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PATCHIN PLACE PATCHIN PLACE WITH
JEFFERSON MARKET COURT IN BACKGOUND On March 20, 1936, Abbott photographed three quaint Village landmarks--Patchin Place, Milligan Place , and Rhinelander Row. She returned to Patchin Place again in 1937. In 1835, Gilbert and Lucy Milligan granted Patchin Place to their son-in-law Aaron Patchin, and the property remained in the Patchin family until 1920. The ten houses on this tiny cul-de-sac, entered by an iron gate on the sidewalk of West 10th Street, were reputedly built in 1848 as boarding houses for workers at Brevoort House hotel on Fifth Avenue. After the turn of the century, artists and writers discovered the charm of these small houses, isolated from, but accessible to, the Village's cafe life. O. Henry, Theodore Dreiser, John Reed, and, in later years, Abbott's close friend Djuna Barnes and e.e. cummings lived on Patchin Place. After 1917, modern improvements, such as indoor plumbing, electricity, and steam heat, were installed to attract wealthier, more stable tenants. Patchin Place and adjacent Milligan Place were among the city's earliest examples of urban gentrification. For her first photograph of Patchin Place, Abbott stood on the porch of no. 6, near the entry gate. Bright sunlight cast over barren ailanthus trees created a web of shadows on the sidewalk between the facing rows of houses. In the second photograph, which was included in Changing New York, she stood toward the back of the Place and pointed the camera up through the fire escapes and trees to show the tower of Jefferson Market Court across the street. She avoided the summer months when the trees were full of leaves; the greenery of Patchin Place, which enhanced its peaceful feeling, obscured its architecture. In 1963, a new owner intended to tear down Patchin and Milligan Places to erect an apartment building, but community activists, led by Democratic district leader Ed Koch, saved the treasured enclaves. The Places were granted landmark status in 1969 and have changed little since Abbott's day. Return to Greenwich Village |