbus Circle
9th Avenue el at W 110th St
Above: 155 and Broadway?
S/E Corner of Columbus Circle around 1933
Columbus Circle looking East toward Central Park South , date? 1920s?
Columbus Circle, looking east. On the far right was a building that was home to the Evening Journal. The trolley car tracks in foreground are probably the Broadway line, the stretch of trees on the left is Central Park South.
Columbus Circle c. 1920
Looks like Columbus Circle (though what’s with the ramp????)
Picture #34 is Columbus Circle at 59Th St with a piece of Central Park and the building housing the Gainsborough Studios on Central Park South
Seems like every storefront sells cars? Was Columbus Circle like the “car district” of its day?
240 West 59th Street
#34 looks to me like Columbus Circle facing south. Central Park and Central Park South off to the left. Eighth Ave in the foreground, right, with trolley tracks. Broadway in the middle with the Mercer Cars sign.
I meant facing East!
Columbus Circle and Broadway, a bit of Central Park visible at left
Columbus Circle SE corner, now 240 CPS. Gainsborough Studios is still there, with its enormous windows offering spectacular views of Central Park.
Circa 1915-1920 judging from the cars. The area was then the city’s automobile center, as can be seen from all the auto-related businesses.
Interesting to see the window of the NY Evening-Journal, a Hearst paper that later became the Journal-American. My favorite paper as a kid because it was the only one that had color comics not only on Sunday but also on Saturday.
Thank you for the background info on the Ginko’s connection to international relations-you never know the meaning behind things right in front of you.
This one is Columbus Circle-early car era so maybe the teens.