The James Brown House is a
historic building
This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many i ...
in the
Hudson Square
Hudson Square is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by Clarkson Street to the north, Canal Street to the south, Varick Street to the east, and the Hudson River to the west. To the north of the neig ...
neighborhood of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. It was built in the late 18th century. Today, it is listed in the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
and is a
New York City designated landmark
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
. It is one of the few existing examples of
Federal architecture in New York. Its ground level is the site of The Ear Inn, one of the oldest existing
taverns
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that ...
in New York City.
History
The first record in New York City of the two-and-a-half-story
Flemish brick house which features a
gambrel roof
A gambrel or gambrel roof is a usually symmetrical two-sided roof with two slopes on each side. (The usual architectural term in eighteenth-century England and North America was "Dutch roof".) The upper slope is positioned at a shallow angle, ...
and dormers
was in 1817, the year
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
was formally incorporated into New York City.
The building was originally the home of James Brown,
["James Brown House Designation Report"]
New York Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
(November 19, 1969) an African-American
Revolutionary War veteran, who was the proprietor of a
tobacco store on the ground floor of the house.
At the time of the building's construction, the house was only several feet from the shoreline of the
Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
, although subsequent
urban development
Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to:
* Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas
* Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities
Urban may also refer to:
General
* Urban (name), a list of peop ...
has since filled in land that has increased the distance to the shore.
Brown sold the building to two apothecaries in the mid-19th century, Records show that a tavern occupied the shop from at least 1835; it was likely a bar even earlier than that,
[Amateau, Albert]
"Ear Inn has colorful history and uncertain future"
''The Villager'' (August 27 – September 2, 2003) making it one of the oldest taverns in New York City.
The house was purchased in 1890 by an Irish immigrant named Thomas Cloke,
[Dwyer, Kevi]
"Blasts from the Past"
'' New York'' (June 6, 2005) who ran a
tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern t ...
and sold beer and spirits to sailors and
longshoremen. The tavern had a brewery that was later turned into a restaurant. Cloke was reported to be a successful businessman and was well regarded in the community.
Cloke sold the business in 1919 in anticipation of the
Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Eighteenth Amendment (Amendment XVIII) of the United States Constitution established the prohibition of alcohol in the United States. The amendment was proposed by Congress on December 18, 1917, and was ratified by the requisite number of ...
, which prohibited the sale of
alcohol. During
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...
, the restaurant became a
speakeasy
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies.
Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States ...
, while the upstairs floors were variously a
boarding house, a headquarters for
smugglers
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.
There are various ...
, and a
brothel.
After Prohibition, the bar re-opened, but now existed as a business without a name. It was simply called "The Green Door",
and catered to a clientele of waterfront workers, almost all of whom were hard-drinking regulars. The area declined sharply during the mid-20th century, as
urban decay
Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban deca ...
turned the once-bustling area into a nearly abandoned district.
In 1969, the
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
(LPC) designated the building as a landmark.
In the mid-1970s, a group of artists including
Sari Dienes
Sari Dienes (8 October 1898 – 25 May 1992) was a Hungarian-born American artist. During a career spanning six decades she worked in a wide range of media, creating paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, ceramics, textile designs, sets and c ...
and Rip Hayman purchased the lease, and in 1977, they re-opened the bar.
To avoid having to request LPC approval for a new sign, the new proprietor Rip Hayman painted out part of the letter B in the "Bar" sign, turning it into the word "Ear", after ''The Ear'', a music magazine they published upstairs.
The Ear Inn became well known among the literary community.
Today
Today, the James Brown House remains largely unchanged from its past appearance, even as
urban renewal
Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...
has transformed the area around it. Indeed, as part of the permitting process,
real-estate
Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
developers have paid for thousands of dollars in repairs and improvements to the building, including a
backyard fire escape
A fire escape is a special kind of emergency exit, usually mounted to the outside of a building or occasionally inside but separate from the main areas of the building. It provides a method of escape in the event of a fire or other emergency th ...
. The Ear Inn continues to thrive as a bar and restaurant, under the proprietorship of Martin Sheridan; the building is still owned by composer and maritime lecturer Rip Hayman, and features
memorabilia
A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...
from its past.
[Lombino, David]
"A Gleaming Urban Glass House Astonishes Spring Street"
''New York Sun
''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...
'' (November 6, 2006)
See also
*
*
References
Notes
Other sources
*Coe, Andrew. ''Ear*Inn*Virons: History of the Landmark James Brown House and the West Soho Neighborhood''. New York:Odyssey Books, 2002.
{{DEFAULTSORT:James Brown House
Drinking establishments in Manhattan
Federal architecture in New York City
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan
Hudson Square
New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan