Census for Patrick and Mary Bargh Byrne Household

888 Seventh Avenue

• On Seventh Avenue, address numbers from street to street fall between multiples of 20. with 12th Street being 0. For the block between 56th and 57th streets, the addresses fall between 880 and 899. An address of 888 would fall close to the middle of the block.
• From 1857 to 1876, Central Park was designed and built by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. It is north of 59th Street beteeen Fifth Avenue and Eighth Avenue.
• In 1878, the Van Corlear was built at 870 Seventh Avenue between 55th and 56th streets. Edward Cabot Clark, president of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, built the five-story red brick building with 36 apartments. It had elevators and a driveway with a ramp that allowed horse-drawn wagons to descend into the basement to make deliveries to residents. The building also contained opulent touches, including Spanish mosaic floor tiles in the hallways, vestibules and landings.
• In the 1880 census, Patrick Byrne, widower. age 44, a grainer, lived 888 Seventh Avenue, half-way between 56th and 57th streets. It was two short blocks south of Central Park. His daughter Mary, 18, was keeping house. His son James, 16, was painting. His sons William, 14, and Andrew, 11, were in school. Patrick's brother John, his wife Ellen, and a boarder lived in a separate household at 888.
• In the 1880 census of Seventh Avenue
  • Between 56th and 57th streets, most heads of households were from Ireland. Some were from Germany. Occupations included stableman, laborer, coachman, barkeeper, candy store, truck driver, car driver, laundress, dress maker, brick mason, marble polish, corset factory, horseshoer, huckster, grocer. There were 25 households:
    • 14 on the west side: two at 880, one at 884, two at 886, two at 888 (Byrnes) and seven at 890 (enumeration district 506)
    • 11 on the east side: five at 881, one at 885, and three at 887, one at 889 (enumeration district 581)
  • Between 57th Sttret and Central Park heads of households were all born in New York or elsewhere in the United States, except for servants, who were all born in Ireland.
• In 1885, an 11-story building called The Osborne, also known as the Osborne Apartments or 205 West 57th Street, was constructrd on the northwest corner of Seventh Avenue and 57th Street, kitty-corner from the future Carnegie Hall. Stone contractor Thomas Osborne acquired the land in 1883 from restaurateur John Taylor. Throughout its history, the Osborne has housed many artists, actors, and musicians, as well as upper-middle-class residents such as doctors and lawyers.
• In 1888, Patrick Byrne died.
• In 1891, Carnegie Hall was built across Seventh Avenue from 888. The mailing address is 881 Seventh Avenue.
  • The original 8-story building is a rectangular building at the southeast corner of Seventh Avenue and 57th Street, measuring 175 feet along Seventh Avenue and 150 feet along the 57th Street. It houses the Isaac Stern Auditorium. (On St. Patrick's Day in 2023, Roger's niece Clare sang here with The Fairfield County Children's Choir and a youth orchestra from the Dundalk Institute of Technology having members from both Ireland and Northern Ireland.)
  • The 16-story eastern wing contains the Weill Recital Hall and is located along 57th Street.
  • The 13-story southern wing, at Seventh Avenue and 56th Street, contains Zankel Hall.
• In 1911, the Winter Garden Theater opened on Broadway between 50th and 51st streets. It backs up on Seventh Avenue. It is an eight-minute walk from 888 Seventh Avenue. The Winter Garden Theatre site was originally occupied by the American Horse Exchange, which was built by William K. Vanderbilt and began selling thoroughbred horsess in in 1880. In 1911 the Shubert family redesigned the building as a theater. The theater is still operated by the Shubert Organization.
• In 1917, the 15-story Rodin Studios, was built on the southwest corner of Seventh Avenue and 57th Street. It occupies the addresses 894–900 Seventh Avenue and 200 West 57th Street. It is named after French sculptor Auguste Rodin, 1840-1917. The building is one of several in Manhattan that were built in the early 20th century as both studios and residences for artists. By the 1960s, the building was converted for office use.
• In 1922, the 13-story residential Briarcliffe was constructed on the southeast corner of Seventh Avenue and 57th street, across from Carnegie Hall. Next to the Briarcliffe is a five-story school building built in 1916 that is 40 feet wide. Next to that is a 75-story hotel/condominium "pencil tower" completed in 2014, called One57.
• In 1922, the 15-story residential Carnegie Plaza was constructed on the northeast corner of Seventh Avenue and 56th street, across from Carnegie Hall.
• In 1926, the Van Corlear apartment building, at 870 Seventh Avenue between 55th and 56th streets, was replaced by the 25-story Park Central Hotel.
• In 1969, 888 Seventh Avenue was completed. It is a 46-story L-shaped building that wraps around the Rodin Studios, which is on the northwest corner of Seventh Avenue and 57th Street. It fronts on the west side of Seventh Avenue and 57th street. It is made up of a 31-story tower on a 14-story base. It has frontages of 100 feet on Seventh Avenue, 200 feet on 56th Street and 195 feet on 57th Street. Vornado Realty Trusts says "Adjacent to Carnegie Hall and steps from Columbus Circle, Central Park and . . . , 888 Seventh Avenue offers magnificent views of the Park and the Manhattan skyline . . . . Tenants and surrounding neighbors enjoy popular dining destinations Red Eye Grill and Brooklyn Diner."

L-shaped 888 Seventh Avenue that wraps around the Rodin Studios

Panoramic view of Central Park from the building now at 888 Seventh Avenue, where Patrick Byrne lived in 1880. Photo source: New York Offices. The park is bounded by Central Park West (Eighth Avenue) on the left, Fifth Avenue on the right, Central Park South (59th Street) at the bottom and Central Park North (110th Street) at the top. The intersection of Seventh Avenue and 59th Street can be seen at the bottom. The park entrance there is called the Artisans' Gate. The big grassy area is Sheep Meadow, a 15-acre meadow between West 66th and 69th streets. The sheep were removed in 1934. (Housed in the former sheepfold is Tavern on the Green, a restaurant in Central Park since 1934 at West 66th Street.) In front of the meadow is Heckscher Playground. In the upper left are the Hudson River and The Palisades. In the upper middle is the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which moved to Fifth Avenue in 1880. The grassy area left of the Museum is the 30-acre Great Lawn. The blue area just north of the Great lawn and Museum is the 106-acre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir.