Seaman-Drake Arch

The Seaman-Drake Arch, also known as the Inwood Arch, is a remnant of a hilltop estate built in 1855 by the Seaman family in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Located at 5065 Broadway at West 216th Street, the arch was built from Inwood marble quarried nearby. It is tall, deep, and wide, and was once the gateway to the estate. Gray, Christopherbr>"Streetscapes: Seaman-Drake Arch; Encrusted Relic of a Mid-19th-Century Inwood Estate"
''The New York Times'' (June 5, 1988)

Today, the arch, which is said to be modeled on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, is partially obscured from view by low-rise commercial buildings, and has been tagged by graffitists; its soft marble facade is decaying. The south side of the structure is used for storage by the transmission repair shop it is behind.

History and description

The Seaman family, led by Captain John Seaman, emigrated from the United Kingdom and settled in what is now Hempstead on Long Island in 1647 or 1653. The family eventually acquired there.Renner, James
"Seaman-Drake Arch"
Hudson Heights Owners Coalition website

Seaman estate

In 1851 John Ferris Seaman
/ref> and his brother Valentine – the sons of Dr. Valentine Seaman, who in the early 1800s was one of the men who brought Edward Jenner's smallpox vaccine to the United States – bought of hilltop property in Upper Manhattan near Kingsbridge Road (now Broadway), between what would become West 214th and 218th Streets."Inwood, Manhattan"
''Forgotten NY'' (January 31, 2010) The site was about a half-mile north of the Dyckman homestead, and the property ran down to Spuyten Duyvil Creek. At the top of the hill, the Seamans built a marble mansion around 1855, apparently intending it as a country home, as the family had another residence in lower Manhattan. The mansion originally featured a domed tower, but this was later converted into a square one.

The arch was built from the same marble as the house, and stood at the beginning of a road which wound up and around the hill to the mansion. It originally had large iron gates, the pivots for which are still extant, and probably quarters inside for a gatekeeper. The arch has two niches intended for statues, which are now empty.

The mansion house, sometimes referred to as the "Seaman Castle", – and the estate as "Seaman's Folly"Thompson, Cole
"Seaman-Drake Arch"
''My Inwood'' – was principally occupied by John Ferris Seaman, a merchant, who married Ann Drake. Ferris died in 1872 and Ann in 1878, leaving no children. Ann Drake Seaman willed the estate – "my marble house, grounds and outbuildings ... furniture and plate" – to her nephew, Lawrence Drake; 145 relatives contested the will,Thompson, Cole
"The Old Seaman Mansion"
''My Inwood'' which was not settled until around 1893.

Subsequent estate use

By 1895, the house had become the headquarters of the Suburban Riding and Driving Club, of which Lawrence Drake was a member. The estate originally had a large marble stable, but additional stables and sheds were added for the use of the members' horses. The interior of the mansion was altered for its new role as a clubhouse, with bedrooms becoming private dining rooms, dining halls and parlors becoming a café and reception area, and the house's conservatory becoming a smoking and sun room. The club spent more than $10,000 in the conversion from residence to clubhouse. The club would undoubtedly have found the mansion's location convenient, as it was near the Harlem Speedway, which was built in 1894–98 from West 155th Street to Dyckman Street for the exclusive use of horse-drawn carriages and horseback riders.Robinson, Lauren
"How Harlem River Speedway Became Harlem River Drive"
Museum of the City of New York (February 28, 2012)

In 1905, the house was sold to Thomas Dwyer, who lived in the mansion and used the quarters in the arch for his business, which he christened the Marble Arch Company. Dwyer was a contractor, and is known for having built the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument and part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Dwyer sold the Seaman-Drake estate in 1938 for the development of a five-building apartment complex. The 400-unitAlberts, Hana R
"Why a 19th-Century Marble Arch Sits Inside an NYC Auto Shop"
''Curbed'' (June 4, 2013) Park Terrace Gardens on Park Terrace East and West between West 215th and 217th Streets stands on the plot where the mansion was once located.Thompson, Cole
"The Inwood Arch and Mansion: Circa 1896"
''My Inwood'' The arch was not part of the sale, and by that time, in fact as early as 1912, low brick buildings had sprung up around the arch – some of them car dealerships which used the archway as an entrance. Since the 1960s, the arch has been part of an auto-body shop.

