COOPER UNION and THE COOPER-HEWITT DYNASTY (c) By Polly Guerin

The Cooper-Hewitt Dynasty with some account of COOPER UNION (Essay written by Polly Guerin for the Gotham History Blotter)


Cooper-Hewitt Dynasty is the quintessential story of wealth and philanthropy, family and community, politics and integrity, which could have only unfolded in New York.

Peter Cooper

It is a compact introduction to the patriarch, Peter Cooper, a masterful inventor, industrialist and philanthropist affectionately referred to as “The First Citizen of Old New York,” with biographical sketches of his son-in-law Abram Stevens Hewitt, who served as Mayor of the City of New York. Cooper’s greatest achievement, as the founder of his free college, Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science & Art, allowed students from all walks of life to study science and art, where he had always planned to have a museum for the benefit of the students and inquiring public. Peter Cooper was the grandfather of the Hewitt sisters, Amy, Eleanor and Sarah, truly remarkable women, ahead of their time, who were instrumental in creating what became the Smithsonian, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.

This is a remarkable story of rags to riches. Peter Cooper, born in 1791 in his father, John Cooper’s combination house and hatter’s shop on Little Dock Street in lower Manhattan, wrote in his memoire, “My father followed the trade of a hatter and I remember being utilized in this business when my head was barely above the table.” Peter Cooper’s childhood was one of toil and disadvantages came early in life. He once remarked, “I have never had any time to get an education and all that I know I had to pick up as I went along.”

Cooper had a natural talent for invention and worked in various trades. After a period of modest prosperity he met a young commonsense woman, Sarah Bedell, of Huguenot ancestry and they were married in 1813. The couple had six children but infant mortality being what it was in those days, only two survived. Edward and Sarah Amelia, who would become the wife of the future mayor of New York, Abram Stevens Hewitt, the second patriarch in this saga.

Peter gained financial success by the manufacturing of glue and his ironworks. His friend John Vreeland said to him one day, “Why don’t you buy that glue factory? It has been mismanaged but you are the man to make it a success.” So he bought the property in the village of Kips Bay in Manhattan. He improved methods of production and bettered foreign imports, and this is how he made his first million. Later he engaged in numerous iron ventures including the purchase of Ringwood, New Jersey, one of the most celebrated iron ore properties in the East, which was sold at a sheriff’s sale in 1854 for $100,000.

Peter Cooper became one of New York’s prominent millionaires, yet he still saw himself as a master craftsman, “A Mechanic of New York.” However, education was paramount on Cooper’s agenda. With the fortune Cooper had amassed from his glue business, ironworks, his patent inventions and his real estate holdings Cooper invested his money in The Cooper Union, commonly called at that time, Cooper Institute. It would be the crowning glory of his life. The cornerstone was laid in 1854.He erected an imposing six-story Italianate building between Third and Fourth Avenue at Astor Place. To support the floors and make the building fireproof the rolled structural iron beams were produced at the Cooper Hewitt & Company ironworks. These iron beams would make possible the building of future skyscrapers.

Cooper Union

Cooper Union was the first free institute to provide adult education in the fields of engineering, architecture and science for young men and women who qualified regardless of race, religion, sex or social status. It is acknowledged that although Cooper Union was Peter Cooper’s vision, it was Abram Hewitt’s brain that made it possible because he oversaw the construction of the building and served as Cooper Union’s president for over forty years.

Cooper was the first rich man to preach year after year that wealth is a trust, carrying paramount duties and obligations. In his lifetime his philosophy influenced other wealthy men to take up the gauntlet of philanthropy to establish libraries, schools and hospitals.

Abram Stevens Hewitt, the second patriarch in this saga, married Peter Cooper’s daughter Amelia and entered the Cooper family circle as his son-in-law. Like Peter Cooper, Hewitt was an astute businessman, politician, ironmaster and philanthropist. In addition, during his career he served as a one- time Mayor of the City of New York from 1887-1888. Abram Stevens Hewitt was born in 1822 in Haverstraw, New York spending summers working on the farm and his winters attending school in New York. The hardships endured in his early life did not deter his determination to succeed and gifted with high intelligence later in life Abram won two scholarships for four year’s tuition to Kings College, now Columbia University.


