Remembering Althea Gibson

Beginning August 30, New York City will once again host the annual US Open Tennis Tournament in Flushing Meadow Park, Queens. Players from around the world will compete in the stadium named in honor of tennis legend, Arthur Ashe, which is located within the National Tennis Center, named for another tennis great, Billie Jean King. And perhaps some of the many thousands of spectators at the Open will notice a tribute to one more tennis champion—Althea Gibson, the first African-American to win a major world tennis title.   

Situated on the southeast side of the stadium and unveiled on August 26, 2019, the granite sculpture of Althea Gibson, by artist Eric Goulder, commemorates her remarkable life and achievement. United States Tennis Association Photograph, 2019.   

The sculpture is not the first manifestation of New York City’s recognition of the tennis star. On July 11, 1957, New Yorkers gave Althea Gibson a ticker-tape parade, the ultimate symbol of a job well-done, for her victory that summer at Wimbledon. Considered the most prestigious of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, Gibson’s win at Wimbledon made her an international star. And once again, records in the Municipal Archives, in this instance the subject files of Mayor Wagner and his Public Events office, add color to the story.  

New York City has a long tradition of celebrating the successes of American athletes. In 1924, the City welcomed home the U.S. Olympic team from the Paris games with a ticker-tape parade. In 1926, and again in 1930, the City feted golf champion Bobby Jones with parades. The city congratulated members of the U.S. Olympic team, including Jesse Owens, with a ticker-tape parade on their return from the 1936 games in Berlin. And in 1952, the city gave the U.S. Olympic team a rousing parade to send them off to the games in Helsinki. 

L. to R. Mr. Daniel Gibson, Althea Gibson, Mayor Robert F. Wagner, June 11, 1956. Mayor’s Official Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Gibson overcame obstacles far greater than the 100-degree heat at Wimbledon in the summer of 1957. For years, she battled racial discrimination in the world of professional tennis before becoming the first African-American female athlete to enjoy international fame. Born on August 25, 1927, in Silver, South Carolina, she moved to New York City with her family while still an infant. In a fortunate circumstance, the family settled on West 143rd Street in Harlem, a designated “play street” where the Police Athletic League set up a paddle tennis court right in front of the Gibsons’ front stoop. Recognized at an early age for her talent, Gibson was mentored by prominent Harlem businessmen.  

In 1942, she won her first tournament, the New York State girls’ championship sponsored by the American Tennis Association. Organized in 1916 by black players, the ATA was as an alternative to the whites-only United States Lawn Tennis Association. Gibson continued playing on the black tennis circuit until 1950 when she became the first black player to compete in the national tennis championship at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, Queens. A year after her debut in Forest Hills, Gibson became the first black athlete to compete at Wimbledon. She won the French Championship in 1956. 

Mayor Robert F. Wagner greets Women’s Tennis Champion, Althea Gibson, City Hall, July 11, 1957. Mayor’s Official Photograph Collection (image scanned from microfilm). NYC Municipal Archives.

After her win at Wimbledon in July 1957, Gibson received her trophy from Queen Elizabeth II and danced with Prince Philip at the Wimbledon Ball before returning home to the ticker-tape reception. The frontpage story in the New York Herald Tribune said that more than 100,000 spectators turned out to greet Gibson as she rode in the city’s special Chrysler parade limousine from the Battery to City Hall. Commenting on the crowds, it was “one of the most enthusiastic in recent years,” according to the Tribune. 

City to Honor Althea Gibson, Press Announcement, July 1957. Mayor Robert F. Wagner Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Althea Gibson Reception, Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Luncheon Menu, July 1957. Mayor Robert F. Wagner Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Following the City Hall reception, the motorcade brought Gibson and her family to the Waldorf Astoria where Mayor Wagner hosted a luncheon that featured “Roast Salt Meadow Lamb” and “Pineapple Dessert Surprise.”

Gibson repeated her Wimbledon triumph again in 1958, but soon after she retired from tennis. She simply could not make enough money playing tennis. Gibson embarked on a brief singing career and appeared in a movie. In 1963, she returned to sports world and qualified for the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour, the first black woman to do so. But like the world of professional tennis, she faced continuing discrimination from the largely white golf establishment. Tournaments often were played at country clubs that wouldn’t let her in the locker room even to change her shoes.      

Althea Gibson eventually settled in East Orange, New Jersey and held several sports-related posts in the New Jersey State government. In the 1970s and 80s she served as a tennis coach and a mentor to athletes, especially young black women.  

Gibson’s health failed in her later years. She suffered a stroke in 1995 and died on September 28, 2003, at the age of 76. 

Althea Gibson to Mayor Robert F/ Wagner, Letter of thanks, July 1957. Mayor Robert F. Wagner Collection. NYC Municipal Archives

The sculpture of Althea Gibson in the National Tennis Center is not the only tribute to the champion athlete in New York City.  On July 1, 1981, Edward Koch officially opened the Althea Gibson public tennis facility at 1700 Fulton Street, in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant. At the ceremony, Koch said, “Althea Gibson grew up in New York City and became a world class tennis player. Perhaps some day soon we’ll be seeing other champions starting on their way to the top from right here in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The talent is there, and now we have a place to develop that talent.”

