Introduction
Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog collects, and tries to make some sense of, research regarding David Blizzard's Grand View Hotel at Pelham Bridge that was taken over by George P. Arcularius in 1880. As students of Pelham history might suspect, any history of Blizzard's Hotel necessarily overlaps with that of the famous Arcularius Hotel.
The purpose of this posting is not to present the story of the Grand View Hotel. Instead, it is intended to collect many of the incomplete and disparate references to the hotel and its history and to assemble such references to encourage debate regarding how the hotel (and the Articularius Hotel) evolved at Pelham Bridge over time given their importance to Pelham history.
The Grand View Hotel: Early Years
The Grand View Hotel once was located near the northeasterly end of the Pelham Bridge overlooking Eastchester Bay. David Blizzard was the proprietor of the Grand View Hotel during most of the 1870s. Known for many years, informally, as "Blizzard's," the hotel was extremely popular with excursionists and fishermen while Blizzard was its proprietor. David Blizzard was a resident of the settlement located only a few hundred yards away known as Bartow. Cf. Grand View Hotel [Advertisement], The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 26, 1878, Vol. IX, No. 462, p. 3, col. 2 (stating "Address D. BLIZZARD, Bartow Station, Westchester Co., N.Y.").
The precise location of the hotel remains somewhat of a mystery. Beers Atlas maps of the area published in 1867 and 1868 do not seem to show the hotel (although the 1868 map shows another early hotel marked as the "J. Davis Hotel" located on the mainland near the southwesterly end of Pelham Bridge. Likewise the Bromley Atlas map of the area published in 1881 makes no reference to the hotel, although there is a cryptic reference to a "BOAT HO." on the mainland near the northeasterly end of the bridge.
There is some evidence to suggest that the hotel was accessible by boat or by walking to it at low tide, but that still does not resolve its precise location. Jorge Santiago of the Northeast Bronx History Forum has hypothesized that the hotel may have been built on an outcropping near the center of Pelham Bridge, but warns that we cannot be sure of this.
1896 NOOA Nautical Chart Detail Depicting the Area of Pelham Bridge
And Suggesting a Possible Location of Blizzard's Grand View Hotel.
Image Courtesy of Jorge Santiago of the Northeast Bronx History
Forum, Used with Permission. NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.
Suffice it to say that, for now, the best we can settle on from newspaper accounts of the day was that Blizzard's Grand View Hotel was located somewhere near the northeasterly end of Pelham Bridge.
Detail from Engraving Published in 1884 Showing Pelham Bridge.
Structures in the Background May Possibly Include Blizzard's
Grand View Hotel, But This Is Not Known With Certainty.
Source: "PELHAM PARK, NEW YORK. -- DRAWN BY CHARLES
GRAHAM.", Harper's Weekly, Vol. XXVIII, No. 1442, 1884, pp. 514 & 521.
NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.
The Grand View Hotel was a seasonal hotel open principally during the summer months. See New Advertisements, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon], Aug. 16, 1878, p. 3, col. 3. Early advertisements indicate that the hotel offered "facilities for Boating, Fishing, Yachting and Riding" with "Boats kept constantly on hand." See, e.g., id. Additionally, the hotel boasted that "PIC-NIC PARTIES and EXCURSIONISTS accommodated at the shortest notice." Id.
The earliest newspaper reference yet located to the Grand View Hotel is reflected in a brief article published in October, 1872. The article indicates that as of that early date, the Grand View Hotel was operated by two men: "Blizzard & Mahony." The brief reference reads as follows:
"ON LAST THURSDAY EVENING A SUMPTUOUS EN-tertainment was given by Mr. Griffith Thomas, at the Grand View Hotel, Pelham Bridge, kept by Blizzard & Mahony, and on this occasion, as on all others, his generosity was boundless, and the whole affair was the most brilliant we ever witnessed in Westchester county; 140 variegated lanterns illuminated the arched platform of the hotel, on which the guests assembled, and while the New Rochelle Brass Band filled the air with delightful music, magnificent fireworks were set off in front of the balcony, where his lovely wife and her lady friends were seated. The supper was delicious, the table was splendidly arranged and elegantly decorated with choice flowers. But its chief ornament was Mrs. Thomas, in her surpassing beauty, void of that haughty consciousness that is so painfully perceptible in Nature's favorites, reminding us of Raphael's Madonna. Mr. Thomas is a very wealthy gentleman, and, being one of Nature's noblemen, the wealth could not have fallen into better hands. His sole happiness appears to be centered in making others happy, and his kind deeds will be remembered long after he has joined his loved ones, gone before him to a happier land than this."