Abram Stevens Hewitt

To earn his keep and garner spending money Abram began teaching math and a tutoring service and he was hired to tutor Peter Cooper’s son Edward, who had fallen behind in his studies, due to illness. A friendship developed between Edward and Abram and upon graduation the two students decided to travel to Europe. However, upon their return to New York severe gales broke on every side of the ship and it was abandoned leaving the two young men in a broken down boat lingering in the icy waters. However, they were miraculously rescued, and afterwards Abram was warmly welcomed into the Cooper circle and Peter Cooer began to recognize Hewitt as a second son.



With their combined intelligence and business savvy Edward and Abram formed Cooper Hewitt & Company, which forged a strong alliance in the iron business. It would become the fifth largest corporation in the United States.

As for Hewitt’s political career he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and served in Congress for five years and was elected mayor of New York. As mayor he sought to end the corruption brought about by the Tammany administration. He called in the heads of the police department and demanded, “Gentlemen, we need to clean up New York and I am ordering you to close the houses and places of ill fame.” The Chief of Police assured that this would be done and remarked to the other officers when they left, “Don’t mind him; those orders are just window dressing for the public.”

When nothing had been done, Hewitt ordered the Chief of Police and officers to his home at 9 Lexington Ave. and waved a packet of incriminating documents before the assembled men and demanded, “Why has my order not been followed? I have enough evidence here to send you all to Sing Sing.”

Realizing the gravity of the situation, the Chief of Police said, “We’ll do it Mayor Hewitt, but if we put your orders into effect, your political career would be at an end.” So that is how a great sweep across New York City cleaned up its act but Hewitt only served one term as Mayor.

However, Hewitt concentrated on major Municipal improvements in the city and is recognized as the father of the New York subway system as he is best known for planning and investing his own money to finance its construction.

Hewitt was a frequent visitor at the Cooper household and by this time Cooper’s daughter Amelia had blossomed into a handsome young woman and Abram became the prime suitor. They were married in 1855 in a modest ceremony at the Cooper home at 9 Lexington Ave. Amelia and Abram had six children, three boys Edward Ringwood, Peter Cooper Jr., and Erskine Hewitt who would all be involved in invention and philanthropy. Daughters Amy, Sarah and Eleanor centered their interest in the decorative arts.


In retirement years Hewitt never left public office and was a member of the executive committee of the Carnegie Institution. Carnegie himself claimed that the former mayor was “America’s foremost private citizen,” and remembered his integrity as Hewitt had declined to be a director of the U.S. Steel Corporation unless it made full disclosure of its losses to the public. A year later, at a gathering of distinguished men, Mr. Morgan came over to Abram Hewitt, put his arm around Hewitt’s shoulder and said. “I want all these gentlemen to know that without your advice and insistence on making complete accounts of the Steel Company public, I do not believe that the firm of J.P. Morgan and Company would exist today.”

Long before he died, Hewitt wrote, “I hope to be judged, and that it might be said, that as a statesman I labored. You will find that when you reach my age that if you have lived up to your best judgment that is about all that a man can hope to do.”

The Cooper-Hewitt Dynasty brings us full circle to three Hewitt Sisters: Sarah Cooper Hewitt, Eleanor Garnier Hewitt and Amy Hewitt, founders of the Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration which was founded in 1897 on the 4th floor of the Cooper Union, Peter Cooper’s free college.

The trustees of the Cooper Union had at first denied the sisters’ request for museum space, but acquiesced when they remembered that Peter Cooper had intended a museum in Cooper Union, but had died in 1883 before he could realize his museum plan.

Amy, Eleanor and Sarah Hewitt

The sisters’ interest in the decorative arts began at an early age. They were brought up in the Victorian era in a world of privilege and opportunity with the influence of two important men in their lives, Peter Cooper and their father Abram Stevens Hewitt. Both men planted visions of a museum in their fertile imaginations and they understood the growing importance of materials and technology in an increasingly industrial era.

