The Astor Place beaver

As soon as I sighted the beaver plaque at the Astor Place subway station, shown above, I recalled a passage from Eric Jay Dolan's Fur, Fortune, and Empire about John Jacob Astor, his astute real estate acumen, the places in New York that bear his name and those he once owned that do not, and his role in the beaver fur trade. Here is an excerpt from a most excellent chronicle of the North America fur trade:

Not one to let his money sit idle, Astor plowed his growing profits from the fur trade into real estate.  His first purchase came in 1789, when he bought two lots of land on Bowery Lane for a little more than six hundred dollars....Over the years many of Astor's associates ridiculed his real estate transactions, especially those in which he acquired empty land well beyond the city proper.  They said he had wasted money on dirt and trees, but when the city expanded right up to the edge of Astor's holdings, he sold or rented his "worthless" land for enormous sums--including all of what would one day become Times Square.  When he was very old, Astor was asked if he had accumulated an excessive amount of real estate, to which he replied, "COuld I begin life again, knowing what I now know, and had money to invest, I would buy every foot of land on the Island of Manhattan."...Unwilling to sit on his laurels or his growing fortune, he was looking for ways to expand his operations and earn more.  And soon after Lewis and Clark returned from their epic journey, Astor's gaze shifted westward.  (pages 193-194)

The beaver, "a source of the Astor family wealth from fur trading," is depicted in a terra cotta and mosaic plaque by the Grueby Facience Company in 1940, according to nycsubway.org and the Arts for Transit website. (Aside: The latter website has been redesigned and is easier to navigate.)

Suburban setback in Manhattan

Walking towards Park Avenue on 38th Street, I saw the change in the streetscape before I reached the source.  On an overcast day, the bright, airiness conveyed by a gap in the building line was very noticeable. 152 East 38th Street has a generous setback, a gorgeous pair of gates, and a handsome three-story Federal Revival brick house.  The area was originally part of an estate belonging to a member of President Martin Van Buren's family, wrote Christopher Gray of the New York Times. The house was completed in 1857 by contractor and owner Patrick McCafferty.  Its 60 foot setback was unusual for a house of that period.  The house was landmarked in 1989 by the New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation.  A history of the house's owners and occupants can be read at Daytonian in Manhattan.

Polis: NYU Expansion Threatens Greenwich Village Green Space

Our essay about greenspaces and wildlife at risk in Greenwich Village was published on polis on January 19, 2012.   We would like to thank Polis for affording us the opportunity to share this story with their readers.

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What is wrong with this picture?

Image: "Superblock Interim Condition" slide (page 11), NYU 2031 Land Use (source)

The vegetation in southwest section of the Sasaki Garden is missing (see above) on page 11 of the powerpoint presentation that NYU made at the Community Board 2 Zoning & Land Use Hearing on January 9th. 

The actual state of the southwest section of the garden is show above.  The omission of vegetation certainly supports the university's claim that green space would increase with its campus expansion plan in the superblocks below Washington Square Park.  Also, note the language used to describe the graphic -- "interim condition" -- implying a temporary state.

Tulip tree allee at New York Botanical Garden

Described as "a signature planting", the tulip trees (Liriodendron tulipfera) that form the allée leading to the Library Building at the New York Botanical Garden were planted in 1905 alternating among poplars which were originally planted in 1903 by Nathaniel Lord Britton.  The poplars did not fulfill Briton's vision and were removed by 1911.

We have featured alleés in Frankfurt, in Berlin, and as precursors to tree-lined streets.

Bond Street Mews or Great Jones Mews?

The unsigned, private mews pictured above is located between Bond and Great Jones Streets in Manhattan.  Button Agreement has a gallery of "little streets" here and we have written about other mews in the neighborhood here and here.