1873 John Holmes Cadastral Map of Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen (Manhattan), New York City

A rare 1873 John Bute Holmes cadastral map of part of the Manhattan neighborhoods Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen, New York City. It is likely the earliest obtainable specific map of this part of Manhattan.

A Closer Look

The map covers northern Chelsea from 27th Street to the southern part of Hell's Kitchen at 42nd Street and from the Hudson River to 8th Avenue, in the process including the current mega-development of Hudson Yards. This is one of a series of 21 scarce maps drawn by Holmes between 1867 and 1875. Like all maps in this series, it was independently issued, is quite large, and impressively detailed. The maps were intended to illustrate real estate holdings at a point in New York City history when vast estates in central and upper Manhattan were being broken up under eminent domain laws for assimilation into the New York grid system. This led to countless legal battles, much of the litigation behind which, depended upon detailed cadastral maps like this one.

Breaking Up the Glass House Farm

The current map illustrates the breakup of the Glass House Farm, as well as the estates of George C. Schroepple, George Rapelje, and Cornelius Ray. Some of these claims date to the early Dutch period of New Amsterdam, but were honored by the British even after the takeover. The breakup of the estates is detailed via tables in the upper right quadrant, where individual heirs and landowners are identified. Each is referenced by New York City record book and page number.

A Short History of the Glass House Farm

The map's namesake, the Glass House Farm, was a large farm situated between the Hudson River and Fitzroy Road (as shown here) in today's West 30s. The unusual name, Glass House, refers to a short-lived glass factory that was established on the location in 1754. There was also a nearby tavern of the same name that, at the time of the American Revolutionary War, was a popular roadhouse and inn. The street names on this map reflect the original owners of the farm.

The Lotting of Manhattan

In the early 19th century most of Manhattan was undeveloped farm lands, the property of wealthy landowners with claims dating to the Dutch period of New York's history. The northern 2/3rd Manhattan was dotted with farmland and sprawling gentlemanly estates, many with great manor houses overlooking the Hudson River. The Commissioner's Plan of 1811 and the 1807 Commission Law, laid the street grid through many of these properties and gave the city the right to claim these lands under eminent domain, providing due compensation to the landowners. While this work occurred early in lower Manhattan, central and upper Manhattan were not formally acquired by the city until the mid-19th century.

What Holmes Did and Why

Holmes became fascinated by the early history of Manhattan real estate ownership, recognizing the wealth to be accrued by accurately understanding the history of city land ownership, division, and inheritance. Moreover, Holmes allied himself with the corrupt Tweed administration, assuring himself and his allies even greater wealth and political power from the eminent domain seizure of old Manhattan estates. Holmes created a series of maps, reminiscent of John Randall's 'Farm Maps', overlaid with property data, showing the borders of old estates, and notating the breakup of the lands among various heirs. The complex work of compiling the maps earned Holmes a fortune, with one newspaper suggesting on his death in 1887 that some of his individual maps were worth more than 30,000 USD. There is no complete carto-bibliography of Holmes' maps, but we believe there to be at least 50 maps, possibly more.

Publication History and Census

This map is rare. Only 2 examples are cataloged in the OCLC which are part of the collections at the New York State Library and another at the University of Wisconsin.