A fire in 1970 seriously damaged the structure of the arch, and left it roofless and open to the elements; one can see into the arch from higher buildings on either side. Inside, the marble walls, which are covered with vines of ivy, block out most of the ambient city noise, creating a "tranquil retreat".Carr, Nick
"How A Beautiful 19th-Century Marble Archway In Manhattan Became An Auto Body Shop"
''Scouting New York'' (June 4, 2013)

Rental and preservation

There was an effort made in 2003 to provide some legal protection for the arch by landmarking it, which received support from New York City Councilman Robert Jackson, but the campaign never came to fruition.

In 2009, the commercial property that the arch is a part of was listed for rent at $17,000 a month for about . The owner explained that he did not want to sell it because he inherited it from his father, who was given the property, including the Seaman-Drake Arch, by a man whose life he saved in World War II. One potential buyer was interested in turning the buildings into a nightclub,"19th Century Marble Arch for Rent in Inwood, Needs a Little TLC"
''DNAinfo'' (October 14, 2009) while others sought the property for a catering firm and a hair salon. By 2014, the auto body shop that had been renting the space had been evicted, and the property was again listed for rent, this time at $17,500. Potential renters had expressed interest in using it for a bowling alley or, again, a nightclub. The owner of the property expressed a commitment to not raze the arch, saying "Nobody will take the arch down ever."Chiwaya, Nigel
"Nightclub, Bowling Alley in Talks to Rent Historic Inwood Arch, Broker Says"
''DNAinfo'' (June 17, 2014)

As of 2015, the commercial property remains a transmission repair shop and an auto body shop; the Seaman-Drake Arch has not been landmarked by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, and it is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Zanoni, Carla
"Inwood Chosen as One of Six Neighborhoods That Deserve Historic Preservation"
''DNAinfo'' (December 29, 2010) Quote: "Volunteers for Isham Park, a local Inwood preservation group, which will work with HDC in the coming year to identify neighborhood landmarks to propose for the landmarking, which will likely include historic sites surrounding the Park Terrace area of Inwood, including Isham Park and the Seaman-Drake arch."

In 1988, Christopher Gray of ''The New York Times'' said about the arch:

The marble is decaying, depositing small piles of silvery grains where water drips, and the entire structure is as worn as the steps of an ancient cathedral. ... There is not much real estate development in Inwood, and nothing left to burn inside the arch itself; the main threat to the arch's survival seems to be New York's acidic atmosphere and rain. Until it falls or is taken down, the venerable Seaman-Drake Arch will probably continue to serve as a gateway, though of a quite different sort than that originally imagined.

Gallery

File:Seaman-Drake Mansion Harpers Bazaar 1896.jpg, The Seaman-Drake mansion in 1896, when it had become the clubhouse of the Suburban Riding and Driving Club
File:Seaman-Drake Arch in 1910 crop.jpg, The arch in 1910
File:Seaman-Drake Arch from front.jpg, The arch as seen from across the street
(2015)
File:Seaman-Drake Arch from below.jpg, The arch as seen from below
(2015)

See also

* List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan above 110th Street
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan above 110th Street

References

External links

Contemporary and historical images

1924 aerial photograph
shows the Seaman-Drew Mansion, but within the Inwood street grid

{{Broadway (Manhattan)

1855 establishments in New York (state)
Arches and vaults in the United States
Broadway (Manhattan)
Buildings and structures completed in 1855
Former buildings and structures in Manhattan
Inwood, Manhattan