The Astor Court as it came to be called was built by Vincent Astor on land that was formerly Astor mansions at 305 W. 45th. Here is the first photograph of the finished building in 1915
Kate Claxton was a huge name in theater from the 1870s when she starred in The Two Orphans
Thomas Nast, the famous cartoonist who will ever be inextricably linked with Boss Tweed's downfall also drew one of Kate after the press kept hounding her with accusations she was bad luck after surviving two fires in theaters where she was performing. (Fires were all too common in theaters in those days.)
The tax record photo of the building in 1940
Throughout the 60s and into the 70s the building's super was a man named Frank Piccolo who loved to tell stories of happening in the building and was featured in more than 50 pieces in the Daily News recounting his adventures. I printed all of these for the book, but here's just one sample:
In 1965 the Daily News even did a piece just about him!
I ran into the current building super and ask him if he'd ever heard of Frank and he said he had!
The courtyard 2021
.jpeg)