Source: [Untitled], N.Y. Herald, Oct. 2, 1872, p. 1, col. 2 (Note: Paid subscription required to access via link.).
Advertisements during the time that David Blizzard served as proprietor of the Grand View Hotel indicate that in addition to overnight guests, the hotel accepted "Regular Boarders" under "very moderate" terms. See, e.g., Grand View Hotel [Advertisement], The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 26, 1878, Vol. IX, No. 462, p. 3, col. 2 ("Terms for Regular Boarders very moderate.").
George P. Arcularius and the Arcularius Hotel in the Old Lorillard "Cottage"
During the 1870s, a man named George P. Arcularius also operated a nearby competing Pelham Bridge hotel named the "Arcularius Hotel." While Blizzard's Grand View Hotel was advertising its services in July, 1878, a local newspaper reported that Arcularius was improving his own Arcularius Hotel at Pelham Bridge that same month. See Westchester, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 19, 1878, Vol. IX, No. 461, p. 1, col. 6.
During the mid-1870s, the Arcularius Hotel became, for a short time, the destination of the famed "Pelham Coach" operated by Col. Delancey Kane. As the destination for the famous "Tally-Ho" driven by Col. Kane, the Arcularius Hotel became well-known in its own right. See, e.g., COL. DELANCEY KANE'S COACH -- The Trip to be Made To-Morrow to Pelham Bridge and Back -- The First Passengers, The Sun [NY, NY], Apr. 30, 1876, p. 5, col. 3.
The Arcularius Hotel appears to have been established in a rather notable structure. It was the old Lorillard "Cottage" (as distinct from the main Lorillard mansion once located in today's Bronx Park). A number of sources of the day indicate that the Arcularius Hotel was established in the old "Pierre Lorillard mansion." See, e.g., The New Coach Line. Charming Ride to Pelham Bridge, N.Y. Times, May 2, 1876, p. 10 ("Arcularius Hotel is the old Pierre Lorillard mansion, situated on the shore of the Sound, surrounded with beautiful lawns and shade trees, and affording excellent opportunity for boating, fishing, and bathing. There could not be a pleasanter place in which to while away an afternoon.").
References to the "Lorillard mansion" at Pelham Bridge would seem to be references to the "neat cottage" of "Mr. Pierre Lorillard Jr." that stood on the on the "north side of the neck at Pelham Bridge" referred to in Thomas Scharf's History of Westchester County published in 1886 See Scharf, J. Thomas, History of Westchester County New York, Including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, Which Have Been Annexed to New York City, Vol. I, p. 816 (Philadelphia, PA: L. E. Preston & Co., 1886).
There seems to be a great deal of confusion over the concept of a "Lorillard Mansion" in our Pelham region prompted by many 19th century references to the "Lorillard Mansion" without regard to the location of multiple family-associated structures. For example, there are many references to an important and well-known structure in today's Bronx Park that was, at the time, known as the "Lorillard Mansion." Yet, there were also many references to another Lorillard property at Pelham Bridge usually referenced as the "Lorillard Mansion" but, more accurately, as the Lorillard family "cottage."
"ARCULARIUS HOTEL"
This is a Tiny Detail, Difficult to Reproduce,
From Armstrong, W.A. & Pratt, Charles E.,
Coaching To Pelham Song And Chorus [Music
Sheets], Pg. 1 [Cover] (NY, NY: American Music
Publishing Co. 1876). NOTE: Click Image to Enlarge.
Image Depicting the Articularius Hotel.