Althea Gibson sent a letter of thanks to Mayor Wagner shortly after her ticker-tape parade and luncheon ceremony in July 1957. In the letter, Gibson wrote, “I shall remember always the honor and thrill I received in the ‘Ticker Tape Parade’ and the hearty welcome given me by you at City Hall.” With the park in Bedford Stuyvesant, and the sculpture in the stadium, New Yorkers can say they will remember always a remarkable woman and athlete. 

The De Gregario Lantern Slide Collection

Sometimes it is the exception to the rule that produces the most interesting result.    

42nd Street, looking East to 6th Avenue, Manhattan, ca. 1890.  De Gregario Lantern Slide Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

On October 7, 1989, Leonora Gidlund, then head of collection processing, set up a table at the “Heritage Day” event sponsored by the Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York at the McBurney YMCA on West 23rd Street. Two visitors, Felice and Marion De Gregario noticed Ms. Gidlund’s display and asked if she would be interested in a donation to the Archives of four dozen 19th century lantern slides. The De Gregarios said they had found them in the basement of their home on West 13th Street in Manhattan. Ms. Gidlund explained that the Archives usually only took in records created by agencies, departments, or officials of NYC government, and not from private organizations or persons. But Ms. GIdlund was intrigued by the offer and asked for more information. And we are glad she did.   

Bethesda Fountain and Terrace, Central Park, ca. 1890. De Gregario Lantern Slide Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

The collection now known as the De Gregario Lantern Slides is fascinating and unique. Although only numbering 55 items, the slides provide rare views of iconic venues around the city—Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge, Fifth Avenue, etc.—all dating from the last decades of the 19th century. Images from this time period are especially valuable as most City agencies did not adopt photography to document their work until after 1900.  

Brooklyn Bridge from Coenties Slip, ca. 1890. De Gregario Lantern Slide Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

On the appraisal report for the collection, Ms. Gidlund noted that the De Gregarios said their house had been owned by Robert Devlin some years before they bought it in 1967. They believed he may have been the source of the slides. Caption information on the slides attributed several to “Robert J. Devlin,” adding to the probable connection. Other captions listed “W. T. Colbron.”  According to the “Guide to the Records of the New York Camera Club,” at the New York Public Library, Colbron was an amateur photographer who joined the newly-formed Camera Club in 1888.  The Club had split from the Society of Amateur Photographers, founded in 1884. 

Post Office, Broadway, near Vesey Street, ca. 1890.  De Gregario Lantern Slide Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Perhaps further research in other Archives records would provide more information about Mr. Devlin and add to our knowledge of the collection’s origin. 

The first stop in research involving a house or building is the property card collection. The cards provide basic information about every structure in the city—dimensions, classification, ownership, and assessed valuation—typically dating from the 1930s through the 1970s or 80s, depending on the Borough. They also include a photograph of the building taken circa 1940. (The original negatives of the prints have been maintained as a separate collection in the Archives. Recently digitized and available online, the “1940 Tax Photographs” are one of the Archives’ most well-known collections.)

153 West 13th Street, 1940 Tax Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

After determining the block and lot number for 153 West 13th Street (Block 603, Lot 11), the card was quickly located. The conveyance section on the card listed an “S. Devlin” as owner of the building beginning in 1881. The 1881 date recorded on the card is very unusual; most property card conveyance information only dates back to the 1930s, when they were first created by the Department of Finance.

The next stop in the research quest was the 1890 “Police” census. It listed the inhabitants of 156 E. 13th Street as Samuel Devlin, age 55, Hannah Devlin, age 55, Robert Devlin, age 32, Samuel B. Devlin, age 23, and Mary Devlin, age 18. Although the 1890 census does not indicate relationships, it seems reasonable to assume that Robert, Samuel B. and Mary were the children of Samuel and Hannah Devlin, and that at some point Robert assumed ownership of the house. 

Perhaps more details could be found to confirm that supposition. Luckily, for the purposes of this research, the De Gregario home was located in lower Manhattan which meant there might be a folder of applications in the Manhattan Department of Buildings collection. Indeed, there was. The earliest documents in the permit folder for Block 608, Lot 11 dated from a 1904 application to alter the building. In addition to information about the proposed alteration, the document indicated the name of the owner. And there he was: “Dr. Robert Devlin.”  Devlin proposed to add a one-story extension to the back of the house to serve as an office. The alteration architect was Henry J. Hardenbergh, the architect of the Dakota apartment building on Central Park West, among other iconic structures. 

