Thursday, June 19, 2003
East End Temple preserves historic building on East 17th Street
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
Over the weekend of June 7, 2003, the congregants of East End Temple
celebrated the dedication of their new home at 245 East 17th Street, in the
Stuyvesant Square Historic District. Noted among the representatives of local organizations at the dedication ceremonies were Dr. Thomas Pike, Rector of St. George/Calvary Episcopal Church, Rabbi Daniel Alder of the Brotherhood Synagogue, Robert Lauder, principal of Friends Seminary, Assemblymembers Deborah Glick and Steven Sanders, State Senator Thomas K. Duane, Carol Schachter and Robin Hoffmann of SPNA and Jack Taylor of Historic Districts Council, a private preservation advocacy group. It must be noted that the HDC does not designate or approve changes in buildings, it expresses opinions; the Landmarks Preservation Commission makes Historic District and individual building landmarking designations, applicable to exteriors only. Interiors are designated separately, and rarely.
The interesting building at 17th Street west of 2nd Avenue, across from Stuyvesant Park, has been restored to its former glory. It was designed by Richard Morris Hunt (1828-95), the flamboyant architect of chateaux for the Vanderbilts (the 660 5th Avenue "Hunting Lodge," the
Breakers and Marble House in Newport, the garden-rich Biltmore in
Asheville), conservationist Gifford Pinchot and other American grandees.
Having brought Beaux-Arts style to New York in 1855, Hunt was also
commissioned to design public structures - the base of the Statue of
Liberty, the facade of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the 1873 Tribune
skyscraper, as well as the extension of the U.S. Capitol, and the 1893
Columbian World Exhibition in Chicago. Hunt is celebrated in a memorial in
Central Park at East 70th St.
The residence at 245 East 17th Street was built in 1883 for the
Harvard-educated lawyer Sidney Webster (1828-1910), private secretary of
President Franklin Pierce (Democrat, 1853-57, failed to reconcile the North
and South over the admission of Kansas as a slavery state). Webster met
Governor Hamilton Fish while the latter was a U.S. Senator (1851-57; NYS
Governor 1849-50; Secretary of State under Grant, 1869-77), and married his
daughter Sarah in 1860. She bought the property from her father. Webster
practiced law in N. Y., was a director of the Illinois Central RR, and
wrote Two Treaties of Paris and the Supreme Court (1901), useful as
research material for Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase. His other important
local connection was the ownership of Pen-Craig, a Newport cottage
purchased from the George Frederick Jones family, whose daughter Edith
spent many months of her childhood and young adulthood, as Mrs Henry
Wharton, on the premises.
In the progress of time the building changed, eventually turning into a
Beth Israel clinic. The interior was divided into examination rooms andcubicles, preserving only the magnificent front room with its wooden
fireplace and wooden ribs across the ceiling. Nevertheless, the Hunt house
was one of the prides of the Stuyvesant Square Historic District when it
was established in 1975.
The East End Temple, occupant of a small building and other adjacent
valuable underused land on 23rd and 2nd Ave, had a dream, since the 1980s.
They hoped to trade their valuable corner real estate to an apartment
building developer, reserving for themselves some much improved premises on
three floors. When that did not materialize, in 1998 they sold the property
to developer Don Zucker, expecting to use $2.9 million of the proceeds to
buy a larger mid-block property Meanwhile, their long- time architectural
consultant Harry Kendall fitted them up with a temporary temple in a former
restaurant at 403 1st Ave.
In 2001 the dreams came to a fruition - the 17th Street property surfaced
on the synagogue=s radar screen. The building was researched and found
appropriate, it was bought, the plans were presented to Community Board #6
and the Landmarks Preservation Commission, all with great urgency. The main part of the restoration has been completed.
How is that all possible, in the days of environmental impact statements
and multi-level reviews and approvals? Well, with good plans that respect
original design and good intentions, everybody cooperates. The initiative was
driven by the then president of the synagogue, Helene Spring, present president Edna Rosen, the Board of Trustees and its Chairman, Richard Muskat, and the Rabbi, David S.
Adelson.
The building has five stories, of which the ground floor and the next level were combined, to form a balconied sanctuary, with seating for the 200 families. A lower level, of equal size,
became the social room. The beautiful front parlor, the Library, was
preserved. Directly behind it, a staircase and the elevator were removed,
and a new elevator installed . The sanctuary fitted in the space behind,
nearly to the end of the 90-plus foot depth of the building (an L- space in
the back was squared off). The two upstairs floors serve as offices and
Hebrew School.
The landmarked front elevation may be described as French Renaissance
Revival, although Hunt was inventive in his use of designs. The building
has interesting step-wise dormers. The architect, Harry Kendall, in researching the
design, was able to locate original photographs showing small Ionic columns
between the roof structures, lost in the past years as the building was
maintained and adapted for use by various owners, appropriate for
restoration.
Wally Dobelis thanks Heather Klopfer and Jack Taylor for assistance in updating his 2001
material to celebrate the successful preservation and renovation effort of
a true historical and neighborhood treasure.
