Look for The Cat Men of Gotham at bookstores and online in 2019.
As many of my readers know, I am currently working on a compilation of cat stories for my upcoming book, The Cat Men of Gotham: Tales of Feline Friendships in Old New York. The book features 42 stories in nine cat-lives chapters. In addition to some favorite stories from my Hatching Cat blog, there are lots of new stories never before published on my site and tons of new historical facts. Plus, the book will also have a thorough list of all my sources, so if you want to read the actual stories in all the old newspaper articles that I use for my website, you’ll be able to find them easily online. (Note: many of the older newspaper articles are behind firewalls, so you will need to subscribe in order to access them.)
The book is being published by Rutgers University Press, and it will be on the market early next year (I don’t have an exact date yet). As soon as it’s available for pre-ordering, I will let you know. I’ll also keep everyone posted on book signings. Most of these will be at bookstores and organizations in the New York/New Jersey area–The Lambs theatrical club is already first in line!–so hopefully I’ll have a chance to meet many of you in the near future. If you belong to a club or have a favorite bookstore in the metropolitan area, and would like to set up a book signing, please let me know.
By the way, I’m not 100% certain that this will be the cover, but I have my fingers crossed! The circa 1925 photo features a mother cat named Blackie and one of her kittens. The full story of Blackie and police officer James Cudmore is featured in the “Lucky Cats” chapter of the book.
More than a century before the World Trade Center was attacked on September 11, 2001, and about 25 years before the site became known as Radio Row (a small business district specializing in the sale and repair of radios), Cortlandt Street was home to numerous factories and loft buildings. And lots of stray cats.
For one sassy little bull terrier who resided in the lower end of Cortlandt Street–right about where the South Tower of the World Trade Center would later rise and fall–these street cats were prime targets for his daily bullying. In fact, the bully bull terrier had a reputation for “shaking the life half out of the neighborhood cats.”
As the Stylistics sang in the 1970s, payback is a dog. A very large mastiff, that is.
This is not Mrs. Herman and Pinky, but this is what the monkey and dog mascots of Engine Company No. 31 may have looked like when Mrs. Herman rode on Pinky’s back.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) permitted firemen to keep one dog or one cat mascot (not both) or singing birds in their firehouse (apparently there was no limit on the number of singing birds allowed). These animal mascots, in addition to the horses that pulled the apparatus, provided companionship for the men, who were often required to stay at their firehouses for more than a week at a time with only a few hours off.
Engine Company No. 31 and No. 1 Tower Company, which shared headquarters in the famous castle-like firehouse at 87 Lafayette Street, broke these rules by having not only one feline and one canine mascot, but also a mascot from the primate family.
Her name was Mrs. Herman, and she was reportedly the only monkey firefighter at this time (or perhaps at any time) in the United States.
Mrs. Herman was a native of Java, an island of Indonesia primarily comprising a tropical rain forest. I don’t know how or why she came to the United States, but I do know that she joined the fire department in 1904.
Mrs. Herman knew every firefighter by name, and she enjoyed wearing the regulation fire-fighting attire of her male counterparts (she did not like to wear dresses). She also liked to spend time with Pluto, the big gray horse of the No. 1 Tower Company, and with Pinky, the four-year-old spotted coach dog mascot owned by Lieutenant Sullivan of the tower company. Two of her favorite things to do were ride around the block on Pinky’s back and take naps on Pluto’s back.
Mrs. Herman didn’t get along very well with Boxer, the firehouse mascot cat. In fact, she made his life pretty miserable. Poor thing.
In February 1905, the men loaned their monkey mascot to the Educational Alliance at 197 East Broadway. There, she entertained the children during evening programs for five months.
Founded in 1889 and originally established as a settlement house for East European Jews immigrating to New York City, the Educational Alliance offered basic classes on English and how to be a good American, as well as creative and recreational programs to offer immigrants a respite from their tenement lives. The flagship building at 197 East Broadway was originally called the Hebrew Institute.
When Mrs. Herman returned to the firehouse, the men held a party in her honor. She entertained the guests by doing one of her many tricks – sliding down a ladder from the sleeping quarters to the engine room.
Poor Boxer the cat was not invited to the party. He was relegated to a neighboring fence, from which he viewed the merry reception and sulked.
The monkey mascot made the headlines when she returned to her firehouse home.
Over the years, Engine Company No. 31 had numerous animal mascots, including a famous cat named Smoke, whom I write about in my upcoming book, The Cat Men of Gotham. The company was disbanded on November 25, 1972.
A Brief History of Engine Company No. 31
Metropolitan Engine Company No. 31 was organized on October 20, 1865, at 116 Leonard Street. This firehouse had previously been home to Fulton Engine Company No. 21 of the volunteer fire department.
Fulton Engine Company, one of the city’s earliest engine companies, had been organized in June 1795 at Burling Slip. (Burling Slip was an inlet for ships on the East River until 1835, when it was filled in to create John Street, between Front and South Streets.) The company moved to the Baptist Meeting House on Gold Street (between Fulton and John Streets) in 1796 and then to the Fireman’s Hall on Fulton Street.