Alteration Application 1392 of 1904 (detail).  Department of Buildings Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

The DOB folder contained other applications including one that listed the basement as being used for “photography,” although the time period of that function was not clear. Information listed on another application stated the building had been converted from a one-family to a two-family dwelling with a medical office in the basement, and funeral home on the first floor. That would seem an unfortunate juxtaposition – but perhaps these occupancies were not simultaneous. 

Based on the knowledge that Robert Devlin was in New York City as early as 1890, and the pictures attributed to W. T. Colborn in the collection, it seems quite possible that Devlin was also a member of the Camera Club. Perhaps further research in the Club records at the New York Public Library would confirm Devlin’s association with the Club.   

Hudson River Pier 42, Horatio and Jane Streets, ca. 1890. Photographer: Robert Devlin. De Gregario Lantern Slide Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

This question may never be resolved, but it is obvious that these ‘amateurs’ were talented photographers. The pictures are well-composed and show that the photographer saw the value in documenting important places and events in the city’s history. And fortunately for historians today, lantern slides are a very stable medium. The emulsion layer is on glass and is protected by another layer of glass. Lantern slides are positive images and were intended to be projected for viewing, just like Kodachrome slides, or today’s Powerpoint presentations. 

Here is a selection of more lantern slides from the De Gregario collection. And take a moment to look at the entire series in the gallery. You might agree that sometimes it is the exception to the rule that produces the most interesting result. 

Crowds awaiting cornerstone laying ceremony for the General Grant National Monument, Riverside Drive and 120th Street, Manhattan, 1892. Photographer: W. T. Colbron. De Gregario Lantern Slide Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

On board the S. S. Orinoco to Bermuda, ca. 1890. Photographer: W. T. Colbron. De Gregario Lantern Slide Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Boys roller-skating, Worth and Baxter Street, Manhattan, ca. 1890.  De Gregario Lantern Slide Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street, Manhattan, horse-drawn wagon of N. Y. Transfer Company, ca. 1890. De Gregario Lantern Slide Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

The Mayor is Cordially Invited...

When the Municipal Archives closed in March 2020, due to COVID, and all staff began to work remotely from home, several archivists were assigned to ‘transcription projects.’ This work involved transcribing data from analog descriptive materials, such as hand-written inventories, into searchable databases. 

Invitation to Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia from the Jackson & Perkins Company to the Reception and Preview of the Parade of Modern Roses, June 11, 1940. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Blogs this past year have highlighted several of the transcription projects including the Brooklyn Condemnation Photographs, Brooklyn Grade Crossing Photographs, and the Early Mayors Papers. 

Invitation to Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia from the New York Newspaper Women’s Club to attend their annual party, March 14, 1935. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

As noted in previous blogs about the Early Mayors Papers, archivists transcribing information were struck by the huge volume of letters sent to the mayor. The correspondents made suggestions, filed complaints, requested help finding family members, and very frequently, asked for jobs.

Invitation to Mayor William H. Wickham from the Memorial Committee of the Grand Army of the Republic to take part in their ninth annual parade, May 22 1876. Early Mayors Papers - Mayor William H. Wickham Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

And they also sent invitations. Not surprisingly the mayor was invited to all types of events—grand openings and tours, commemorations, reunions, holiday parties, premieres, fund-raisers, award ceremonies, etc.—sponsored by every type of organization—charitable, entertainment, military, political, religious, academic, neighborhood, athletic, etc.  Often, the mayor was invited to speak at the event, on the assumption that as a politician he would welcome any opportunity to connect with constituents (and preferably voters). 

Invitation to Mayor Hugh J. Grant to visit a horse farm in New Jersey, January 8, 1891. Early Mayors Papers - Mayor Hugh J. Grant Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Somewhat less expected are the invitations to more intimate gatherings. It is not always clear whether the invited mayor was already acquainted with the person or family, but there seems to have been an assumption that of course the Mayor of the City of New York would want to stand as Godfather to a newborn child. 

It also became apparent that this was not just a 19th century phenomenon.  Invitations can be found throughout the mayoral collections in the Municipal Archives, although their location within the collections is not consistent.   

Invitation to Mayor William Gaynor from the Widowed Mothers’ Fund Association to make a brief address at their first annual meeting, December 31, 1909. William Gaynor Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

In the Early Mayors Papers, invitations are filed in the “letters” folders. With only one exception, in the later mayoral collections dating from 1898 to 1934, invitations can be found in the general correspondence series. The exception is Mayor William Gaynor. His subject files included one folder labeled invitations.   

Invitation to Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia to attend the world premiere of the movie “Lillian Russell,” on May 7, 1940, in Clinton, Iowa. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia resumed that approach with the start of his administration, on January 1, 1934. The assistants handling correspondence maintained the many, many invitations received by the Mayor as a separate series. They total 70 cubic feet and are arranged by the name of the requesting person or organization.  Assistants to Mayor O’Dwyer continued this practice.  Invitations to Mayor Impellitteri and Mayor Wagner were separately identified in the subject files. During the administrations of Mayor Lindsay and Mayor Beame, invitations again were filed within the ‘General Correspondence’ series.

