Parker Building, New York City
Encyclopedia
The Parker Building was a 12-story office and loft structure completed in 1900 at the southeast corner of Fourth Avenue
and 19th Street, in Manhattan (New York). The edifice
occupied ground which was formerly the site of the Gettysburg Cyclorama
structure.
. The acquisition was brokered by Frank E. Smith through John F. Hollingsworth.The latter accepted the Westminster Hotel, at Irving Place, as partial payment. The aggregate mortgage on the Parker Building at the time was $900,000.
of Italian art on the 10th floor of the Parker Building in July 1902. As of August 1904 the art collection continued to be exhibited there. Henry Walters
bought the collection for $1,000,000 in Rome, Italy, in 1902. He eventually moved the art to his own gallery at Charles and Centre Streets in Baltimore, Maryland. The building was designed by architects Delano and Aldrich of New York
. It became the Walters Art Museum
.
purchased by a group of Chicago, Illinois' capitalists for a price between $1,700,000 and $1,800,000. It was located on a large plot measuring 131 by 150 feet in size. The land it occupied was owned by the Matthews estate and passed into the hands of the Cameron Company in 1897. The Parker Company paid some $700,000 for the ground in August 1899.
In October 1900 C.E. Harrell & Company leased approximately 30,000 feet of floor space in the Parker Building to the Kay Scheerer Company, a seller of surgical instruments and hospital supplies.
It was erroneously reported that the fire was started by members of an Armenian Hunchakist
sect which was targeting the A & M Karagheusian company, a rug importing firm, located on the fourth floor of the Parker Building. Mihran Karagheusian was threatened by Parseg Nevrovzyan several months prior to the fire. Nevrovzyan vowed to inflict $200,000 in damages to the Karagheusian business, but did not name the Parker Building in making his threat. Nevrovzyan was arrested. He promised to reveal to the Turkish
government a revolutionary plot which he claimed Karagheusian's brother, Arshag, was interested in. Arshag resided in Constantinople
.
Park Avenue (Manhattan)
Park Avenue is a wide boulevard that carries north and southbound traffic in New York City borough of Manhattan. Through most of its length, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east....
and 19th Street, in Manhattan (New York). The edifice
occupied ground which was formerly the site of the Gettysburg Cyclorama
Gettysburg Cyclorama
The Battle of Gettysburg, also known as the Gettysburg Cyclorama, is a cyclorama painting by the French artist Paul Philippoteaux depicting "Pickett's Charge", the climactic Confederate attack on the Union forces during the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863...
structure.
Insurance company property
In 1902 the Parker Building was acquired by the Metropolitan Life Insurance CompanyMetropolitan Life Insurance Company
MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, or MetLife, for short, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, with 90 million customers in over 60 countries...
. The acquisition was brokered by Frank E. Smith through John F. Hollingsworth.The latter accepted the Westminster Hotel, at Irving Place, as partial payment. The aggregate mortgage on the Parker Building at the time was $900,000.
Temporary art gallery
Government experts appraised paintings and statuary from the Don Marcello Massaranti collectionof Italian art on the 10th floor of the Parker Building in July 1902. As of August 1904 the art collection continued to be exhibited there. Henry Walters
Henry Walters
Henry Walters was president of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad until he retired in 1902. He was founder of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.-Biography:...
bought the collection for $1,000,000 in Rome, Italy, in 1902. He eventually moved the art to his own gallery at Charles and Centre Streets in Baltimore, Maryland. The building was designed by architects Delano and Aldrich of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. It became the Walters Art Museum
Walters Art Museum
The Walters Art Museum, located in Baltimore, Maryland's Mount Vernon neighborhood, is a public art museum founded in 1934. The museum's collection was amassed substantially by two men, William Thompson Walters , who began serious collecting when he moved to Paris at the outbreak of the American...
.
Business records
The Parker Building was sold by the John H. Parker Company through the C.E. Harrell & Company. The Parker Building waspurchased by a group of Chicago, Illinois' capitalists for a price between $1,700,000 and $1,800,000. It was located on a large plot measuring 131 by 150 feet in size. The land it occupied was owned by the Matthews estate and passed into the hands of the Cameron Company in 1897. The Parker Company paid some $700,000 for the ground in August 1899.
In October 1900 C.E. Harrell & Company leased approximately 30,000 feet of floor space in the Parker Building to the Kay Scheerer Company, a seller of surgical instruments and hospital supplies.
Destroyed by fire
The Parker Building and the adjacent Florence Hotel were burned irreparably by a fire which began on the sixth floor of the Parker Building, on January 10, 1908. A night watchman discovered the flames in rooms occupied by the Dettmer Woolen Company. The hotel was separated from the Parker Building by a narrow alley measuring fifteen feet. The conflagration began around 7 p.m., and by 11 p.m. the Parker Building was gutted.It was erroneously reported that the fire was started by members of an Armenian Hunchakist
Social Democrat Hunchakian Party
The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party , is the oldest of the Armenian political parties and was the first Socialist party in the Ottoman Empire and in Persia...
sect which was targeting the A & M Karagheusian company, a rug importing firm, located on the fourth floor of the Parker Building. Mihran Karagheusian was threatened by Parseg Nevrovzyan several months prior to the fire. Nevrovzyan vowed to inflict $200,000 in damages to the Karagheusian business, but did not name the Parker Building in making his threat. Nevrovzyan was arrested. He promised to reveal to the Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
government a revolutionary plot which he claimed Karagheusian's brother, Arshag, was interested in. Arshag resided in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
.