Over the years, the company relocated numerous times until finally moving into its new house at 116 Leonard Street in 1864, under the command of foreman Patrick Gavagan and assistant foreman Michael Buckley. (The city had purchased this property in 1862 for $10,000.)
Fulton Engine Company No. 21 was located on Anthony Street (Worth Street) near Broadway in 1855.
The firehouse at 116 Leonard Street was a three-story brick house that had previously served as a boarding house for families and single men. It was replaced in 1866 by what was considered a first-class building, large and airy, with all the comforts necessary.
The second floor featured a large bunk room and officers’ room, and the third floor provided space for “a variety of amusements” (it reportedly had a “boat pulling arrangement,” whatever that could be.)
A year after moving into 116 Leonard Street, Fulton Engine Company No. 21 was disbanded to make way for Engine Company No. 31 of the new paid fire department.
Here’s the roster for Fulton Engine Company No. 21 in 1865, the year the volunteer fire company was disbanded and replaced by Engine Company No. 31.
Engine Company No. 31 Moves to Elm Street
In 1893, the New York Life Insurance Company commissioned architect Stephen Decatur Hatch to extend its headquarters at 346 Broadway eastward toward Leonard Street. Shortly thereafter, Hatch passed away. The renowned architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White were commissioned to complete the project.
In exchange for the firehouse property at 116 Leonard Street, the insurance company offered the services of Stanford White as a consultant on a new firehouse for Engine Company No. 31. The city also received $83,000 for the old firehouse—a sum then adequate to build three standard single-bay firehouses.
In 1894, the men of Engine Company No. 31 were temporarily relocated to the old Grammar School No. 24 at 66-68 Elm Street (a two-story building constructed in 1843-44) while their new castle was constructed at the northeast corner of White Street and Elm Street (today’s Lafayette Street). The men and their animal mascots moved into their new home–“The finest firehouse in the world”–in 1896.
In 1905, the famous fairy-tale firehouse on Elm Street got a new address: 87 Lafayette Street.
The old Grammar School–or Ward School No. 24–served as temporary headquarters for Engine Company No. 31 while their new firehouse was being constructed just up the street on the corner of Elm and White Streets. This building was replaced by a much larger building and renumbered 64-60 Lafayette Street in 1905. Today this site is occupied by the New York County Family Court.
The new firehouse was built with horses in mind, and featured stable doors that opened automatically as the fire bell rang so the 17 horses could charge out. The interior was completely converted for use with motorized equipment in 1912.
Here are the men of Engine Company No. 31 in front of their new firehouse in 1896.
In 1965, the city took the firehouse out of service and sold the building, which by this time was due for an extensive restoration and modernization, including fireproofing. Engine Company No. 31 was temporarily relocated with Engine Company No. 66 at 363 Broome Street, and then at 100 Duane Street until 1970, when it returned to Broome Street until the company disbanded.
The firehouse at 87 Lafayette Street in the 1930s. Notice the old Esso gas station to the left.
Although it was declared a city landmark in 1966 and placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in January 1972, the old firehouse on Lafayette Street sat empty and neglected for years until 1978. Today it’s occupied by Downtown Community Television Center (DCTV), which recently completed an extensive $800,000 renovation project on the building.
Here’s how the old firehouse looks today. Photo by P. Gavan
Since my last two posts were about too many cats, I thought it appropriate to be fair and balanced by following up with a story about the history of the Daily News and too many dogs.
Years ago, the New York Daily News had a daily feature called “The Inquiring Photographer,” in which citizens suggested questions for a roving photographer to ask ordinary people on the streets. For the March 16, 1922, issue, Miss Anne Bonnard of 19 West 52nd Street posed this question: Are there too many dogs in New York? For submitting this question, Miss Bonnard received $1 from the Daily News.
Following is a summary of the responses (I love the last one—it seems quite appropriate for today’s world):
Louisa Hale provided food and water to every stray cat in the neighborhood, However, Dr. Hale was an equal partner with his wife when it came to cat hoarding. (This is not Mrs. Hale, but I imagine it could be her.)
In Part I of this Old New York cat story, we met Dr. Hale, the superintendent of Brooklyn’s public baths who was arrested and charged with uncleanliness — that is, for having a messy house filled with way too many cats. In Part II, I’ll tell you why the fur was flying at 40 First Place after Dr. William Henry Hale placed an anonymous “cats for sale” ad in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in 1908.
We’ll also explore a brief history of the Brooklyn public baths. This is, after all, a blog that explores the history of New York City.
More than a century before the World Trade Center was attacked on September 11, 2001, and about 25 years before the site became known as Radio Row (a small business district specializing in the sale and repair of radios), Cortlandt Street was home to numerous factories and loft buildings. And lots of stray cats.
