DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Acolyte, v. 2, issue 1, whole no. 5, Fall 1943

Transcribe
Translate

Acolyte, v. 2, issue 1, whole no. 5, Fall 1943

Page 6

and whose site is unmarked.
Early in 1837 Poe and his family migrated to New York City, living at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Waverly Place in Greenwich Village, where no trace of his tenancy remains. In the spring he moved to 13 1/2 Carmine Street, a site still commonly associated with him, though neither house nor marker exists.
In August 1838, the family began its six years' resident in Philadelphia. The first two stopping places were boarding-houses situated respectively at Twelfth Street above Arch, and on the northeast corner of Fourth and Arch; neither site no possessing the original house or any tablet. In September they moved to a small house--also gone and uncommemorated--in 16th Street near Locust. Last in 1839 or early in 1840 another move was made--to a brick house of three stories at the junction of Coates Street and Fairmount Drive, overlooking the Schuylkill. Though without a marker, this building is still standing, unless very recently destroyed.
Some time before the end of May 1842, Poe transferred his household to the cottage now restored and opened as a shrine. Here, amidst an environment then village-like and semi-rural he performed considerable work of importance. When he left it in the spring of 1844, it was to go to New York once more for the final phase of his tragically brief career.
The first haven in Poe's second New York period was Morrison's boarding-house on the northwest corner of Greenwich and Albany Streets; an ancient brick building which had once been the Planters' Hotel, favored by Southern visitors. This structure still exists in good condition as a restaurant; though there is no tablet to indicate Poe's connection with it. The poet himself soon resigned the Greenwich Street quarters exclusively to his wife and aunt; taking a room of his own at 4 Ann Street, where all traces of his presence are swept away.
When summer came the family was reunited in the rustic Bloomingdale region then far north of the compact town; boarding at a farmhouse which stood on a knoll near what is now the busy intersection of Broadway and 84th Street. The house has of course long since vanished, nor does any marker amidst the babel of shops and apartments attest the fact that The Raven was completed on that spot.
In November Poe left the country and took quarters in a Greenwich Village rooming-house at 15 Amity Street. Neither the house nor any marker exists at present. In May 1845, a removal to 195 Broadway was effected. Here the whole family lived in extreme poverty sharing a single back room in a run-down tenement long ago destroyed and forgotten. By midsummer a change for the better was made--a return to Amity Street, this time at No. 85, which like so many other Poe abodes has sunk without trace. In the spring of 1846 the family returned briefly to the Bloomingdale farmhouse, moving later to another rural boarding-place at Turtle Bay, where the present 47th Street meets the East River. This was a large farmhouse, of which no vestige or memorial now survives.
The next and final move--near the end of May 1846--way to the famous Fordham cottage. This small but shapely farmhouse, of an early 19th century type combo in the region, was in Poe's time situated amidst a countryside of the greatest possible beauty. Here, early in 1847, Poe's wife died; and it was still the family home when the poet expired in 1849. In time the expanding metropolis engulfed the district, and the cottage was hemmed in by new buildings. In 1913 the city purchased the edifice as a public museum and moved it northward about 450 feet to the crossing of the Grand Concourse and Kingsbridge Road, in a small park named for Poet. By 1921 its restoration was complete, and the surrounding landscape was made to resemble its original setting as closely as possible. It is furnished just as it
--6--

Saving...

and whose site is unmarked. Early in 1837 Poe and his family migrated to New York City, living at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Waverly Place in Greenwich Village, where no trace of his tenancy remains. In the spring he moved to 13 1/2 Carmine Street, a site still commonly associated with him, though neither house nor marker exists. In August 1838, the family began its six years' resident in Philadelphia. The first two stopping places were boarding-houses situated respectively at Twelfth Street above Arch, and on the northeast corner of Fourth and Arch; neither site no possessing the original house or any tablet. In September they moved to a small house--also gone and uncommemorated--in 16th Street near Locust. Last in 1839 or early in 1840 another move was made--to a brick house of three stories at the junction of Coates Street and Fairmount Drive, overlooking the Schuylkill. Though without a marker, this building is still standing, unless very recently destroyed. Some time before the end of May 1842, Poe transferred his household to the cottage now restored and opened as a shrine. Here, amidst an environment then village-like and semi-rural he performed considerable work of importance. When he left it in the spring of 1844, it was to go to New York once more for the final phase of his tragically brief career. The first haven in Poe's second New York period was Morrison's boarding-house on the northwest corner of Greenwich and Albany Streets; an ancient brick building which had once been the Planters' Hotel, favored by Southern visitors. This structure still exists in good condition as a restaurant; though there is no tablet to indicate Poe's connection with it. The poet himself soon resigned the Greenwich Street quarters exclusively to his wife and aunt; taking a room of his own at 4 Ann Street, where all traces of his presence are swept away. When summer came the family was reunited in the rustic Bloomingdale region then far north of the compact town; boarding at a farmhouse which stood on a knoll near what is now the busy intersection of Broadway and 84th Street. The house has of course long since vanished, nor does any marker amidst the babel of shops and apartments attest the fact that The Raven was completed on that spot. In November Poe left the country and took quarters in a Greenwich Village rooming-house at 15 Amity Street. Neither the house nor any marker exists at present. In May 1845, a removal to 195 Broadway was effected. Here the whole family lived in extreme poverty sharing a single back room in a run-down tenement long ago destroyed and forgotten. By midsummer a change for the better was made--a return to Amity Street, this time at No. 85, which like so many other Poe abodes has sunk without trace. In the spring of 1846 the family returned briefly to the Bloomingdale farmhouse, moving later to another rural boarding-place at Turtle Bay, where the present 47th Street meets the East River. This was a large farmhouse, of which no vestige or memorial now survives. The next and final move--near the end of May 1846--way to the famous Fordham cottage. This small but shapely farmhouse, of an early 19th century type combo in the region, was in Poe's time situated amidst a countryside of the greatest possible beauty. Here, early in 1847, Poe's wife died; and it was still the family home when the poet expired in 1849. In time the expanding metropolis engulfed the district, and the cottage was hemmed in by new buildings. In 1913 the city purchased the edifice as a public museum and moved it northward about 450 feet to the crossing of the Grand Concourse and Kingsbridge Road, in a small park named for Poet. By 1921 its restoration was complete, and the surrounding landscape was made to resemble its original setting as closely as possible. It is furnished just as it --6--