Samuel A. Moore House

51 MacDougal Street | also 153 West Houston Street | SoHo | built 1920

Open on the map4 entries

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

1. 1844

   Samuel A. Moore replaces his livery stable with a Greek Revival house and store

   Samuel A. Moore had run a livery stable on the southwest corner of MacDougal and West Houston Streets until 1843. The next year he built a three-story red brick building with brownstone trim and a ground-floor store. Moore's family lived upstairs and took in boarders, including a carpenter and an assistant keeper at the City Prison, and in 1851 a butcher, Charles Morgan, moved his shop into the store.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

2. 1892

   June 1

   A resident of 51 MacDougal testifies in the slander suit of Father Dent

   In 1887 Bishop Stephen Vincent Ryan excommunicated Father Dent of the nearby Church of St. Anthony of Padua, and Dent sued him for slander in 1892. Maggie Kenny of 51 MacDougal, called as a defense witness, caused a sensation on June 1 when she said a priest had ordered her in confession not to testify and that three St. Anthony's priests were married.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

3. 1952

   April 13

   Calypso singer Lord Invader opens at the Calypso cabaret in the ground-floor space

   After a spell as Frank's Pizzeria in the Depression years, the store became Calypso, a cabaret-style restaurant with live entertainment. On April 13, 1952, the calypso singer Lord Invader opened here, with artists from the Trinidad Carnival.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

4. 2000

   Something Special, a key shop and mail drop, serves the neighborhood

   Around 2000 the store held Something Special, owned by Lenny Cecere, who also owned the building. It cut keys, made copies and notarized documents, and rented mailboxes for $50 a month. TheRealDeal later reported that it handled mail for Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker and Famke Janssen. Cecere ran it until he died in 2015, and Hamburger America moved in during 2022.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

Further reading

• The Samuel A. Moore House - 51 MacDougal StreetDaytonian in Manhattan

Nearby

• Eighth Ward Mission House49 MacDougal Street | 4 entries
• 47 MacDougal Street2 entries
• Dr. Lucien B. Wright House45 MacDougal Street | 3 entries
• William S. Bancroft Grocery Store43 MacDougal Street | 4 entries
• 64 MacDougal Street2 entries
• St. Anthony's School60 MacDougal Street | 4 entries

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