James Amster (July 18, 1908 – June 11, 1986) was an interior decorator in New York City in the 1960s who created Amster Yard, 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 c ...

Early life

Amster was born on July 18, 1908, in

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest List of municipalities in Massachusetts, municipality in Massachusetts, United States, and the largest city in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line ...

, and grew up in Boston, in a house with a yard, probably the reason why he decided to restore Amster Yard in Manhattan. Amster attended the

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the list of largest art museums, 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 painting ...

, where he studied sculpture and painting.

Career

Amster was known for his community involvement in the

Turtle Bay, Manhattan Turtle Bay is a neighborhood in New York City, on the east side of Midtown Manhattan. It extends from roughly 43rd Street (Manhattan), 43rd Street to 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street, and eastward from Lexington Avenue to the East River's w ...

, neighborhood, and for his traditional style as an interior decorator. At first, Amster worked for

Bergdorf Goodman Bergdorf Goodman Inc. is an American luxury department store based in New York City, founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf. , it operates a women's store and a men's store across the street from each other on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. ...

, a luxury goods department store based on Fifth Avenue in New York City, and opened and managed its decorating and antiques department. Amster went solo in 1938, opening his design firm. Among his clients: businesses, shipbuilders and hotels in both Central America and the United States. He is the interior designer responsible for the redecoration of

The Pierre The Pierre is a luxury hotel located at 2 61st Street (Manhattan), East 61st Street, at the intersection of that street with Fifth Avenue, in Manhattan, New York City, facing Central Park. Designed by Schultze and Weaver, Schultze & Weaver, th ...

, a luxury hotel located at 2 East 61st Street, Manhattan. In 1957, Amster founded E. 49th Street Association, later Turtle Bay Association. The first meetings of the association were held at Amster Yard. Amster was also affiliated with the Prescott Neighborhood House (chairman), the Prescott Nursery School (chairman) and the Friends of Peter Detmold Park Foundation (president). Peter Detmold (1923–1972) was a friend of Amster from the Turtle Bay Association, who was killed in 1972; his murderer was never found.

Amster Yard

In 1944, Amster restored what is now known as Amster Yard at 211 1/2 East 49th Street. The complex of five buildings, set around a courtyard, was originally a 19th-century boarding house, a station of the

Boston Post Road The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts, that evolved into one of the first major highways in the United States. The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road (now U.S. Ro ...

and a commercial yard, but it was abandoned when Amster purchased it. Amster renovated the complex thanks to architect Ted Sandier and artist Harold Sterner, creating an inner yard connecting several apartments/studios which he rented to many key figures in the design field. One of the apartments was Amster's home, which he decorated with

Biedermeier The Biedermeier period was an era in Central European art and culture between 1815 and 1848 during which the middle classes grew in number and artists began producing works appealing to their sensibilities. The period began with the end of th ...

furniture. During the party hosted by Amster to inaugurate the Yard,

Elsie de Wolfe Elsie de Wolfe, Lady Mendl ( Ella Anderson de Wolfe; December 20, c. 1859 – July 12, 1950) was an American actress who became a prominent interior designer and author. Born in New York City, de Wolfe was acutely sensitive to her surroundings ...

, mentor to Amster, suggested that he put a mirror at one end of the Yard to give the impression that the Yard was bigger. Amster framed the mirror inside an arch, and the mirror remained in place in the yard through the 21st century. In 1966, the

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the Government of New York City, New York City agency charged with administering the city's Historic preservation, Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting Ne ...

(LPC) designated the yard and its surrounding buildings as a city landmark, citing the yard's character and its history as a stagecoach stop.

Personal life

James Amster was in a long-lasting relationship with Robert K. Moyer. Concerning the Amster-Moyer relationship, journalist and friend

Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. Known for his investigative journalism, he interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade car ...

described them in 1995 as "a wonderful old married couple" and "both people that icI admired". Amster was also friends with

Constance Spry Constance Spry (née Fletcher, previously Marr; 5 December 1886 – 3 January 1960) was a British educator, florist and author in the mid-20th century. Life Constance Fletcher was born in Derby in 1886, the eldest child and only daughter of ...

, British educator and florist, and

Syrie Maugham Gwendoline Maud Syrie Maugham ( Barnardo, formerly Wellcome; 10 July 1879 – 25 July 1955) was a leading British interior decorator of the 1920s and 1930s who popularised rooms decorated entirely in white. Early life Gwendoline Maud Syrie Ba ...

, leading British interior decorator of the 1920s and 1930s and wife to

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

. Amster died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

on June 11, 1986. Moyer continued to live at Amster Yard until 1992, when he was the last tenant to move out. Amster Yard was acquired in 1999 and renovated by the

Instituto Cervantes Instituto Cervantes (, the Cervantes Institute) is a worldwide nonprofit organization created by the Spanish government in 1991. It is named after Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), the author of ''Don Quixote'' and perhaps the most important fi ...

, New York, and since 2002, the Instituto allows people to use the yard as a

pocket park A pocket park (also known as a parkette, mini-park, vest-pocket park or vesty park) is a small park accessible to the general public. While the locations, elements, and uses of pocket parks vary considerably, the common defining characteristic of ...

. However, when the Instituto acquired the property, much of it was destroyed and replaced with a replica, to which preservationists expressed disappointment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amster, James 1908 births 1986 deaths People from Lynn, Massachusetts Museum of Fine Arts, Boston American interior designers American LGBTQ artists Deaths from leukemia in New York (state) 20th-century American LGBTQ people People from Turtle Bay, Manhattan LGBTQ people from Massachusetts