The Mystery Location Of The Mounted Police Unit

Looking at this postcard of New York’s finest on horses my first thought was: where is this?

The postcard itself holds few clues unless you are an expert in recognizing mundane landmarks from 120 years ago. The card shows some buildings and the mounted police.

But there was a way to find out by taking a closer look.

Because this postcard was put out by the Detroit Publishing Company in 1905, there might be an original photograph held by the Library of Congress where much of the company’s archive resides. A search provided a clear match. And from that photograph the location could be pinpointed.

The most important clues were in the background of the photo.

The Garden Theatre marquee is visible in the distance.

Is it the Winter Garden Theatre?

No, it is the theatre at Madison Square Garden (1890-1926) which took up the entire block between Madison and Fourth Avenue (Park Avenue South, today) from 26th to 27th Street.

Also seen atop the roof, a couple of the Garden’s cupolas with an ornate weathervane on the closer cuploa.

We are looking east along 27th Street from Fifth Avenue. You could not know that from the postcard which omits the southern side of the street in its view.

Taking a closer look at the original image there are a few interesting things to take note of.

The 18 mounted police officers proudly lining up are in front of their station located at 1 East 27th Street. Behind the policeman you can see the green globe lights above the sidewalk which traditionally designates the location of a police station.

This station was the home of Traffic Squad C substation.

The leader of the traffic squad was Sergeant John McCullagh and he may be the person inspecting the squad, though he has no sergeant stripes on his sleeve.

Though the policemen are proud of being on an elite squad, not everyone takes this moment so seriously. The second mounted officer appears to be smiling and sticking his tongue out at the cameraman.

Within the station, the second and third floors were available to rent according to a sign on the building.

Adjacent to the station are three 12-story hotels. The Broztell Hotel which would open November 15, 1905, has work being done on its exterior by men on a scaffold.

 

Next to the Broztell is the rear entrance of the Prince George Hotel. The Prince George’s main entrance was on 28th Street. Behind the last horse, between the Broztell and the Prince George, workers are engaging in street repairs.

Next to the Prince George at 17 East 27th is the Hotel Barstow.

Ambling down the street is a horse drawn cart whose owner deals in metals.

In the hazy distant background we may see a glimpse a portion of the Third Avenue El’s 28th street station which stretches to 27th Street.

The police are long gone but many of the buildings on the north side of the street remain standing with some modifications. Here is the same street today seen from Google maps.