Everyone who came through the port of New York from the mid 1800s to 1891 entered officially though Castle Gardens in what is now Battery Park. Everyone entering the port of New York after 1891 liked, Mathias, Nappy, James and Bridget Langan, entered the States through Ellis Island. For more information on the immigration process click HERE.

Catherine Furst Schwarzmeier Lindemann, Julius Lindemann, Minnie Lindemann Goehle, Catherine Lindemann Beyerkohler Van Loo and Peter Goehle all lived on the Lower East Side in "Little Germany".

Early addresses for the Langans were along 2nd Avenue between 14th and 43rd Streets.

This section includes pictures and information on Manhattan from Battery Park to below 34th Street.

For information on other parts of New York City go to:
Blizzard of 1888
Central Park
1863 Draft Riot
Tenement Life
Midtown Manhattan
Services and Utilities
Transportation

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City copyright 1905

Post marked 1905

Posted 1909

Posted 1906

1908

Before the late 1890s an easy way to get to the upper floors and restrictions in building materials limited the construction of tall office and apartment buildings. While elevators did exist, they were slow and run by steam. The upper floors of taller buildings were low rent and often occupied by the janitor.

By 1899 building up to 12 stories with speedy and comfortable elevators were being built. By 1901 almost all of Manhattan south of city hall was occupied by tall office buildings. The Park Row Building for instance had 32 stories, 950 rooms, and elevators with a daily traffic of 25,000 people. The new taller buildings introduced "express" as well as local elevators.

In the early 1900s one building quickly replaced another as "the tallest building in the world".

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The Municipal Building designed by McKim, Mead and White was built in 1914.

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Posted 1923

1. Manhattan Bridge
2. Brooklyn Bridge AKA, East River Bridge
3. The Municipal Building
4. The Woolworth Building
5. The Entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge
6. City Hall Park

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1. City Hall
2. Entrance to Brooklyn Bridge

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Posted 1909

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The Lower East Side is that area of Manhattan bordered by Houston Street in the north, the Bowery in the west, and the East River in the east and south as far as the Brooklyn Bridge. In the late 1800s the area was known as as Kleindeutschland or Little Germany.

Post marked 1910

By the mid 1870's elevated trains ran along 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 9th Avenues. While they improved the speed of travel they were loud and caused pollution.

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Harpers Weekly April 1871

Atlantic Gardens, located on the Bowery, was a great hall lined where people went to drink beer. See Germans Immigrants to America

The sign post says Rivington Street

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From at least 1875 until at least 1897 Peter Goehle and his family lived either just north or just south of Delancey Street on the Lower East Side.

Several of the addresses where they lived were very near that end of Delancey Street which is now the approach to the Williamsburg Bridge. Construction on the Williamsburg Bridge started in 1896 and was completed in 1903. The buildings north of the bridge ramp remained until the 1950s when all of the buildings north of Delancey, east of Pitt Street (Avenue C) and south of Houston over to the river were razed and the Samuel Gompers Houses, Masaryk Towers, and Baruch Houses were built in the area.

For a period of time the Goehles lived at 63 Columbia Street. This address would now lie between Masryk Towers and Baruch Houses. They also lived on Sheriff Street which now lies east of Hamilton Fish Park just south of Houston. Most likely Sheriff Street once extended down to Delancey through what is now the grounds surrounding Masaryk Towers.

Samuel Gompers housing was build in 1964. The project was named for Samuel Gompers who was born in London of a Dutch Jewish family. The family immigrated to New York City in 1863. Gompers was president of the American Federation of Labour from 1886-1894.

Baruch is a large complex of 18 towers located between Columbia Street and the East River Drive that was mostly built in 1959.

The following pictures give some idea how the area looked in the early 1900s just after the Williamsburg Bridge was built.

"WILLIAMBURG BRIDGE APPROACH
NEW YORK CITY
Williamsburg Bridge, a combined cantilever and suspension bridge, opened Dec. 19, 1903, crossing the East River from Delancey Street, New York City to Broadway, Brooklyn. Total length 7,200 feet, width 188 feet, height 135 feet clear. Cost $10,000,000."

" East River Park, located at the foot of the New East River Drive. A modern playground at the East River's edge. In the background can be seen the skyline of Midtown Manhattan.

The tennis courts at the bottom of the card are just above Delancey. The East River Park and East River Drive (Franklin Delano Roosevelt Drive or, FDR ) was a Robert Mosses pro

July 5, 1907

Allen Street continues south of First Avenue below Houston. By 1880 the Second Avenue elevated train ran from Allen Street all the way up to 65th Street.

The following two wonderful old photos of East Rivington Street where graciously shared by Mary Canzler, September 2006

"My great great grandfather, Philipp Meckel immigrated from Germany sometime around 1865-1870, worked hard and made enough money to send for his best gal, Katharina Knapp to come over and become his wife. He also put a down payment on two brand new buildings, 246 and 248 Rivington Street. Each building was 4 stories with two stores fronts in each.

My grandfather, Michael Koch opened a barber shop in one of the store fronts at 248 sometime around 1890-1892. He then won the heart and hand of Philipp's daughter Elizabeth and they married. At that time, Philipp was proprietor of Meckel's Orange County Dairy and was also one of the founding fathers of the New York dairymen's league. He picked up the milk from the train station at 11th Avenue. A cousin (or a nephew, family lore is not clear) of Philipp's came over after his mother died. John Meckel had been an officer's chef in the German army, and he worked in the dairy making creamed pickled herring and pot cheese (now known as cottage cheese). Philipp died in 1904 and Michael took over the running of the dairy store and changed the name from Meckel Dairy to Koch Dairy, and added groceries. After Michael died, a man named Joe Rempe bought the business. I believe there is a connection to Joe via a marriage of Philipp Meckels son Philip P. to Mary M. Rempe. It is possible Joe was Mary's brother as I remember "Uncle" Joe as a young girl and he was pretty old then.

As for the people in the photos, none of them look "familiar" to me, they were probably just passersby hamming it up for a moment in eternity.

At least one of the buildings on Rivington Street stayed in the Koch family until around 1956 or so as my Great Aunt Marie and Great Uncle Philip (brother and sister) inherited them. One of the buildings may have already been sold, but one was still in family hands, though not for long. I have a letter from my aunt reporting on the progress of the workers who were taking measurements and discussing the problems of collecting the rents from the apartments. The postmark on the letter was 1956. I have a sad suspicion that when I make my road trip in the spring, I will find that those buildings have been razed and something new and ugly will be in their place. Progress."

For more information on the Meckels and some additional great photos go to Meckel

The German Evangelical Church (AKA 1st German Presbyterian Church) at 89-93 Rivington Street became the 1st Rumanian American Congregation synagogue in 1902. The building collapsed in January 2006.

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The Brooklyn Bridge (at the right of the photo) took 14 years to complete. It was the longest, highest bridge in the world when it opened in 1883.

The Manhattan Bridge (in the center of the photo) was completed in 1912.

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Postmarked 1914

Postmarked 1907

Fourth Avenue and Twenty Eighth Street

Fourth Avenue and Twenty Eighth Street