Unlike other young girls, who might spend their pocket money on trinkets and amusements, Sarah and Eleanor, when teenagers, made their first purchase of a rare textile collection. The precocious young girls’ collecting ambition attracted the attention of Cooper and Hewitt’s influential friends and the greatest inspiration for their museum was the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. The directors, perhaps secretly amused at the youth and inexperience of the sisters, were nonetheless generous with their advice and time.

The sisters also stirred up interest in their museum and supporters emerged to endorse the museum’s purpose. Eleanor Garnier Hewitt recalled, “The museum was open at night to accommodate workers who were employed by day and there were to be no tedious restrictions and formalities. Anyone who stopped at the general Office of Cooper Union and asked for a card of admission was welcome.”

The Hewitt family was not exempt from making contributions. Mrs. Hewitt suffered the most, and as she looked around her devastated house, would often say, ‘I wonder where that is?” pointing to an empty space or exclaim when visiting the museum, “Didn’t I once have something like that?

One day at a men’s dinner, J.Pierpont Morgan, aware of the Hewitt sisters’ museum, in his usual abrupt and impulsive way said to their father, “What are your daughters interested in?” Mr. Hewitt spontaneously replied, “They are negotiating for the unique Badia textile collection in Barcelona.”

Morgan, a man of large gestures, was on his way to Europe and later telegraphed the following message, “Have purchased the Badia collection and do this to give your daughters pleasure.” With this purchase the Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration jumped to the rank of London’s South Kensington Museum in the quality of its textiles.

The sisters’ life work represents the best in philanthropy and a profound devotion to their museum. When Sarah died, a New York Times editorial reported, “A Lady of the Old School, she belonged to ‘the 400,’ but she was not under the restraint of its social precedents. She and her sister made their own; they had also made a modern museum.”

The legacy of the Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration is forever written in the fabric of the history of the Cooper-Hewitt Dynasty. The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution is still imbued with the spirit of the Cooper and Hewitt families, and is the repository of one of the great design collections in the western world.

Bibliography:

Guerin, Polly. The Cooper-Hewitt Dynasty of New York. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2012.
Hewitt, Edward Ringwood. Ringwood Manor: The Home of the Hewitts. Trenton, NJ: Trenton Printing Company, 1946.
—–. Those Were the Days: Tales of a Long Life. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1943.
Lewis, Alfred Allan. Ladies and Not-So-Gentle Women. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc., 2000.
Nevins, Allan. Abram S. Hewitt with Some Account of Peter Cooper. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1935. Reprint, New York: Octagon Books, 1967.

Polly Guérin is a former adjunct professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and the author of four college textbooks and two video productions. Her features on the decorative arts, antiques, collectibles and design have appeared in Art & Antiques magazine. She also writes on fashion and Art Deco and is currently the author of five Blogs including pollytalkfromnewyork. Ms. Guérin counts among her professional memberships—and is a board member of—the Art Deco Society of New York (ADSNY), the American Revolutionary Round Table (ARRT) and the Giulio Gari Foundation. She is also a member of the Victorian Society, Metro Chapter and the Society of the Silurians, Inc., an organization of New York City journalists.

THE CITY QUILTER IS QUITE A YARN TO TELL (c) By Polly Guerin

You’re doing what? Quilting you say! Why my dear, isn’t that one of those fuddy-duddy crafts that your grandmother did in those old fashioned days of yore? On the contrary, there is something quite modern about the resurgence of women, and some men for that matter, taking up quilting in this modern age. Why do they do it? Perhaps it is something crafty that sophisticated New Yorkers find appealing to soothe their frazzled computer nerves, or just to create something beautiful that they can finally hold in their hands and admire their achievement. A wide span of people from all age ranges seem to be attracted to the craft of quilting including young designers to senior citizens, tourists and shoppers who are exploring this all-American craft and calling it their own today.