Beginning with Mayor Koch, invitations were generally handled by a scheduling office and maintained as a separate series within the records of that office. Invitations sent to Mayor Dinkins total 110 cubic feet. Invitations can also be found in the Mayor Koch, Dinkins and Giuliani photograph collections. 

Given the quantity of invitations, clearly the mayor only accepted a tiny fraction of the requests. Prior to the LaGuardia years, it is often difficult to determine which invitations were accepted and which were not. 

Letter of Regret, May 2, 1940. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

In Mayor LaGuardia’s files, an invitation is almost always accompanied by a carbon copy of the reply sent in response. Mayor LaGuardia’s answers are in the form of a short letter, usually written by an assistant, politely thanking the sender and explaining that his busy schedule prevented attendance at the event.  Replying to the Lillian Russell World Premiere Committee, in Clinton, Iowa, on May 10, 1940, James Harten, Aide to the Mayor, “. . . regrets engagements here in New York precludes his making a trip to Iowa at that time. He is sorry a more favorable reply cannot be sent, but is confident you will understand the situation.” 

Invitation, via telegram, to Mayor William O’Dwyer, to be a dais guest of honor at dinner under auspices of the Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award Committee, May 3, 1949. Mayor William O’Dwyer Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Apparently, Mr. Harten kept his job as “Aide to the Mayor” under LaGuardia’s successor, Mayor William O’Dwyer (1946-1950). On May 28, 1946, Harten wrote to Mr. Arthur Smith, Secretary of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home Club, in Hyde Park, N.Y. saying that Mayor O’Dwyer, “…regrets to find his time schedule on that day leave no opportunity of planning an additional commitment since his entire afternoon is taken up by engagements preciously accepted.” O’Dwyer had been invited to a memorial service for the late President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, on Memorial Day.   

Invitation to Mayor William O’Dwyer to view the new Rolls-Royce and Bentley Cars, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, November 1947. Mayor William O’Dwyer Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Not all mayoral invitations, especially those after the LaGuardia administration, are accompanied by copies of the reply.  On many, the answer is hand-written on the invitation itself.  Mayor O’Dwyer received an invitation, in the form of a telegram dated May 3, 1949, to be a “guest of honor at dinner under auspices of Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award Committee,” to be held on May 13th at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.  “Regret- Mayor has previous engagement” is scrawled on the invitation, along with a notation that “K of C [Knights of Columbus] Charity Ball Same Night.” 

Invitation, to Mayor William O’Dwyer, to attend premiere of movie, “The Roosevelt Story,” July 31, 1947. Mayor William O’Dwyer Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

The death of President Roosevelt in 1945 led to a striking number of invitations to events dedicated to his memory. In addition to the Roosevelt Home Club, and the Four Freedoms Award Committee, O’Dwyer’s records include invitations from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial Foundation and The Roosevelt House Clubs at Hunter College. It also included an invitation to the world premiere of a movie, “The Roosevelt Story,” billed as “The Most Important Picture of the Century,” at 8;30 p.m. on August 21, 1947. The invitation was careful to note that it followed “. . . a scenario which received Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt’s approval.”  Mayor O’Dwyer RSVP’d yes for this one.   

Invitation to Mayor Robert F. Wagner from the Afro Arts Cultural Centre, to make an address at their inaugural ceremonies, November 11, 1965. Mayor Robert F. Wagner Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Invitation to Mayor Robert F. Wagner, to the dedication of new Boys’ Club in the Bronx, November 30, 1965. Mayor Robert F. Wagner Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

The practice of sending a formal letter of reply became less consistent during the Wagner administration (1954-1965). In some instances, a telephone call from an assistant served the purpose. An assistant to Mayor Wagner noted “Regretted… spoke to Miss Smith” in reply to the Madison Square Boys’ Club invitation to the dedication of their new Boys’ Club in the Bronx, on December 13, 1965. Similarly, an aide penciled “Mr. Epstein accepted phone message of regret on November 9, 1965,” on the invitation from The New York Society of Architects for their Annual Dinner Dance on December 14, 1965. 

The thousands of invitations add a human element to the oftentimes dry and impersonal documents in the mayoral collections that record the city’s history over more than a century. 

In a letter dated October 27, 1891, Mrs. John McCann, “respectfully” wrote Mayor Hugh Grant: “Dear Sir, You are kindly invited to stand as God Father to your intended name sake Hugh J. Grant McCann in Father Taylor’s Church, 71st Street near Boulevard next Sunday the first of November at 4 p.m.” Mayor Grant’s reply

Aunty J. Walker

Mayor Bill DeBlasio launched the City’s multi-agency Vision Zero initiative in 2014 to improve street safety and reduce the number of pedestrian and biker fatalities. There are now 1,375 miles of bike lanes in the City and Vision Zero has led to a reduction in pedestrian fatalities and how City streets are utilized.  