This is a Tiny Detail, Difficult to Reproduce,
From Speck, Samuel H., New Rochelle and
Pelham Coach Galop [sic], [Music Sheets],
Pg. 1 [Cover] (Boston, MA: Oliver Ditson & Co., 1876).
NOTE: Click Image to Enlarge.
The view from the Lorillard "cottage" during its years as the Articularius Hotel clearly was splendid. See "PUBLIC PARKS IN NEW YORK CITY" in Fifteenth Annual Report, 1910, of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society To the Legislature of the State of New York Transmitted to the Legislature April 19, 1910, p. 65 (Albany, NY: J. B. Lyon Co., 1910) ("Lorillard Mansion: Now known as the Tallapoosa Club House, this once splendid mansion was erected by Pierre Lorillard, Jr., and is a typical example of the grand array of country residences that once were the pride of lower Westchester county. Its location just this side of Pelham bridge, commanding a glorious view of the waters of the sound, whose waves break almost at its very doors, cannot be excelled for romantic beauty.").
George P. Arcularius Becomes Proprietor of the Grand View Hotel
It appears that in early 1880, George P. Arcularius "obtained a lease" of the Grand View Hotel property with the intent to renovate and reopen the hotel in the coming season. It appears that the Blizzard family continued to own the property until, eventually, it was sold to New York City as Pelham Bay Park lots were assembled before annexation. References to the sale seem unusual until one tries to imagine exactly what David Blizzard owned
It is not known if Arcularius added these facilities to his own hotel to form a complex or if Arcularius gave up his proprietorship of the Arcularius Hotel to become the Proprietor of the Grand View Hotel. In any event, Arcularius took over the Grand View Hotel and, interestingly, apparently retained the services of the former proprietor, David Blizzard, to manage the leasing of boats and, perhaps, other such accoutrements to excursionists on his behalf. As one article noted, "The house has been largely refurnished and put in complete order for the approaching season's business. Boats etc. will be to let, as heretofore, and will be under the management of Mr. Dave Blizzard." See City Island and Pelham, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Mar. 5, 1880, Vol. XI, No. 546, p. 2, col. 5. At least by this time the Grand View Hotel included a dance platform and ballroom. See id.
George P. Arcularius was born in about 1824 and, as a young man, served as Commissioner of Deeds in New York City until resigning that post in 1866. Thereafter he became an owner or operator of several small hotels in the New York region. He died on September 14, 1936.
The End of the Grand View Hotel
By the early 1890s, it appears that the Grand View Hotel building was no longer used as a hotel. In fact, it was among a number of Pelham Bay Park properties noted in a report as "badly cared for," although the same report listed it as among a number of park properties that "are to remaain" rather than to be "removed." See BUILDINGS IN THE NEW PARKS, N.Y. Times, Jul. 17, 1890, p. 3, col. 4 (Note: Paid subscription required to access via link.).
Athough nothing is left today of the Grand View Hotel building, there is a location that serves as a remembrance of the hotel that once stood nearby and its hotelier. It is a very small, rocky prominence that once was an island but is now connected at low tide to the northeasterly shore line. It is known as "Blizzard Island," once used by bthers and fishermen who visited Blizzard's Hotel during summer months and rented boats, fishing equipment and the like from David Blizzard.
View Looking South Show Tip of Blizzard Island with
the Pelham Landfill in the Distance. Photograph Taken
by, and Provided Courtesy of, Jorge Santiago of the East
Bronx History Forum and Used with Permission. NOTE:
Click on Image to Enlarge.
For a number of years after his time as proprietor of the Grand View Hotel, David Blizzard served as the appointed "Keeper of Pelham Bridge," appointed to that position annually by the members of the Town Board of the Town of Pelham.
* * * * *
Clearly much of the histories of the Grand View Hotel and the Arcularius Hotel need to be developed. Nevertheless, below are excerpts from articles and transcriptions of advertisements that tell a little of the story of Grand View Hotel and form the research that is the basis of this article.
