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Sailors' Snug Harbor Image Collection

Call Number

MC.218

Date

1895-1905, inclusive

Creator

Sailors' Snug Harbor (Institution)

Extent

7 Linear Feet in 16 boxes

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

The Sailors' Snug Harbor was created in 1801 as a charity for the support of aged sailors. The collection contains 98 glass plate negatives of property holdings of the Sailors' Snug Harbor within the area bounded by Fifth Avenue, 9th and 10th Streets, Fourth Avenue, Astor Place, 8th Street, University Place, and Washington Square North. The images date from the late 1800s, possibly into the early 1900s.

Historical Note

Commissioned by and for Sailors' Snug Harbor, these images depict every building on the 21 acres of leasehold land owned by that charitable foundation throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Specifically, the Harbor's property covered most of the ten square blocks between Fifth and Fourth Avenues from Washington Square North and Waverly Place to Tenth Street. Of the buildings shown that survive today, most are owned by New York University.

Robert Richard Randall, son of wealthy merchant and entrepreneur Thomas Randall, allowed for the creation of Sailor's Snug Harbor in 1801 by bequeathing the majority of his estate, the Randall farm, for the purposes of establishing a support community to protect sailors. He intended this charity organization to serve aged sailors who had spent at least ten years at sea, five of which must have been spent sailing aboard an American vessel. In his will, Randall appointed prominent members of New York society, including Captain James Farquhar, DeWitt Clinton, Charles H. Marshal, and John Whetten (who would later become governor of what was to become the Sailors' Snug Harbor), to the board of trustees of this new organization.

It would become the responsibility of the trustees to construct a community for retired sailors who needed housing and medical support. They were given full management of the Randall farm, located in lower Manhattan. In 1823 the exponentially rising value of the property and changing nature of the surrounding neighborhood prompted discussions about the potential relocation of the Harbor. The income from leasing the land would provide significant funds for the charity. New York Governor Daniel Tompkins offered to procure a tract of land on the North Shore of Staten Island, of approximately 10 acres in size, for the development of a hospital and housing for the retired sailors.

Prior to construction of the new hospital, the trustees were engaged in litigation with a number of Randall's relations claiming to be legitimate heirs to the estate, most notably Bishop John Inglis, who came close to convincing the court to overturn the tenets of the original will.

The old Randall farm property was divided, and leases were auctioned. The profits derived from the leases were used to develop a retirement community on Staten Island where sailors were provided housing, meals, and medical care. The community functioned until 1972 when New York State Senator John Lindsay repurposed the land for a cultural center, and the Sailors' Snug Harbor foundation relocated to North Carolina.

Arrangement

The collection is organized by approximate location of structures in the images, which is tracked on a paper key.

Scope and Contents

This collection contains 98 glass plate negative images of the property holdings of the Sailors' Snug Harbor. These buildings were found within the area bounded by Fifth Avenue, 9th and 10th Streets, Fourth Avenue, Astor Place, 8th Street, University Place, and Washington Square North.

It also includes prints for images 21-92 and a key identifying the locations of the buildings depicted.

Access Restrictions

Researchers must view digital surrogates of the glass plate negatives. The key and photographic prints (Box 15) may be viewed in the reading room.

Use Restrictions

Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by the creator are maintained by New York University. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from New York University Archives, (212) 998-2646, university-archives@nyu.edu.

Preferred Citation

Identification of the item, date (if known); Sailors' Snug Harbor Image Collection (New York University); MC 218; Box number; Folder number; New York University Archives, New York University Libraries.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

New York University Archives purchased the collection from the owner of Pageant Book and Print Shop's archives in 2005.

Provenance

In the 1970s Sailors' Snug Harbor relocated from New York to North Carolina and began to divest itself of its properties in Manhattan and on Staten Island. The glass plate negatives that comprise this collection were removed from the Harbor's former headquarters on Greene Street and ended up at an auction house. The plates were purchased by Pageant Book and Print Shop, then on Fourth Avenue between Ninth and Tenth Streets. In 2005 the University Archives purchased the plates from the owner of Pageant's archives.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Plate 15 is missing from the collection. Plates 17, 19, 27, and 59 are damaged.

Collection processed by

Nancy Cricco and Dale Rejtmar

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 17:53:27 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

In 2006 GSAS Museum Studies student Dale Rejtmar identified and compiled historical background information for the buildings pictured in the collection. Glass plates negatives were rehoused by the Barbara Goldsmith Preservation and Conservation Department in 2018. The plates were digitized by NYU Library's Digital Library Technical Services in 2019.

Revisions to this Guide

December 2018: Finding aid revised by John Zarrillo for DACS compliance and to reflect new container information

Repository

New York University Archives
New York University Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012