Greater New York Merchants’ Association Bulletin, Feb. 11, 1924. Mayor Hylan Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

It may not be a surprise that issue of traffic density, pedestrian access and shared streets are intertwined and have been at play since the early days of automobile travel. The New York Police Department annual reports in the Municipal Library help tell the story. In 1917, Commissioner Arthur Woods submitted a report on the Department’s activities to Mayor John Purroy Mitchel. Although most reports were published annually, this one spanned the years 1914 – 1917—the duration of Mitchel’s term.  Many topics in the report would sound familiar today:  Bureau of Lost Property, Illicit Sale of Narcotics, Welfare Work by Policemen, Crime, Patrolmen, etc. The author, ostensibly the Police Commissioner, acknowledged that the high number of street accidents was “one of the big problems of this administration.” Citing increased population, newly-built high buildings and the use of loft buildings for manufacturing in the midst of the city as factors he noted another cause, “The invention of motor vehicles and the rapid expansion of their use, while helping to solve the transportation problem, added to the accident problem by substituting swift, silent, heavy masses for the comparatively safe horse and wagon.” Statistics compiled in precincts “showed that many more lives were lost through accident than through murder.” 

New York Police Department, Bureau of Public Safety, NYC Municipal Library

The Department determined to undertake a three-pronged strategy to reduce accidents: educating the police department itself, public education and appeals to public-spirited agencies. Long before Compstat, the Department set up a data gathering and analysis project that included a special form to report accidents, pin maps to visualize the locations, and monthly meetings of a Committee of Police Inspectors on Street Safety “to which the Commanding Officers of selected precincts were called.”  Attendees discussed the cause of accidents as well as how to prevent them and “awakened the Commanding Officers of the seriousness of the problem and to their responsibility in the matter.” Additionally, each precinct’s accident record was published monthly in the Police Bulletin, which every patrol office received.   

NYPD Accident Report Form. NYC Municipal Reference Library

The centralized data allowed the department to identify and fix danger spots and calculate which streets were the most dangerous.  It turned out that the intersection of diagonal streets/avenues with cross streets were more dangerous than rectangular crossings.  Most accidents occurred mid-block and the pedestrian was “guilty of contributory negligence.”  The information gleaned by analyzing the accident reports was used in lectures and Sergeants at the “training school,” a forerunner to today’s Police Academy. 

Throughout 1916 and 1917, the Sergeants were deployed, in turn, to schools, clubs, community centers, and factories to educate the public on street safety.  They spoke to drivers at garages and stables and prospective buyers at automobile and motorcycle shows.  Patrol officers distributed Police Safety Booklets, leaflets were inserted into theater programs, stereooptican slides were shown at movie theaters and placards were placed in subways, elevated trains and street cars. 

New York Police Department Annual Report,1924. NYC Municipal Library.

A committee volunteered their time to consider solutions to the accident problem.  The report showed “that half the accidents are due to pedestrians trying to cross the streets at places other than the proper cross walk.” The committee concluded that persuading pedestrians to cross only at the crossings would reduce accidents.  They also suggested that public education on avoiding accidents be expanded.

Police Department Commissioner Richard E. Enright seemed to take the topic of street safety and traffic congestion personally, authoring several articles as well as sections of the annual reports. In 1922, he launched the Bureau of Public Safety within the Police Department with the mission of reducing accidents and making the City’s streets safe.  Staffed with police officers, analysts and communications specialists, and directed by an advertising wizard, Barron Gift Collier, who designed and launched an outreach campaign that quickly became extremely popular.  It featured a cartoonish character, Aunty J. Walker who brandished a nightstick and wore an old-fashioned bonnet. She had a kind smile but a somewhat stern demeanor, urging the exercise of common sense and cautioning against carelessness.  

Collier, himself was an interesting character.  Born in Memphis, he built a fortune by inventing advertising cards that were posted in streetcars and trollies.  His eventual holdings included several resort hotels, a cruise line to Havana and utility companies.  Florida’s Collier County is named for him, perhaps because he built the Tamiami Trail across the State from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.  By 1933 Collier announced he couldn’t pay his debts, and was the first filer under the bankruptcy law President Herbert Hoover signed into law on his last day in office.  

New York Police Department, Bureau of Public Safety, NYC Municipal Library

The outreach and advertising campaign included posters, leaflets and pledge cards. 

In 1923, the Department’s report proposed two drastic measures that resonate today:  limiting the number of automobiles allowed to operate in Manhattan and making bus travel fast and efficient. Acknowledging that limiting the number of cars in Manhattan would be a heavy lift, “Nothing could be plainer than the numerous objections there would be to such a plan,” Commissioner Enright said the benefits outweighed the opposition.  “The growth in the number of vehicles in the City of New York has far exceeded the capacity of the City’s streets, which were laid out at a period when the present tremendous volume of vehicular traffic could not be foreseen.  There are too few main thoroughfares, while the tributary streets are too narrow to properly accommodate the vehicles using them at the present day. The cure for the trouble does not lie in further measures of regulation in congested sections.  New arteries of traffic must be provided to accommodate the vast number of vehicles using the streets of the city, which may reasonably be expected to increase in numbers from year to year.  Surface car tracks should be removed.  The streetcar is antiquated as a means of public conveyance and constitutes an impediment to modern vehicles.”  The recommendation was to replace the street cars with bus lines that provided a more flexible and expeditious means of travel with the minimum possibility of congestion.”  

