Joseph Paul Day (1874 – April 10, 1944) was a real estate broker and pioneer auctioneer active 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 ...

from 1895 until his death.

Early life

Day was born in New York City to John W. Day, a successful producer of soda water and Catherine A. (née Hayes). His father died when Joseph was 5, and his mother died 9 years later, forcing him to quit public school at age 14 to work as a clerk in a wholesale dry goods outfit.

Career

Day worked briefly for an insurance and real estate company before opening his own real estate company at the age of 21 with offices at 98 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. His business grew rapidly, necessitating moves to progressively larger offices. He auctioned land on Manhattan Beach as early as 1904. In 1907 he sold 2,000 lots in New York in six auctions, one of the most successful lot sales ever held in New York City. He sold $100 million of real estate between 1907 and 1909. A year later he sold $81 million worth of real estate. On October 11, 1910, Day held the first real estate auction at night at the Terrace Garden at 58th Street near 3rd Avenue in New York. That night he sold 297 Bronx lots on Hunts Point Avenue and adjoining streets for the developers of Hunts Point Estate. He announced plans in 1916 to build 114 homes and many amenities at

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

's Manhattan Beach. The project was completed in the 1920s and was featured on the cover of Life Magazine as "Life Goes to a Party at Joseph Day's Manhattan Beach Baths". It was billed as the "World's Largest Privately Owned Playground." During his career, Day sold about one-third of the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

and one-third of

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, plus was involved in many sales in Brooklyn, Westchester, and North New Jersey. He also developed a project in San Clemente, California, that included 500 buildings and 1,000 residences. Day was a driving force in the real estate market of New York City. An article on William Hassler (1887–1921), who photographically mapped of the city of New York after the consolidation of the five Boroughs in 1898, mentions Day. Hassler utilized the

Cirkut Henry Russell Walter (born April 23, 1986), known professionally as Cirkut, is a Canadian record producer and songwriter. He has co-produced and co-written for Dr. Luke, Katy Perry, Becky G, Ava Max, Nicki Minaj, R. City, The Weeknd, Kesha, C ...

camera apparatus to do the laborious work. His primary client from 1911 to 1921 was Joseph P. Day Realtors and Auctioneers. By 1933, Day was an early, vocal and substantial proponent of long-term

mortgages A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any ...

Family life

Joseph P. Day and Pauline (née Pope) married in 1898. Their children were Joseph P. Jr., Bernard P., Charles P., and Fairfield P., and Pauline Pope French and Lora Taylor Pope Barrett. The family had two main homes, a city home in Gramercy Park, and the family estate called Pleasant Days in

Short Hills, New Jersey Short Hills is an unincorporated community located within Millburn Township, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. It is a popular commuter town for residents who work in New York City. As of the 2020 United States Census, the CDP's pop ...

. Pleasant Days was later renamed Greenwood Gardens by a subsequent owner and is open to the public. Pauline Day died in 1932 and Joseph P. Day remarried to Louisa Young Cole in 1942.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Joseph P. American real estate brokers 1874 births 1944 deaths American auctioneers Businesspeople from New York City People from Gramercy Park People from Millburn, New Jersey