AND THEN THERE IS THE CITY QUILTER There is another reason the craze for quilting is getting its due recognition and that is The City Quilter, located in Manhattan’s Chelsea district at 133 W. 25th Street, between sixth and seventh avenues, which also has as a neighbor the prestigious fashion college, The Fashion Institute of Technology, where as professor in the Fashion Merchandising Department, I taught for many years. A destination for quilters, students, theater and costume designers and fabric lovers from around the world, the more than 4,000 bolts of cotton fabric it stocks are not just granny prints, but some are even contemporary works of art, sophisticated, contemporary and even exotic. The store also offers hand-dyed cottons, wool, wool felt, flannels and silks.

UNIQUE NEW YORK EDITIONS New York related fabrics, patterns and kits are a special focus and the City Collection includes Olde New York, NYC Subway, Times Square and Susy’s New York to name a few. The place is spilling over with color not only in the racks of textiles but in threads, ribbons and accessories to accommodate the quilter’s craft. In addition there is a large collection of books, sewing notions and gifts and more than 150 different quilting classes offered throughout the year, from one-day seminars on silk ribbon embroidery to multi session instruction on quilting technique. It also helps that the City Quilter sells patterns and supplies for making all kinds of non-quilt items, including handbags and toys.

THE CITY QUILTER ALSO INVITES YOU TO VISIT THEIR ART QUILT GALLERY, THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN NEW YORK CITY AND MEET THE OWNERS CATHY IZZO AND HER HUSBAND DALE RIEHL. 212.807.0390.

HOUSE OF THE REDEEMER, A Rare Find

Edith Fabbri was an inspired woman with noble purpose to maintain her home from its early days as an elegant private town house residence to become the House of the Redeemer. The name sounds rather ecclesiastical, and indeed it is, as it once was operated by the Sisters of St Mary from 1949 to 1980, but has since become a venue for programs, concerts and retreats but remains faithful as possible to Mrs. Fabbri’s vision.

A RARE RETREAT Strolling in the Carnegie Section of Manhattan you might take a walk past 7 East 95th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenue and quite easily pass one of the very special hidden treasures in New York City, THE HOUSE OF THE REDEEMER. I realize that that is an austere sounding name for the building but it all came about by the largess of Edith Shepard Fabbri, great granddaughter of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, and her husband Ernesto Fabbri. Mrs. Fabbri was indeed a woman of strong religious values and in 1949, inspired by a sermon preached by The Right Reverend Austin Pardue on the necessity of silence and prayer in the spiritual life, Edith Fabbri, founded the House of the Redeemer.

A PLACE APART The House makes one feel like they have stepped into a Renaissance Palace in Italy. Not surprising, as the first time visitor will see that The House of the Redeemer’s interior decoration, executed by Egisto Fabbri, Ernesto Fabbri’s brother, incorporated the Fabbri’s collection of Italian Renaissance and Baroque furnishings and architectural elements into his designs.When a new corporation was formed to receive the gift of Mrs. Fabbri’s house, it was to be used for the use of retreats and to be a “place apart,” which incidentally is an excellent book by the same , written by Percy Preston, Jr., which tells the story of the fabled house.
THE LIBRARY Of special interest for me is the Library, a treasure built in 2400's for the Ducal palace in Urbino, Italy, which houses rare books of ancient origin, plus a monumntal fireplacde, exquisite paneling, a balustrade gallery, and a secret gallery. However, other rooms are magnificent venues of remarkable museum-quality interiors and furnishings. The House of the Redeemer is a rare living testimony to the Fabbri’s historical heritage. It was designated a New York City landmark in 1974.