Actions that the Department implemented gave rise to permanent changes in the cityscape.  One approach to moving traffic along was the designation of one-way streets to reduce congestion which included the placement of “street signs with arrows pointing in the direction traffic should proceed.”  These one-way streets not only “moved traffic more smoothly, they are less dangerous for pedestrians, who are not confused by traffic moving in opposite directions.”  Another innovation was designating safe spaces where passengers would wait to board or disembark from street cars.  These Car Stop Safety Zones were placed “where groups of people usually wait for cars.”  Thus, in June 1914 what have evolved to today’s bus stops were first deployed in the City as a safety measure.  The City began installing traffic signals at intersections, a feature now taken for granted. One from this early period is even designated a City Landmark . 

Keeping streets safe was a topic of interest in cities across the country.  This was, after all, the Progressive Era in which policy was based on factfinding.  Many followed the New York City example and began collecting data, establishing one-way streets and installing traffic lights.  The effort was amplified by various associations including the Automobile Club of America which, in 1923, published a pamphlet entitled “Making the Road Safe.” In many ways it reads like a drivers’ training manual—speeding is reckless driving, pass only on the left-hand side after signaling, keep to the right when rounding a corner or turn, etc.   But one subsection has a particularly odd tone.  Dealing with pedestrians, it states that that pedestrians outnumber motorists by quite a bit and urges caution. “Even a ‘jay-walker’ cannot be run down if it can be avoided and this is true though the local rules make him an offender too.  Pedestrians often appear stupid or careless, and lots of them are, but you cannot change human nature, unless by persistent education.  However stupid or careless, they are human beings like yourself, and their lives are just as dear to them and to their friends and families as yours may be.  It is small comfort when one kills or maims a fellow creature to say, “It was his own fault.” 

This has a decidedly different tone than that of Aunty J. Walker, who urged motorists to sign a pledge to drive safely.  “It’s your duty to Help Save Human Life” proclaimed a poster adorned with her image and outstretched hand. 

New York Police Department, Bureau of Public Safety, NYC Municipal Library

The Police Department also stepped up enforcement, conducting inspections to identify cars with faulty breaks, monitoring traffic violations and warning jaywalkers.  Whether it was the ubiquitous advertising campaign,  data collection that identified areas for improvement, increased enforcement  or, as is likely, a combination.  The Bureau of Public Safety was successful in its mission to improve road safety.  By 1925,  motor vehicle injuries had dropped 77.1 % from the 1923 level. The Police Department calculated that there was a reduction of 6.2 fatalities per 10,000 vehicles operating in the City or “234 human beings were saved from death.” 

The Belvedere Castle in Central Park

Belvedere Castle, ca. 2019. During a 15-month restoration by the Central Park Conservancy new glass windows and doors were added, the structures and terraces were repaired, a new drainage system was put into place, and a newly recreated wood tower was added at the castle’s northwest corner. Photograph courtesy Central Park Conservancy.

The collection of Parks Drawings at the Municipal Archives are often called the “jewel in the crown” within the holdings. It includes hundreds of exquisite plans and designs of parks throughout the city and in particular, Central Park. Originally created to illustrate the park designers’ intentions and to guide those who built the parks, many of these drawings are now considered works of art. Some are again being utilized as “working” drawings, providing essential information for on-going restoration projects in the parks. One of the most visible of the recent projects is the Belvedere Castle. 

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Study for the Belvedere Castle, 1870.  Department of Parks Drawings Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Perched atop the high-rising Vista Rock in Central Park, Belvedere Castle has an interesting history. As early as 1859, park designers Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted had planned on placing an object of visual interest at “the highest and most remote part of the hill as seen from the terrace.” The men recognized that the location of the rocky outcrop, the second-highest point in the park after Summit Rock, would provide visitors with an overlook that showed off the scenic splendors of the north and south ends of the expanse including the Ramble and the original Croton Reservoir (now the Great Lawn).

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Park visitors enjoying Belvedere Castle c. 1885. DeGregario Lantern Slide Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Designed in 1865 by Vaux and fellow architect Jacob Wrey Mould as a Victorian folly or “eye-catcher,” the miniature castle would not have been out of place in any European pleasure ground. Built at a three-quarter scale in a Norman-Romanesque style, it worked to create a nostalgia for another place and time, a popular theme in the grand European parks of the day. Belvedere was constructed out of the same gray Manhattan schist that formed Vista Rock. From the Terrace, Belvedere (Italian for “beautiful view”), is a picturesque, arresting  nd distant visual focal point.  It draws the viewer’s gaze up through the nearby Ramble, which was planted with dark foliage that made bold reflections on the surface of the Lake.

