William J. Van Arsdale House
10 Bank Street | West Village | built 1861
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1861
James Haight Jr. builds a block of five brownstone Italianate houses that includes 10 Bank Street
In 1860 James Haight Jr. bought the land on the south side of Bank Street from the landowner John Lozier, and the next year his five-house block went up. The Landmarks Preservation Commission describes it as a fine example of Italianate ashlar brownstone, with quoins at the corners where stone meets brick and segmental-arched windows. Some fifth-floor windows were later joined into triple casements.
“This handsome block of five buildings was erected in 1861 for James Haight, Jr., a year after his purchase of the property from John Lozier…”
- 1881
A boarder at 10 Bank Street is jailed after passing worthless checks around the Village
In July 1881 Titus W. Sheldon, a clerk who had boarded at 10 Bank Street, cashed a $35 check at an Eighth Avenue tavern, and the bank said no such account existed. Another man came forward with a bad check from him as well. The New York Times called him well dressed. He appeared in Jefferson Market Police Court on July 30 and pleaded guilty.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1895
William J. Van Arsdale, a Vanderbilt railroad lawyer who lives here, becomes president of the Board of Education
By the early 1890s 10 Bank Street was a single-family home for William J. Van Arsdale, who had risen from office boy to general counsel of the New York Central Railroad under Cornelius Vanderbilt. On June 24, 1895, Mayor William L. Strong appointed him president of the Board of Education, replacing a Tammany leader. He set up a Sites Committee to find and buy land for new schools, since some 54,000 children lacked seats.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1897
William J. Van Arsdale is stricken at home on Bank Street and dies within hours
On May 1, 1897, William J. Van Arsdale was about to leave for his Grand Central office when he suffered a stroke at home, and he died within three hours. His funeral was held at Bedford Street Methodist Episcopal Church rather than the narrow house. Four companies of schoolboys from Grammar School No. 3 escorted the casket, while only two railroad officials attended and no Vanderbilt came.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1922
Five old flats at Bank Street and Waverly Place are sold and converted to studio apartments
In November 1922 the estate of George H. Foster sold the five five-story houses at the Bank Street and Waverly Place corner, including No. 10, to real estate operators who planned two-room apartments with baths. Four of the five, No. 10 among them, gained large north-facing studio windows on the top floor, the kind artists prized. The house was turned back into a single-family home in 2021.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
Further reading
- The 1861 William J. Van Arsdale House - 10 Bank StreetDaytonian in Manhattan
- Then & Now photos: 10 Bank StreetVillage Preservation: Greenwich Village Then & Now
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