"ON LAST THURSDAY EVENING A SUMPTUOUS EN-tertainment was given by Mr. Griffith Thomas, at the Grand View Hotel, Pelham Bridge, kept by Blizzard & Mahony, and on this occasion, as on all others, his generosity was boundless, and the whole affair was the most brilliant we ever witnessed in Westchester county; 140 variegated lanterns illuminated the arched platform of the hotel, on which the guests assembled, and while the New Rochelle Brass Band filled the air with delightful music, magnificent fireworks were set off in front of the balcony, where his lovely wife and her lady friends were seated. The supper was delicious, the table was splendidly arranged and elegantly decorated with choice flowers. But its chief ornament was Mrs. Thomas, in her surpassing beauty, void of that haughty consciousness that is so painfully perceptible in Nature's favorites, reminding us of Raphael's Madonna. Mr. Thomas is a very wealthy gentleman, and, being one of Nature's noblemen, the wealth could not have fallen into better hands. His sole happiness appears to be centered in making others happy, and his kind deeds will be remembered long after he has joined his loved ones, gone before him to a happier land than this."
Source: [Untitled], N.Y. Herald, Oct. 2, 1872, p. 1, col. 2 (Note: Paid subscription required to access via link.).
"COL. DELANCEY KANE'S COACH.
-----
The Trip to be Made To-Morrow to Pelham Bridge and Back -- The First Passengers.
At half past 10 o'clock to-morrow morning Col. Delancey Kane will start with hhis four-in-hand from the Hotel Brunswick for Pelham Bridge. He expects to arrive in Harlem thirty-four minutes after leaving Twenty-seventh street, and will be in Mott Haven at 11 o'clock. Fox Corners will be reached at 11:26, and the coach will start from Union Port at 11:40, from Westchester at 11:43, from Middletown at 11:50, and the passengers are to be at Arcularius's Hotel, at Pelham Bridge, at noon. Returning, the coach will start at 4, mmaking the homeward trip as follows: Middletown, 4:11; Fox Corners, 4:35; Mott Haven, 4:50; Harlem, 4:53; and the Hotel Brunswick will be reached at 5:00. The fare for the trip will be $1.50 each way, or fifty cents to Harlem, seventy-five cents to Fox Corners, a dollar to Union Port, and a dollar and a quarter to Middletown -- returning, twenty-five cents to Middletown, fifty cents to Westchester, seventy-five cents to Fox Corners, and a dollar to Harlem. The coach will stop anywhere on the route to take or relinquish paassengers, but for a long time to come all the seats, inside and outside, will be occupied by the same persons going and returning. Each passenger will be permitted to carry 85 pounds of baggage free, but it is not anticipated that many will avail themselves of this privilege, unless for hampers of edibles.
The distance from the Hotel Brunswick to Pelham Bridge is about fifteen miles and there will be three relays of horses on the road. The coach can carry fifteen passengers, exclusive of the coachman and guard -- eleven outside and four inside. To-morrow Mr. Van Allen will occupy the box seat, paying fifty cents extra for the privilege of sitting beside the driver. Mr. and Mrs. Bronson have taken the two front seats to the left, and Mrs. Kane and Mrs. Van Allen will occupy the two to the left. Mr. B. R. Winthroop and Mr. H. Hunnewell have each engaged two middle seats. Mr. J. Sherman, and Mr. W. Jay will have the rear seats beside the guard, and the four seaats inside will probably be taken by members of the press."
Source: COL. DELANCEY KANE'S COACH -- The Trip to be Made To-Morrow to Pelham Bridge and Back -- The First Passengers, The Sun [NY, NY], Apr. 30, 1876, p. 5, col. 3.
http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%209/New%20York%20NY%20Sun/New%20York%20NY%20Sun%201875%20Sep-%201876%20Apr%20%20Grayscale/New%20York%20NY%20Sun%201875%20Sep-%201876%20Apr%20%20Grayscale%20-%201039.pdf
"Westchester. . . .
Mr. Arcularius, proprietor of the hotel at Pelham Bridge, now called Arcularius Hotel, has removed his bar across the road in the building built by L. G. Fowler, for that purpose. It has been very neatly fitted up and many changes for the better have been made. . . ."
