Edward Allen Jennings was a
physician in New York City. He received his medical degree from
Columbia University in 1913 and then served as a first lieutenant in the
Army Medical Corps during World War I. He later worked on the
staffs of the Harlem, Fordham, and St. Luke's hospitals. Jennings
had a lifelong interest in the history of New York City and church
architecture. He amassed a collection of old photographs from
which he made over 150 lantern slides. After extensive
research at the New York City Department of Records, Jennings also wrote
Manhattanville: An Architectural Retrospect, which remains
unpublished. Jennings died on September 11, 1958, at the age of 76.
Laid out
in 1806 by Jacob Schieffelin and John B. Lawrence, the New York City
community of Manhattanville existed during the first half of the
nineteenth century as a sparsely populated rural village in the
northwest section of Manhattan. Surrounded
by hilly, open land and large country residences, the neighborhood was
centered in the valley bordered by what is now 123rd Street to the
south, 140th Street to the North, and west and east by the
Hudson River and Convent Avenue. With the arrival of the Industrial
Revolution came the completion of the Hudson River Railroad in 1851,
which linked Manhattanville with the rest of the city. The village began
to change into a bustling enclave of German and Irish laborers who found
employment in the woolen mill, brewery, and Hudson River ferry terminal
in the area. Streets were paved; churches, schools, and a dispensary
were built to serve the population, which grew from 500 residents in mid
century to 14,675 in 1900. The institutional predecessors of
Manhattanville College -- the Academy of the Sacred Heart and the
Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart -- were located in the
Manhattanville section from 1847 to 1952.
The
Landmark Map included in The Iconography of Manhattan Island, by
N. Phelps Stokes (New York: R. Dodd, 1918-1925) is a good reference
point for the neighborhoods depicted in the Jennings lantern
slides. This detailed, multi-page map (v. 3, pp. 174-180) was
originally prepared for Stokes in 1891, with revisions made in
1918. Approximate borders for the neighborhoods, as labelled on
the map, are:
-
Harsenville,
West 69th St. to West 76th Streets
-
Manhattanville,
West 125 to West 131th Streets
-
Bloomingdale,
West 31th to West 110th Streets
Book manuscript,
photographs, correspondence, news clippings and lantern slides which
document the architecture and landscape of Manhattanville, Harsenville,
and Bloomingdale -- New York City neighborhoods which correspond
to the present day West Side of Manhattan. Images
depict churches, homes, taverns, and other buildings in the late
nineteenth century, often with accompanying descriptive text.
M1: Manhattanville Streets
Old as of 1823 and as of 1890
M2: Manhattanville in 1834
M3: View toward the N[orth]
from 123rd St. about 1876 showing Manhattan St. and skyline,
Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart
M5: Railroad station at foot
of Depot Lane of West 177th Street. Track of Dolly Varden Line at NY
Central and Hudson River RR
M7: Prior's stable on
Broadway -- East Side between 126 and 127 Streets
M9: House of Daniel F.
Tiemann (west side) Riverside Drive and 127th St.
M10: House of Thomas Finlay
at 127th St. or Tiemann Place and Broadway
M11: Intersection of
Manhattan Street and Broadway. On bank is house of Thomas Finlay.
M12: At 77 Manhattan
Street. House of James Pettit. Built in 1845. Taken
down about 1935.
M13: St. Joseph's Church 125
St. and Morningside Ave. Built in 1860
M14: Manhattanville
Presbyterian Church 126 St. and Morningside Ave. Built in
1851. Torn down about 1927.
M15: 101 Lawrence St.
St. Mary's P.E. Church, Manhattanville. Built 1825. Torn
down March 1908.
M16: Interior -- St. Mary's
Church -- Manhattanville. 101 Lawrence Street.
M17: St. Mary's P.E. Church
-- Manhattanville. 101 Lawrence Street. Erected 1824. Date of picture
about 1895.
M19: May Cottage -- 530 West
129 Str. Sheltering Arms. Built in 1879. Torn down 1945.
M20: Furniss Corage.
Sheltering Arms. 129 Old Broadway -- built in 1881. Architect -- Ralph
S. Townsend.
M21: Public School 43.
Eastern facade on 10th Ave.
M22: Public School no. 43.
129 Str. and 10th Ave. Built 1885-1895. Torn down 1936.
M23: Dr. John Larkin's house
-- 498 W. 130 St.
M26: Church of the
Annunciation. North-west corner - 131 St. and Old Broadway.
M28: West facade of
Manhattan College before Broadway was cut thro. At 131 St. Time -- about
1867.
M29: Manhattan College --
East facade in 1923.
M30: At 132nd St. and old
Broadway in 1918. East Facade of Manhattan College.
M31: North east corner of
Broadway and 131 St. -- shows south wing of Manhattan College after
being remodeled about 1872.
M32: In 1918 -- view south
from 133rd Street and Old Broadway -- showing Manhattan College.
M33: Manhattanville College
of the Sacred Heart Convent. Built 1851. Burned - August 13, 1888. 132nd
St.
M34: Manhattanville in 1876.
View north from 122nd St.
M36: Lawrence House -- on
hill west of Broadway between 134 and 135th Streets.
M37: July 1888 -- NW Corner
Broadway -- 135 St. residence of Charles B. Morris
M38: On Bloomingdale Road
near 136th St. Gateway to Donnelly grounds.
M39: Donnelly house -- south
driveway approach.
M40: Donnelly House at 135th
St. On hill between Amsterdam Ave. and Bloomingdale Road.
M41: Donnelly house -- south
of 135th St. side
M42: In 1903. Ruin of
Donnelly mansion on north side of 135th Street -- west of Amsterdan Ave.
Scrapbook 2. Manhattanville
and Old Bloomingdale
Photographs
Photographs are
numbered as follows. An accompanying sheet gives Jennings's original
captions.
Manhattanville
-
M43: Granite residence NE
corner -- 136 St. -- Broadway. Erected May 6, 1886 to June 30, 1887.
Architect - A.B. Jennings.
-
M44: Granite residence -
NE corner of 136 St. and Broadway. Built 1886. Torn down 1930.
-
M45: Ottendorfer house on
136 St. Built by Eugene Kelly - west of Broadway. East front. Built in
1879.
-
M46: 137th Street in 1905.
Ottendorfer stable.
-
M47: Ottendorfer pagoda or
summerhouse at 135th St. - west of Broadway. East front. Built in
1879.
-
M48: Daniel Devlin house
at 137th Str. and Amsterdam Ave. Torn down 1891 for later creation of
Hebrew Orphan Asylum.
-
M49: John E. Develin house
on north side of 138th Str. - near Hudson River.
-
M51: At 141st St. and
Riverside Drive. The Hoguet House.
-
M52: At 141st Street and
Riverside Drive. East side of the Hoguet House.