Over the weekend of June 7, 2003, the congregants of East End Temple
celebrated the dedication of their new home at 245 East 17th Street, in the
Stuyvesant Square Historic District. Noted among the representatives of local organizations at the dedication ceremonies were Dr. Thomas Pike, Rector of St. George/Calvary Episcopal Church, Rabbi Daniel Alder of the Brotherhood Synagogue, Robert Lauder, principal of Friends Seminary, Assemblymembers Deborah Glick and Steven Sanders, State Senator Thomas K. Duane, Carol Schachter and Robin Hoffmann of SPNA and Jack Taylor of Historic Districts Council, a private preservation advocacy group. It must be noted that the HDC does not designate or approve changes in buildings, it expresses opinions; the Landmarks Preservation Commission makes Historic District and individual building landmarking designations, applicable to exteriors only. Interiors are designated separately, and rarely.
The interesting building at 17th Street west of 2nd Avenue, across from Stuyvesant Park, has been restored to its former glory. It was designed by Richard Morris Hunt (1828-95), the flamboyant architect of chateaux for the Vanderbilts (the 660 5th Avenue "Hunting Lodge," the
Breakers and Marble House in Newport, the garden-rich Biltmore in
Asheville), conservationist Gifford Pinchot and other American grandees.
Having brought Beaux-Arts style to New York in 1855, Hunt was also
commissioned to design public structures - the base of the Statue of
Liberty, the facade of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the 1873 Tribune
skyscraper, as well as the extension of the U.S. Capitol, and the 1893
Columbian World Exhibition in Chicago. Hunt is celebrated in a memorial in
Central Park at East 70th St.
The residence at 245 East 17th Street was built in 1883 for the
Harvard-educated lawyer Sidney Webster (1828-1910), private secretary of
President Franklin Pierce (Democrat, 1853-57, failed to reconcile the North
and South over the admission of Kansas as a slavery state). Webster met
Governor Hamilton Fish while the latter was a U.S. Senator (1851-57; NYS
Governor 1849-50; Secretary of State under Grant, 1869-77), and married his
daughter Sarah in 1860. She bought the property from her father. Webster
practiced law in N. Y., was a director of the Illinois Central RR, and
wrote Two Treaties of Paris and the Supreme Court (1901), useful as
research material for Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase. His other important
local connection was the ownership of Pen-Craig, a Newport cottage
purchased from the George Frederick Jones family, whose daughter Edith
spent many months of her childhood and young adulthood, as Mrs Henry
Wharton, on the premises.
In the progress of time the building changed, eventually turning into a
Beth Israel clinic. The interior was divided into examination rooms andcubicles, preserving only the magnificent front room with its wooden
fireplace and wooden ribs across the ceiling. Nevertheless, the Hunt house
was one of the prides of the Stuyvesant Square Historic District when it
was established in 1975.
The East End Temple, occupant of a small building and other adjacent
valuable underused land on 23rd and 2nd Ave, had a dream, since the 1980s.
They hoped to trade their valuable corner real estate to an apartment
building developer, reserving for themselves some much improved premises on
three floors. When that did not materialize, in 1998 they sold the property
to developer Don Zucker, expecting to use $2.9 million of the proceeds to
buy a larger mid-block property Meanwhile, their long- time architectural
consultant Harry Kendall fitted them up with a temporary temple in a former
restaurant at 403 1st Ave.
In 2001 the dreams came to a fruition - the 17th Street property surfaced
on the synagogue=s radar screen. The building was researched and found
appropriate, it was bought, the plans were presented to Community Board #6
and the Landmarks Preservation Commission, all with great urgency. The main part of the restoration has been completed.
How is that all possible, in the days of environmental impact statements
and multi-level reviews and approvals? Well, with good plans that respect
original design and good intentions, everybody cooperates. The initiative was
driven by the then president of the synagogue, Helene Spring, present president Edna Rosen, the Board of Trustees and its Chairman, Richard Muskat, and the Rabbi, David S.
Adelson.
The building has five stories, of which the ground floor and the next level were combined, to form a balconied sanctuary, with seating for the 200 families. A lower level, of equal size,
became the social room. The beautiful front parlor, the Library, was
preserved. Directly behind it, a staircase and the elevator were removed,
and a new elevator installed . The sanctuary fitted in the space behind,
nearly to the end of the 90-plus foot depth of the building (an L- space in
the back was squared off). The two upstairs floors serve as offices and
Hebrew School.
The landmarked front elevation may be described as French Renaissance
Revival, although Hunt was inventive in his use of designs. The building
has interesting step-wise dormers. The architect, Harry Kendall, in researching the
design, was able to locate original photographs showing small Ionic columns
between the roof structures, lost in the past years as the building was
maintained and adapted for use by various owners, appropriate for
restoration.
Wally Dobelis thanks Heather Klopfer and Jack Taylor for assistance in updating his 2001
material to celebrate the successful preservation and renovation effort of
a true historical and neighborhood treasure.
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 2:44 PM 
