Henderson Place

549 East 86th Street | Yorkville | built 1882

Open on the map6 entries

The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

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.

  1. 1880

    John C. Henderson hires Lamb & Rich to design modest Queen Anne houses, including 549 East 86th Street

    In 1880 the developer John C. Henderson chose the firm of Charles Rich and Hugo Lamb to design a group of houses meant for people of moderate means. 549 East 86th Street is one of them, in a Queen Anne style that the landmarks commission traced to the English architect Norman Shaw. The project was virtually complete by 1882.

    “In 1880 he selected the architectural firm of Lamb & Rich (Charles A. Rich, 1855-1943 and Hugo Lamb, 1848-1903) to design this intimate group of residences.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  2. 1881

    Fur importer John C. Henderson starts building houses for 'persons of moderate means'

    John C. Henderson was born in Cincinnati in 1809 and rose to financial prominence in New York as an importer of furs and a maker of fur hats and straw goods. He acquired a good deal of real estate, including a section of Yorkville. In 1881 he began building the small houses on this block, which include 549 East 86th Street.

    “John C. Henderson, who in 1881 started to build houses for “persons of moderate means.”…”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  3. 1882

    The small Henderson Place houses rent for a little less than full-size rowhouses

    The houses were only 18 feet wide and three stories high, much smaller than the average four- or five-story brownstone. They rented for slightly less than the $700 to $1,500 a year that an entire rowhouse commanded. The Historic Districts Council adds that the enclave, which includes 549 East 86th Street, was not regarded as a desirable address until the 1920s.

    Source: 6tocelebrate.org

  4. 1882

    Nos. 549 and 551 East 86th Street share one front with paired doorways

    The landmarks commission described 549 and 551 East 86th Street as a pair presented as a single front, with a common landing between the two doors reached by stone steps from either side. Each house has paired windows on either side of the entrance, and at 549 a wood fan fills the space beneath the brick arch.

    “…at No. 549, a wood fan fills the space below the brick arch…”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  5. 1955

    The west side of Henderson Place is sold and later replaced by an apartment cooperative

    In 1955 the houses on the west side of Henderson Place and the neighboring former Misericordia Hospital building were sold. A housing cooperative called Henderson House replaced them in 1961, taking the place of eight of the 32 original houses and leaving 24, including 549 East 86th Street.

    Source: Wikipedia

  6. 1969

    February 11

    The Landmarks Commission designates Henderson Place after two hearings and some opposition

    The commission heard the proposal in November 1966, then continued the hearing to December 27, when seven witnesses spoke, and it noted some opposition at both sessions. It designated the district on February 11, 1969. Its report listed Millicent McIntosh, the Duchess of Richelieu, and the actors Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne among those who had owned or lived in its houses.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

Further reading

Nearby

All 22 buildings with stories in Yorkville