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Shelter 1, Belvedere Castle, 1871.  The small shelter was Jacob Wrey Mould’s replacement for the planned second stone tower. Department of Parks Drawings Collection, NYC Municipal Archives. 

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Section and elevations, Belvedere Castle, 1867. Department of Parks Drawings Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

The Parks Drawings include several original designs of the Belvedere Castle. The earliest plan, dating from 1867, shows two towers on the grounds. The buildings were open structures with no doors or windows, to be used as a venue “for gathering and shelter of a number of visitors in an informal picturesque way at this attractive point.” The foundations for both were dug in that year, but by 1870 only the main building, with its distinctive flag and clock tower, was underway. The Architect-in-Chief, Jacob Wrey Mould  (Vaux and Olmsted resigned from the park in 1870 after the new Tweed regime led by Peter Sweeny took over) was determined to finance his recently designed sheepfold buildings rather than the Belvedere.The Board of Commissioners of the newly-formed Department of Public Parks agreed to replace the projected second stone building with a small wooden pavilion of Mould’s design. This saved an estimated $50,000 and was found to be “. . .  quite satisfactory to the public.” 

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Belvedere Castle, ca. 1980. Photograph courtesy Central Park Conservancy.

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Belvedere Castle, ca. 2019. Photograph courtesy Central Park Conservancy.

As with many of the buildings in the park, the purpose of the castle changed over time. In 1919, the U.S. Weather Bureau converted the building into a weather station, adding windows and doors to create offices within the structure. When they relocated in the 1960s, the Castle fell into disrepair and became a target of vandalism. In 1983, the Central Park Conservancy undertook the first of their two renovations of the building and reopened it as a visitor center. In 2019, they completed an extraordinary project to restore and modernize the building and terraces which included, among other things, the reconstruction of the wooden pavilion and improved access to the site.

Neighborhood Health

The Municipal Library holds a vast collection of material from the City’s Health Department. Currently named the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), the agency was known as the Department of Health (DOH) in earlier times. During the Administration of Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia the Department issued regular bulletins titled, “Neighborhood Health.”

Measuring 9”x 12” inches and consisting of between eight and twelve pages, the bulletins were published bimonthly by the DOH Bureau of Health Education.  Initially published in 1935, the series was issued through 1941. The early volumes focused on a range of issues and provided updates from the eight health districts in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan. By 1937, each publication tended to extensively cover a specific matter, and also listed resources and events, including the Department’s frequent radio talks broadcast on WNYC radio. 

Neighborhood Health, Posture Issue, November, 1940. illustration. Municipal Library. 

Many topics are to be expected such as reducing the spread of Diabetes, Controlling Tuberculosis, or Preventing and Treating Measles. Others are more eccentric--Posture and Health (“Posture affects not merely our appearance and physical health, but our very sense of well-being.  It has a marked influence on our emotions.  The famous psychologist, William James, once wrote that correct posture kept up the spirts and tended to banish fear and depressing thoughts.”),

The lead article in the May, 1937 issue was “A Message to New York City’s Mothers” from Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt.  “… it is vital that the mothers should guard their health and that they should know how to guard the health of their children.  This is largely a question of education. The Economic situation of the family, of course, is the basis on which is founded a standard of living.”  The issue also provided facts around infant mortality. In 1900, 135 out of 1,000 babies died in their first year but by 1937, the number had been cut by two thirds to 45.  Contrast that to 2018 when the incidence is 3.9 deaths per 1,000 babies in the City. 

Controlling syphilis was the topic of several issues. The September 1939 issue was subtitled the “Venereal Disease Issue.” Neighborhood Health, Municipal Library. 

Annually, the July publication would cover summer activities.  “Summer is here. During the cold weather many, unwisely, shut themselves in their homes and dare not brave the wintry blasts.  But now the sun is shining and the call of the outdoors is irresistible.”

Neighborhood Health, Summer Sports and Health Issue, July, 1937, illustration.  Municipal Library. 

The head of the football program at New York University penned the front-page article, “Summer Sports and Health” for the July 1937 edition. It contained this somewhat remarkable advice about preparing to play sports. “The players are in the growing period of their lives, and at this time they need a much greater amount of rest.  Young boys and girls should have at least eleven hours of sleep each day.  During the adolescent period about ten hours are sufficient…” 

Neighborhood Health, Summer Sports and Health Issue, July, 1937, illustration.  Municipal Library. 

A squib on the inside pages reminded readers of “the menace to the health of all individuals” bathing in the East River and Harlem River due to the dumping of approximately “350,000,000 gallons of sewage daily.”  Noting the Department of Sanitation was working to build sewage treatment plants the guidance encouraged the use of the twenty-one swimming pools that had recently been built and concluded, “Children must be urged to use them and to keep out of the polluted rivers.”