House events open to the public include concerts, retreats, seminars, book discussions, benefit dinners and parties, Bible study and meditation groups, and rental space is available for a variety of venues including cocktail receptions, meetings and weddings. Tours can be had by appointment. Phone: 212.289.0399

STRAD FOR LUNCH, the W.M.P. CONCERT HALL (c) By Polly Guerin

Strolling by 31 East 28th Street in the heart of the Flatiron district of New York City one could easily mistake the storefront with violin display as merely a merchant shop but this is no ordinary location it is the new home of the Gil Morgenstern “Reflection Series” that combines solo and chamber music with visual art, poetry and prose from around the world. W.M.P., the Workshop for Musical Performances, is a rare opportunity to engage yourself in the cultural aspects of the city and perhaps enlarge your appreciation of the classics.

STRAD FOR LUNCH Every Wednesday at 12:30PM, W.M.P. offers a 45 minute to one hour chamber music concert with a suggested donation of $l0. This concert series invites you to enjoy your lunch break by attending one of these memorable performances, under the artistic director, Annabelle Avenger. Each performance offers a high quality music performed on a violin made by Antonio Stradivari. The chamber music series is committed to fostering creativity and talent with new and exciting works by rekindling and classics and showcasing rising and seasoned music performers. Musicians who have played at W.M.P. are too numerous to list here, but have included Bela Horvath, Anne-Sophie Mutter, André Previn ,The Grand Air Trio and Julia Bruskin.

THE W.M.P. CONCERT HALL You are in for a treat. The W.M.P Concert Hall is a bijou, a jewel of a place that stands out as a luxurious professional music performance venue. You will feel like you are in a private salon of a bygone era. The elegant 19th Century French decorated hall features a brand new Bosendorfer concert grand piano, velvet curtains, and gold framed mirrors and glistening Parisian chandeliers and red silk upholstered chairs. As you settle into the luxurious surroundings you may find yourself being enchanted and delighted by the performers playing on beautiful-sounding instruments in this gorgeous hall, which is also available for rent at a musician friendly fee.

WHEN I ATTENDED A CONCERT RECENTLY TWO YOUNG AND BRILLIANT MUSICIANS-- LIV HEYM, VIOLIN and IEVA JOKUBAVICIUTE, PIANO-- PERFORMED SELECTIONS BY BEETHOVEN, BACH AND BRAHMS TO RAVE APPLAUSE AND APPRECIATION. IF YOU WISH TO ENGAGE YOUR CULTURAL SENSES IN ONE OF NEW YORK CITY’S MOST WONDERFUL HIDDEN MUSICALTREASURES, CALL 212.582.7536 FOR AN UPCOMING SCHEDULE.

McSorley's Old Ale House,160 years old in 2014

For the record, everyone just calls this historic old ale house, McSorley’s and ladies if you haven’t belled up to the bar that’s because it was one of the last of the “Men Only” pubs, which only admitted women after legally being forced to do so in 1970. Located at 15 East 7th Street in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan this famous iconic saloon is the oldest Irish tavern in New York City. As it inches its way up to 2014 the saloon will celebrate 160 years in business. With that long standing record McSorley’s leaves a trail of memories that are forever etched into the romantic legends of the city.

McSorley's Bar 1912 by John French Sloan

FAMOUS PATRONS Doors opened at this historic saloon in 1854 and men and women have been eager patrons to sit in the lap of historical reverie. There have been regulars, so to speak, who frequented McSorley’s---writers, poets, politicians, actors and hangers on for the ale and the conviviality. Peter Cooper founder of his free college, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, was a patron as Cooper Union was located nearby. Among notable patrons that McSorley’s claims as a visitor, Abraham Lincoln may have also stopped by for a bit of draft, perhaps after his famous speech at the Great Hall of Cooper Union that propelled him from an unknown western lawyer into the leading Republican contender. Even Boss Tweed of the infamous Tammany administration made it his stomping ground. Teddy Roosevelt of Rough Rider fame must have left his mark on the place as it just suited his personality.

THE INTELLIGENTSIA Literary figures like Brendan Behan, LeRoi Jones, Michal Bock, Gilbert Sorrentino and Paul Blackburn have been cited as regulars. In his 1923 poem, “I was sitting in mcsorley’s,” poet E.E. Cummings described McSorley’s as “the ale which never lets you grow old.” He also described the bar as “snug and evil.” The aged artwork and artifacts, newspaper articles covering the walls, sawdust floors and the Irish waiters and bartenders give McSorley’s an atmosphere that would be reminiscent of what “Olde New York,” may have looked like. It appears as if not piece of memorabilia has been removed from the walls and there are many items of historical paraphernalia in the bar including what is alleged to be Houdini’s handcuffs.

