97 Crosby Street
SoHo | built 1895
Open on the map5 entries
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.
- 1845
George Loder, who lives on this lot, presents the American premiere of Mendelssohn's Hymn of Praise
In 1845 the choir and concert master George Loder lived with his wife in the three-story house that stood on this lot. On February 22 he presented the first American performance of Mendelssohn's cantata Lobgesang, with Mrs. Loder among the three soloists. A New York Herald advertisement sent ticket buyers to a Scharfenberg & Luis store on Broadway or to Loder's own front door at 97 Crosby Street, with single seats at $1.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1883
Police raid an opium joint in the old house on this lot and arrest twenty-six, among them actresses
Newspapers across the country reported on November 25, 1883 that police had raided an opium den run from the first floor of the old house on this lot by a man called Jim Doo. The Sacramento Daily Union counted twenty-six people arrested. Among them were actresses and fifteen-year-old James Sullivan, a bootblack who told officers he was a frequent visitor.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1895
Builder Edward Judson replaces the old house with a seven-story Romanesque Revival loft and sells it at once
Edward Judson, who acted as both architect and builder, bought the old house in 1894 and filed plans for a seven-story brick warehouse costing $22,000. Finished early in 1895, it sits above a cast-iron storefront and has stone eyebrows over its arched windows. Judson was a developer rather than a landlord, so he sold it that March, and it soon filled with embroidery, cloak and trimmings makers.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1901
The Strasburger Wax Figure Company, a maker of department-store mannequins, rents space in the building
By 1901 one of the tenants was the Strasburger Wax Figure Company, which employed two men and three teenage girls. Department stores had only recently begun putting wax mannequins in their windows, so that passers-by could see how gowns and hats would look on a wearer. Later tenants included teddy bear makers and handbag manufacturers.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1917
Operator Daniel H. Jackson buys the loft at a quarter of its 1902 price and flips it within a month for a $30,000 profit
After owner John McDonald failed to find a buyer for the loft in 1917, operator Daniel H. Jackson bought it in December for $15,500, about a quarter of the $60,000 McDonald had paid in 1902, with only $3,500 down. McDonald's architect won city approval for a cheap exterior fire escape instead of added exits. Jackson resold the property within a month at a profit of more than $30,000 and told The Sun that no property he had bought ever paid him more.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
Further reading
- Edward Judson's 1895 97 Crosby StreetDaytonian in Manhattan
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