Someone didn’t read that piece because in the 1941 edition, a column on safe swimming  stated, “A knowledge of swimming and water safety is an advantage in New York, for there is water on all sides and the shore line is more than 500 miles in length.” 

What the Champions Say provided advice from three stars including Lou Gehrig and the nine-time national tennis champion, Molla Bjursted Mallory.  She cited the large number of public tennis courts that the City had built and encouraged, “Don’t think that you are too old or too inexperienced to become one of the followers of the sport. You will be surprised what can be accomplished with a little effort.  

Thomas Jefferson Park Pool, ca. 1937.  Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives 

No less an eminence that Robert Moses authored the front-page story in 1939, titled Parks Mean Health and Safety. He touted the five prior years of rebuilding adequate recreational facilities. In a claim that would raise severe doubts today he wrote, “Great parkways have been and are still being built, not only as great  arteries leading in and out of the city and connecting its boroughs, but as shoe-string parks with incidental paths and playgrounds for the protection, improvement and recreation of the neighborhoods through which they pass.”   Tell that to the neighbors of the BQE or the LIE!

He also touted the planned conversion of the New York City Building at the 1939 Worlds Fair into the “largest and best equipped recreation building in any park system in the country.” Flushing Meadow Park was to have bridle paths, tennis and archery courts, lakes for small boats, tennis courts and softball fields. And, the parking lot that held 12,000 cars was to be a 65-acre recreation area.

An article in the July 1940, summer issue provided advice that will strike readers today as horribly misguided.  “Sun baths should be started early in infancy and carried on throughout childhood.  While getting a sun bath, the baby’s eyes should be protected from the sun’s rays. “  YIKES!   The writer continued to warn parents not to “forget that over-exposure is harmful and at times very serious.”

In that same edition, the Hot Weather Hints advised “Don’t have iced drinks when you are overheated,” as well as urging readers to “boil all water taken from a spring or brook before you drink it”.  Wouldn’t you think the advice would be NOT to drink water from a spring or brook? 

Beechwood Avenue Playground, New Brighton, Staten Island, ca. 1941.  Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives

This year, the City launched the Summer Rising summer school program available to all of the City’s Kindergarten – Grade 12 students.  The program offers both academic and enrichment programs and 200, 000 students are participating.   Something similar was offered by the Board of Education (BOE) in 1940:  cool, clean, safe schools equipped for play.  Four hundred were open in July and August—41 had swimming pools and 100 had outdoor showers.   The program offered athletic and art programs supplemented by field trips and were staffed by 1,000 Board of Education staff and augmented by hundreds of workers funded by the Works Progress Administration.  In 1939, 200,000 school children used the facilities.  “Children learn through play just as they do through formal schooling” opined the director of Recreational and Community Activities at the Board.

A favorite 1940 article begins, “Vacations are now regarded among the necessities of life.  It is difficult to believe that as recently as 50 years ago they were looked upon as great luxuries and were only for the fortunate few.  Today this attitude has been entirely changed.  We now realize that the body needs relaxation and, unless it gets it at definite intervals, maximum efficiency cannot be attained.”  The theme continued the next year: “summer time means vacation time.” But, the writer noted a great mistake made by city residents:  crowding two weeks of vacation with too many activities.  “For 50 weeks of the year they lead sedentary lives.  Now they feel they must make up for lost time.  The results are often disastrous.  Don’t try to crowd every possible pleasure into the short holiday period.  Don’t live so strenuously that you come back to work all tired out.”  Some advice is timeless.

In 1941 the front page of the summer issue focused on the park playgrounds of New York City.  Recognizing that outdoor play and other activities were important, New York had increased the number of playgrounds from 119 in 1933 to 417 in 1941.   The writer cited a study of conditions in neighborhoods with new playgrounds conducted by the Department of Parks.  A finding was, “In a quarter mile radius of the new playgrounds, street accidents decreased, and fewer cases appeared before the children’s courts.” 

Summer Campers, ca 1939. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives

Departing for Summer Camp, ca 1939. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives

An article on summer camps for children offered a brief history of the Fresh Air Fund, which continues to provide City children with sleepaway camp and host family experiences.    “In 1873 Mrs. A. P. Stokes started what she called “a sanitorium for small children.”  This was taken over the next year by the Children’s Aid Society. In 1877 the Rev. Willard Parsons, who had moved from his East Side parish to a small church in Pennsylvania, induced his congregation to open their homes to New York City’s children.  Thus was started a movement which grew under the direction of the New York Tribune until last year that paper’s Fresh Air Fund sent more than 14, 000 children from the city’s heat.”   

There is more—alarm about thousands of  forest fires, advice about the best clothing to provide circulation of air over the body while absorbing moisture,  hiking advice “ a hiker is no better than his feet,” avoiding sunstroke and eating a balanced diet.   Although the statistics in the articles are dated and the illustrations are not modern, many topics in the Neighborhood Health bulletins remain relevant today.