McSORLEY’S DAY IN NEW YORK If any place could be significantly associated with St. Patrick’s Day it surely is McSorley’s and that association came to full circle several years ago. In recognition of its 150 anniversary , his Honor, Mayor Bloomberg in a proclamation, which he personally presented to McSorley’s, declared St. Patrick’s Day, February 17th McSorley’s Day in New York. McSorley’s touts itself as presenting fine home cooking and mugs of good ale with luncheon specials daily.

McSorley’s Old Ale House has withstood the changes that define New York City, but it has kept its rich history, mystery and legends intact making it a ‘must visit’ ale house for all lovers of ancient lore and good ale.

THE LIBRARY, GENERAL SOCIETY OF MECHANICS & TRADESMEN by Polly Guerin

A rare and important New York treasure welcomes the foot traffic at 20 West 44th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenue. It is The Library at the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, the largest free circulating library in the city open to the public for on-site use and scholarly research. There are no restrictions; everyone is invited to enter the building. Most stand in awe as they view the main reading room that soars to a height of three stories topped by a magnificent skylight. The faux marble pillars, ironwork, and wooden shelving lend the reading room a rare and unique place in the city where it is freeze framed in time awaiting visitors.

THE APPRENTICE LIBRARY Established in 1820 as the Apprentices’ Library, by 1861 the library extended privileges to women and at the turn of the 19th century it had become the largest free circulating library in New York City. It’s an awesome place and I can attest to its rich trove of books as I did research here for my book, The Cooper-Hewitt Dynasty of New York (History Press, 2012). In the 1885 Centennial Celebration, Abram Stevens Hewitt recalled a visit to the society with his father John Hewitt, who had been initiated as a member in 1810. “When I was a boy eleven years of age, my father took me by the hand and led me up to the Apprentice Library. For the first time in my life I saw books beyond the wildest dreams of my fancy.” There Abram indulged his passion for reading in one of the richest collections of books in New York.

LIBRARY SPANS TWO CENTURIES The book and periodical collections of the Library span two centuries, number more than 110,000 volumes, and are suited to both on-site use and scholarly research. The circulating collection includes books on all subjects from the past and the present, while the non-circulating collection includes books and periodicals on the “useful and mechanical arts,” urban trades and crafts, printing and publishing, building and construction, and 19th century Americana. Recent acquisitions focus on the built environment and the occupations and activities of behind-the-scenes New York, including the building and construction industry, architecture, historic preservation, printing and publishing, labor and work history and cultural production.
 

THE GENERAL SOCIETY OF MECHANICS & TRADESMEN (GSMT) The Library is an educational program of The General Society of Tradesmen, an educational and philanthropic organization founded on November 17, 1785 when thirteen artisans established it as a craftsmen’s mutual aid organization intended to assist brethren, workmen and their families in sickness and distress. Abraham Godwin (1763-1855) the artist and engraver, who devised the membership certificate, incorporated a framework centered on the group’s iconic motto, “By Hammer and Hand All Arts Do Stand,” and symbol, the upraised arm , with hammer. In 1820 GSMT founded the Mechanics and Tradesmen School with its library.

MEMBERHIP IN GSMT Membership expanded rapidly. The General Society’s original membership registration record records the numbered names of every member who joined The General Society since its founding. Peter Cooper, founder of his free institution, Cooper Union is listed in the membership archives on December 6, 1837 , as a ‘Glue Maker,’ a tradesman term that Cooper preferred. GSMT continues to operate today as a society for mechanics and architects with its mission to improve educational and cultural opportunities for working people in New York City. The Artisan Lecture series continues to focus on craftsmanship by presenting lectures by master artisans in their respective crafts and the Mechanic’s Institute offers tuition-free courses, unique in the city, taught by instructors who have hand-on experience, are currently working in their trade and teach the latest techniques. Call 212.840.1840 ext 1 for a school catalog.