Source: Westchester, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 19, 1878, Vol. IX, No. 461, p. 1, col. 6.
Source: Grand View Hotel [Advertisement], The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 26, 1878, Vol. IX, No. 462, p. 3, col. 2 (stating "Address D. BLIZZARD, Bartow Station, Westchester Co., N.Y.").
The above advertisement reads as follows:
"Grand View Hotel,
PELHAM BRIDGE.
-----
THIS comfortable and delightfully located SUMMER HOTEL IS NOW OPEN for the season. The view of the Sound and Pelham Bay is unsurpassed and the facilities for Boating, Fishing, Yachting and Riding are unequaled.
PIC-NIC PARTIES and EXCURSIONISTS accommodated at the shortest notice. Boats kept constantly on hand.
Terms for Regular Boarders very moderate.
Address D. BLIZZARD, Bartow Station, Westchester Co., N.Y."
Source: New Advertisements, The Chronicle
[Mount Vernon], Aug. 16, 1878, p. 3, col. 3.
NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.
The above advertisement reads as follows:
"New Advertisements.
-----
Grand View Hotel,
PELHAM BRIDGE.
-----
THIS comfortable and delightfully located SUMMER HOTEL IS NOW OPEN for the season. The view of the Sound and Pelham Bay is unsurpassed and the facilities for Boating, Fishing, Yachting and Riding are unequaled.
PICNIC PARTIES and EXCURSIONISTS accommodated at the shortest notice. Boats kept constantly on hand.
Terms for Regular Boarders very moderate.
Adress D. BLIZZARD, Bartow Station, Westchester Co., N.Y."
"City Island and Pelham.
Mr. George P. Arcularius, of Pelham Bridge, has obtained a lease of the Grand View Hotel, formerly Blizzard's, and has reopened the same. The house has been largely refurnished and put in complete order for the approaching season's business. Boats etc. will be to let, as heretofore, and will be under the management of Mr. Dave Blizzard. . . ."
Source: City Island and Pelham, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Mar. 5, 1880, Vol. XI, No. 546, p. 2, col. 5.
The above advertisement reads as follows:
"Grand View Hotel.
(FORMERLY BLIZZARD'S)
Pelham Bridge,
THE above House has changed hands and will hereafter be under the management of the undersigned.
THE HOUSE HAS BEEN REFITTED AND THE BAR RESTOCKED WITH THE BEST.
-----
FISHING AND BOATS, as formerly, under that veteran Fisherman, DAVE BLIZZARD.
-----
EXCURSIONS, PIC-NIC AND FAMILY PARTIES INVITED.
PLATFORM AND BALL-ROOM ON PREMISES.
Geo. P. Arcularius,
Manager."
Source: GRAND VIEW HOTEL [Advertisement], The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Mar. 5, 1880, Vol. XI, No. 546, p. 3, col. 1.
"BUILDINGS IN THE NEW PARKS.
President Gallup made a report at yesterday's meeting of the Park Board on the various buildings in the new parks. It set forth that the annual income of the department for rentals of the buildings is $12,000, about one-half the amount expended in keeping the roads in repair. Many of the buildings are badly cared for, and he recommended the removal of many of them and an increase in the rental of those that are to remain.
The latter include the Grand View Hotel at the northerly end of the Pelham Bridge, the Schuyler house, Steer's house, Jones's place, and Marshall's place in Pelham Park, the Old Country Club house at Bartow Station, stone houses on Hunter's and Twin Islands, the Lorillard mansion in Bronx Park, and the Van Cortlandt mansion, Disbrow house, and Tremper house in Van Cortlandt Park. No action was taken on the report."
Source: BUILDINGS IN THE NEW PARKS, N.Y. Times, Jul. 17, 1890, p. 3, col. 4 (Note: Paid subscription required to access via link.).
Labels: 1872, 1880, 1884, Arcularius Hotel, Blizzard's Grand View Hotel, Blizzard's Hotel, David Blizzard, George P. Arcularius, Grand View Hotel, Hotel, Pelham Bridge
