Lenox Hill
Encyclopedia
Lenox Hill is a neighborhood on Manhattan
's Upper East Side
. It forms the lower section of the Upper East Side, closest to Midtown. While it is agreed that the neighborhood ranges from 72nd Street to 59th Street, its eastern border is disputed, though The Encyclopedia of New York City
cites Fifth Avenue
as the western boundary and Lexington Avenue
on the east.
The neighborhood is named for the tenant farm of the immigrant Scottish merchant Robert Lenox (1759-1839), who owned about 30 acres (121,405.8 m²) of land "at the five-mile (8 km) stone", reaching from 5th Avenue to 4th Avenue and from 74th Street to 68th Street. For the exorbitant sum of $6,420 he had purchased a first set of three parcels in 1818, at an auction held at the Tontine Coffee House
of mortgaged premises of Archibald Gracie
, in order to protect Gracie's heirs from foreclosure, as he was executor of Gracie's estate. Several months later he purchased three further parcels, extending his property north to 74th Street. "Thereafter these two tracts were known as the 'Lenox Farm'" The tenant farmhouse stood on the rise of ground between Fifth and Madison avenues and 70th and 71st Streets, which would have been the hill, if the property had ever been called "Lenox Hill." The railroad right-of-way of the New York & Harlem Railroad passed along the east boundary of the property.
Robert Lenox's son James Lenox
divided most of the farm into blocks of building lots and sold them during the 1860s and '70s; he also donated land for the Union Theological Seminary
along the railroad right-of-way, between 69th and 70th Streets, and just north of it a full square block between Madison and Fourth Avenue, 70th and 71st streets, for the Presbyterian Hospital, which occupied seven somewhat austere structures on the plot; He built the Lenox Library
on a full block-front of Fifth Avenue, now the site of the Frick Collection
.
Lenox Hill Hospital
, the former German Hospital, is located in this area. Its renaming in July 1918, as a result of anti-German sentiment during World War I, gave impetus to the name "Lenox Hill" for the area, doubtless on the analogy of fashionable Murray Hill
, though the hospital itself, a city block bounded on the north and south by 77th and 76th streets, and on the west and east by Park and Lexington Avenues, does not stand on former Lenox property.
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
. It forms the lower section of the Upper East Side, closest to Midtown. While it is agreed that the neighborhood ranges from 72nd Street to 59th Street, its eastern border is disputed, though The Encyclopedia of New York City
The Encyclopedia of New York City
The Encyclopedia of New York City is a comprehensive reference book on New York City. Historian and Columbia University professor Kenneth T...
cites Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue (Manhattan)
Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the center of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. The section of Fifth Avenue that crosses Midtown Manhattan, especially that between 49th Street and 60th Street, is lined with prestigious shops and is consistently ranked among...
as the western boundary and Lexington Avenue
Lexington Avenue (Manhattan)
Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated by New Yorkers as "Lex," is an avenue on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City that carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street to Gramercy Park at East 21st Street...
on the east.
The neighborhood is named for the tenant farm of the immigrant Scottish merchant Robert Lenox (1759-1839), who owned about 30 acres (121,405.8 m²) of land "at the five-mile (8 km) stone", reaching from 5th Avenue to 4th Avenue and from 74th Street to 68th Street. For the exorbitant sum of $6,420 he had purchased a first set of three parcels in 1818, at an auction held at the Tontine Coffee House
Tontine Coffee House
The Tontine Coffee House was a New York City coffee house established in early 1793. Situated on the north-west corner of Wall and Water Street, it was built by a group of brokers to serve as a meeting place for trade and correspondence...
of mortgaged premises of Archibald Gracie
Gracie Mansion
thumb|250px|Western sideGracie Mansion is the official residence of the mayor of the City of New York. Built in 1799, it is located in Carl Schurz Park, at East End Avenue and Eighty-eighth Street in Manhattan...
, in order to protect Gracie's heirs from foreclosure, as he was executor of Gracie's estate. Several months later he purchased three further parcels, extending his property north to 74th Street. "Thereafter these two tracts were known as the 'Lenox Farm'" The tenant farmhouse stood on the rise of ground between Fifth and Madison avenues and 70th and 71st Streets, which would have been the hill, if the property had ever been called "Lenox Hill." The railroad right-of-way of the New York & Harlem Railroad passed along the east boundary of the property.
Robert Lenox's son James Lenox
James Lenox
James Lenox was an American bibliophile and philanthropist. His collection of paintings and books eventually became known as the Lenox Library and later became part of the New York Public Library in 1895.-Biography:...
divided most of the farm into blocks of building lots and sold them during the 1860s and '70s; he also donated land for the Union Theological Seminary
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...
along the railroad right-of-way, between 69th and 70th Streets, and just north of it a full square block between Madison and Fourth Avenue, 70th and 71st streets, for the Presbyterian Hospital, which occupied seven somewhat austere structures on the plot; He built the Lenox Library
Lenox Library
Lenox Library may refer to:*Lenox Library *A former library now part of the New York Public Library...
on a full block-front of Fifth Avenue, now the site of the Frick Collection
Frick Collection
The Frick Collection is an art museum located in Manhattan, New York City, United States.- History :It is housed in the former Henry Clay Frick House, which was designed by Thomas Hastings and constructed in 1913-1914. John Russell Pope altered and enlarged the building in the early 1930s to adapt...
.
Lenox Hill Hospital
Lenox Hill Hospital
Lenox Hill Hospital, on Manhattan's Upper East Side in New York City, is a 652-bed, acute care hospital and a major teaching affiliate of New York University Medical Center. Founded in 1857 as the German Dispensary, today's 10-building Lenox Hill Hospital complex has occupied its present site since...
, the former German Hospital, is located in this area. Its renaming in July 1918, as a result of anti-German sentiment during World War I, gave impetus to the name "Lenox Hill" for the area, doubtless on the analogy of fashionable Murray Hill
Murray Hill, Manhattan
Murray Hill is a Midtown Manhattan neighborhood in New York City, USA. Around 1987 many real estate promoters of the neighborhood and newer residents described the boundaries as within East 34th Street, East 42nd Street, Madison Avenue, and the East River; in 1999, Frank P...
, though the hospital itself, a city block bounded on the north and south by 77th and 76th streets, and on the west and east by Park and Lexington Avenues, does not stand on former Lenox property.