THE JOHN M. MOSSMAN LOCK COLLECTION is of interest. It represents one of the most complete anthologies of bank and vault locks in the world, with more than 370 locks, keys and tools dating from 4000 BC to the modern 20-th century. To augment the lock collection, Mr. Mossman donated his notes and scrapbooks, known as the Mossman papers, which have proven to be a valuable resource for study of locks. “The Lure of the Lock,” published in 1928 describes each look in the collection. Other holdings of note in collections of various antebellum curios, rare books, prints, flags, clocks and medals donated by friends and members.

DON’T YOU THINK ITS ABOUT TIME TO VISIT THE LIBRARY OF THE GENERAL SOCIETY OF MECHANICS & TRADESMEN OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK? The Library is open to the public for on-site use and research Monday to Thursday: 11am-7pm and Friday: 10am-5pm. Research collections and archives by appointment. Telephone 212.921-1767 ext. 4. For levels of contribution and membership Email: library@generalsociety.org. Visit www.genralsociety.org.

LITTLE CHURCH AROUND THE CORNER (c) A Vibrant Refuge Today By Polly Guerin

Nestled in the middle of the block, at 1 East 29th Street in the NoMad neighborhood of Manhattan, New Yorker’s might suddenly stand in awe and admire the site of a quaint Episcopal, Church of the Transfiguration, which became known as the Little Church Around the Corner. Time is freeze framed where the sanctuary is set back from the street behind a garden, which in contrast to the skyscraper giants creates a facsimile of the English countryside. A refuge from modern society, the church has long been an oasis for New Yorkers of all faiths, who relax in the garden, pray in the chapel or come for the free lunchtime concerts.

LEGENDARY EPISODES The church’s storied history always stressed service to the poor and oppressed from its earliest days. The congregation was founded in 1848 by the Rev. Dr. George Hendric Houghton and worshipped in a home at 48 East 29th Street until church was built and consecrated in 1849. Rev. Houghton was a man ahead of his time and was a brave supporter of the oppressed. In 1863, during the Civil War Draft Riots, Houghton gave sanctuary to African Americans who were under attack but when rioters showed up at the church, Houghton turned them away saying “You white devils, you! Do you know nothing of the spirit of Christ?”

SERVICE TO THE OPPRESSED
Actors were among the social outcasts in the 1870s so it is no wonder that they found refuge at the church. When an actor named George Holland died a rector of Church of Atonement, which is no longer extant, refused to conduct funeral services for the actor, he suggested, “I believe there is a little church around the corner where they do that sort of thing.” Joseph Jefferson, a fellow actor who was trying to arrange Holland’s burial, exclaimed, “If that be so, God bless the Little Church around the Corner!” and that is how the church began a longstanding association with the theater and affectionately acquired the quaint name. In 1923, the Episcopal Actors’ Guild held its first meeting at Transfiguration and celebrated actors Basil Rathbone, Tallulah Bankhead and Rex Harrison have served as officers or council members.

THE LITTLE CHURCH AROUND THE CORNER is also a favorite wedding site. When P.G. Wodehouse, was living in Greenwich Village he married his wife Ethel at the Little Church in 1914. Not surprising, subsequently Wodehouse set most of his fictionalized weddings at the church; and in the hit musical “Sally” that he wrote with Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton, paid tribute to the Bohemian congregation where so many lives began and ended. Notably Sir Rex Harrison was memorialized at the church upon his death in 1990 and Maggie Smith and Brendan Gill were among the celebrated stars who spoke at the service. The Little Church’s association with the theatre continues today with programs and performances by talented actors.

In 1967, the Little Church Around the Corner, was designated a New York landmark and in 1973 it was listed on the national Register of Historic Places. www.littlechurch.org. Historian guides often give tours of the church, contact the church for the schedule.