Pictorial Map of New York City. Illustrating in graphic manner the Points of Interest, Important Buildings, Institutions, Churches, Parks, Theatres and famous Fifth Avenue Residences. Compliments of The Chase National Bank of the City of New York.
- Title:
- Pictorial Map of New York City. Illustrating in graphic manner the Points of Interest, Important Buildings, Institutions, Churches, Parks, Theatres and famous Fifth Avenue Residences. Compliments of The Chase National Bank of the City of New York.
- Alternate Title:
- Pictorial Map of New York City.
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- Reuben, George G.
- Other Creators:
- The Arthur Crosby Service, publisher
- Date:
- 1928
- Date 2:
- 2024-04-25
- ID Number:
- 2383.01
- File Name:
- PJM_2383_01Adj.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1920 - 1939
- Subject:
- Advertising & Promotion
Money & Finance
Pictorial
New York City - Measurement:
- 29 x 95 (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- This is a large promotional map of New York City published for The Chase National Bank, “Illustrating in graphic manner the Points of Interest, Important Buildings, Institutions” and so on. This map was originally published by the Arthur Crosby Service in 1926 (Rumsey #11267.002), apparently for use by tourists. In 1928, Crosby produced this slightly larger version adding the “Head Office” and branch locations of Chase. The earlier version lists "George G. Ruben" as cartographer; while the reference does not appear on this edition, the work is plainly the same.
The map is filled with large, detailed, elevation views of the “Important Buildings.” Neither the Empire State Building nor the Chrysler Building appears because the map predates their completion. However, there are some illustrations of famous landmarks now gone, including the original Penn Station and the old Metropolitan Opera House at 39th and Broadway. A grid of numbers and letters permits easy location of some 90 specified “Points of Interest,” not including the Chase headquarters and branches which are printed in red and stand out dramatically.
Perhaps the most unusual features of the map are the numerous, tiny, mysterious symbols dotting Greenwich village. Thanks to the research of Kevin Brown, we know that these identify the locations of some of the neighborhood's many speakeasies. "For example, the horse at 11th and Hudson Streets is almost certainly the White Horse Tavern, while the pirate at 10 Sheridan Square must be the Pirate's Den owned by Don Dickerman. The cat at the corner of Bedford and Barrow Streets is likely the famous speakeasy Chumley's (of which there is a modern reincarnation at the same spot!). The pot on Charles Street between Bleecker and West 4th is likely Jack's, and the eagle on Hudson might be the Beatrice Inn." https://www.geographicus.com/P/AntiqueMap/NewYorkCity-arthurcrosby-1928?mc_cid=8def4e29ef&mc_eid=accf9b3a4f, accessed December 30, 2020.
Given the novelty of commercial radio in the 1920s, it's not surprising that the map also shows the locations of the principal New York radio stations of the time. These include WGBS located at Gimbel's Department Store, WRNY at the Roosevelt Hotel, WMSG at (the old) Madison Square Garden, and the notoriously anti-Catholic and anti-semitic WHAP, located in the First Church of Christian Science at 96th and Central Park West. See Jaker 1998, 80.
Perhaps the most unusual feature of this map is the detailed identification of the residences of the rich and famous, a New York City version of the Hollywood Homes of the Stars. More than three dozen of these are listed along Fifth Avenue, from 61st Street to 92nd. Included are descendants of some of the country’s oldest families (Roosevelt, Whitney, Payne), robber barons and gilded age legends (Gould, Vanderbilt), iconic industrialists (Duke, Harriman, Lewisohn) and even arriviste German Jewish bankers (Kahn, Schiff, Warburg). The homes of three Goulds are identified, as well as two residences of Guggenheims, Whitneys, Schiffs and Dukes. Only one home outside the Fifth Avenue area is shown, the over-the-top 75-room mansion of Bethlehem Steel founder Charles Schwab. The Schwab residence was located on Riverside Drive between 73rd and 74th Streets, not far from the “Airship Landing” shown alongside the Hudson at west 96th Street.
For a very different promotional map of New York City, issued at about the same time by a competing bank, see ID #2350.
Cornell University Library is pleased to present this digital collection of Persuasive Maps, the originals of which have been collected and described by the private collector PJ Mode. The descriptive information in the “Collector’s Notes” has been supplied by Mr. Mode and does not necessarily reflect the views of Cornell University. - Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.