ST. LUKES PLACE
BY: CHRISTI SCOFIELD
24” X 18”
Mixed Media on Board
Cocktails & Curiosities Series
On Display at Arts & Crafts Beer Parlor NYC
***SOLD***
St. Lukes Place is one of the most charming streets in the city. The homes #5 to #15 were built in the 1850’s and are great examples of Greek Renaissance Revival architecture. Besides the architecture, the street also has some serious historical celebrity caché. Almost every house has someone or something famous attributed to it.
One of my favorites is #6 St. Lukes Place. It was the home of the famous Jimmy Walker, one of New York’s most beloved mayors who partook in some questionable governing practices. Jimmy was mayor from 1926-1932 and despite his corruption, he remained popular with working-class people.
You can tell Mayor Walker’s home from the others by the two lanterns out front. It was a Dutch custom to have lanterns outside the mayor’s house, not only to mark it as a residence of a distinguished gentleman, but also to help guide the mayor home after a long work day. In Mayor Walker’s case the lanterns were more likely needed to guide him home from a night of carousing at the speakeasy Chumley’s.
Find out more about Mayor “Beau James” Walker and some of the other notorious denizens of this street in Tour #2 of the Greenwich Village Cocktails & Curiosities New York City Walking Tours app series.