Old New York In Photos #147 – Aerial View of Manhattan from Chambers Street 1903

Looking North Along Centre Street From Chambers Street 1903

This stereoview shows lower Manhattan looking north from Chambers Street, circa 1903. The main boulevard on the right is Centre Street.

In the foreground the building under construction is the Surrogate’s Courthouse at 31 Chambers Street. Completed in 1907, the building now houses the Municipal Archives.

Further along Centre Street the conical tower of the new “Tombs” prison can be seen at Franklin Street.

The large building on the left is the headquarters of the New York Life Insurance Company. Constructed in 1898, 16-story building  was designed by McKim, Mead & White and is a distinctive landmark along Broadway. It is also known as the Clock Tower Building for its ornate clock tower. A 2019 conversion to a condominium and a renaming to 108 Leonard has brought about more pricey apartments for the neighborhood. A two room 870 square foot apartment can be bought on the “cheap” for just under two million dollars. If you want to splurge, a ten room, five bedroom penthouse has an asking price of 24.5 million dollars.

Besides the scarcity of tall buildings in this northern view, there is one other thing to note. Just to the side of New York Life there is an advertisement on the wall of a building that says Rouss.

Charles Broadway Rouss

This building was the headquarters of department store owner Charles Broadway Rouss at 549-555 Broadway. The building is extant today with his name still imprinted upon its facade.

Charles Broadway Rouss photo: King’s Notable New Yorkers 1896-1899

Rouss, a Maryland native, adopted the middle name Broadway for himself because he was so enchanted with the street. When Rouss began to lose his his eyesight in 1892, he offered $100,000 to anyone who could help him retain his vision. In 1895 Rouss lost his sight completely and  upped the offer to a million dollars to anyone who could restore it.

He was inundated with miracle cures, quacks and charlatans. But Rouss wasn’t going to let any of these cranks experiment upon him. Rouss hired a poor man James J. Martin who was blind due to a similar condition to undergo the experiments in restoring vision. By the end of these experiments Martin’s salary was three dollars a week. In 1900 Rouss resigned himself to his blindness.

Rising from poverty to riches, Rouss was a veteran of the Confederate army, and would give away large sums of money to philanthropic causes throughout his life including the University of Virginia and Confederate widows and veterans.

Rouss was married with two children while professing to being a free thinker, engaging in relationships outside of his marriage, But in 1891 Rouss raped a 17-year-old Irish immigrant maid Bridget Trodden. When Trodden sued Rouss for $50,0000, Rouss was unconcerned and rather indignant at the charge basically saying she wanted him. The case was settled out of court.

When Rouss died at the age 66 in 1902, the New York Times headline was:

“Charles B. Rouss Dead – Eccentric Dry Goods Merchant Was Ill But a Few Days. Offered a Million to Any One Who Would Restore His Eyesight. Believed Men Were Worth $1 a Day Only.”

Unsurprisingly after Rouss’ death, other women came forward saying Rouss had fathered their illegitimate children.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.