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New York circa 1905. "St. Bartholomew's Church parish house, East 42nd Street." Previously seen here. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
In the 1960s I worked at 205 East 42nd Street in NYC. The building was "The Bartholomew Building," and it's still there. Now I know where the name came from!
Is the building plumb and level? Certainly. But does this photo make it look NOT so? Also certainly. I am trusting that our illustrious ShorpyMeisters will have an exclusive, inside uber-photographic expert answer to this mystery. Gentlemen?
[The street is tilted because it's on a hill. - Dave]
Does anyone else think that the left part of the building is not squared off to the right part?
Could be an optical illusion caused by the lines of the design or the light, compounded by the street not being level?
I notice one young man in both photos of the Parish House, while everyone else has moved on. I wonder what was his purpose -- waiting for someone, recruiting or intercepting people, or maybe just enjoying the sun? He's dressed nicely.
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