Editing Murray Hill, Manhattan (section)

==History==
What is now Midtown Manhattan was first settled by the [[Munsee]] Native Americans.<ref name="Wuebber Morin 2007 p. 2">{{harvnb|Wuebber|Morin|2007|ps=.|p=3.2}}</ref> With European colonization in the 17th century, the site was called Belmont and was part of the common lands of New York City.<ref name="Murray p. 4">{{harvnb|Murray|1894|ps=.|p=4}}</ref><ref name="Wuebber Morin 2007 p. 3">{{harvnb|Wuebber|Morin|2007|ps=.|p=3.3}}</ref>

===18th century===
[[Robert Murray (merchant)|Robert Murray]] (1721–1786) moved from Philadelphia to New York City in 1753. During that decade, he became a prosperous merchant, purchasing three vessels and obtaining an ownership stake in another. Murray had a townhouse on [[Pearl Street (Manhattan)|Pearl Street]] in [[Lower Manhattan]], which was close to his wharf on the East River at [[Wall Street]], as well as to his retail store.<ref name="Wuebber Morin 2007 p. 3" /><ref name="Monaghan pp. 10-20">{{harvnb|Monaghan|1998|ps=.|pp=10–20}}</ref>

==== Creation of Murray estate ====
By the late 1750s, Murray was relatively successful and wished to build his own mansion.<ref name="Wuebber Morin 2007 p. 3" /><ref name="Monaghan pp. 10-20" /> Before 1762, Murray had leased some land in a sparsely populated portion of Manhattan island for use as for his large house and farm.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 7; NYCL (2004) p. 6" /><ref name="Monaghan pp. 21-22">{{harvnb|Monaghan|1998|ps=.|pp=21–22}}</ref> Murray's house was built on a since-leveled hill at what is today [[Park Avenue (Manhattan)|Park Avenue]] and 36th Street.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 7; NYCL (2004) p. 6" /><ref name="Murray p. 4" /> The hill was named ''Inclenberg'', or "fire beacon hill" in Dutch, referencing the fact that settlers of [[New Amsterdam]] used fire beacons to give notice of armed Native American groups.<ref name="Wuebber Morin 2007 p. 3" />  The Murray farm's total area was just under {{convert|30|acre|m2}}.<ref name="Wuebber Morin 2007 p. 3" /> The farm began a few feet south of modern-day [[33rd Street (Manhattan)|33rd Street]] and extended north to the middle of the block between 38th and 39th Streets.<ref group="lower-alpha">{{harvnb|Wuebber|Morin|2007|ps=|p=3.3}}, gives a northern boundary between 42nd and 43rd Streets.</ref> At the southern end, the plot was narrow, but at the northern end it extended from approximately [[Lexington Avenue]] to a spot between [[Madison Avenue|Madison]] and [[Fifth Avenue]]s.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 7; NYCL (2004) p. 6" /><ref name="Monaghan pp. 21-22" /><ref name="Murray pp. 4-5">{{harvnb|Murray|1894|ps=.|pp=4–5}}</ref>

The great square house, west of the [[Boston Post Road|Eastern Post Road]], was approached by an avenue of mixed trees leading from the road.<ref group="lower-alpha">Shown on a detail of the British Headquarters map, {{circa|1781}} in {{harvnb|Sanderson|2009|p=55, fig. a}}. The orchards are shown behind the house to the north.</ref> It was flanked on three sides by verandas and contained apartments on either side of a large hall.<ref name="Murray pp. 4-5" /> The mansion was at approximately the present location of Park Avenue and 37th Street. Near the house were a barn, kitchen, and stable.<ref name="Wuebber Morin 2007 p. 3" /><ref name="Monaghan pp. 3-4">{{harvnb|Monaghan|1998|ps=.|pp=3–4}}</ref> The Murray farm was bounded to the north by Thomas Bridgen Atwood's farm, which was on the western side of the Eastern Post Road between modern-day 38th and 41st Streets, and to the east by [[Jacobus Kip]]'s farm, along the eastern side of the same road from 28th to 39th Street extending to the East River.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 8; NYCL (2004) p. 7">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2002|p=8}}; {{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2004|ps=.|p=7}}</ref>

The site overlooked the East River and [[Kips Bay, Manhattan|Kips Bay]].<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 7; NYCL (2004) p. 6" /><ref name="Murray pp. 4-5" /> Like the other grand projects created by distinguished residents upon Manhattan's prominent rises of ground, the Murray house was used for purposes other than farming.{{efn|See for some examples [[Richmond Hill (Manhattan)|Richmond Hill]], the [[Apthorp Farm]], the [[Morris-Jumel Mansion]], [[Gracie Mansion]], and [[Hamilton Grange National Memorial|Alexander Hamilton's "Grange"]]}} According to historians [[Edwin G. Burrows]] and [[Mike Wallace (historian)|Mike Wallace]], while some of these farms were for-profit enterprises, "their primary purpose—besides providing refuge from epidemics—was to serve as theaters of refinement".<ref>{{harvnb|Burrows|Wallace|1999|p=179}}.</ref> One descendant wrote that Robert Murray "entertained at various times almost every foreigner of distinction who came to the American shores".<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 7; NYCL (2004) p. 6" /><ref name="Murray p. 5">{{harvnb|Murray|1894|ps=.|p=5}}</ref><ref name="Monaghan p. 22">{{harvnb|Monaghan|1998|ps=.|p=22}}</ref> Early in 1773, and again in 1774, advertisements for the Inclenberg estate were circulated, positioning the house and farm as a summer mansion.<ref name="Wuebber Morin 2007 p. 3" />

==== American Revolution and late century ====
[[File:DARmurrayNYC.JPG|thumb|DAR plaque on 35th Street at Park Avenue in Murray Hill]]

During the [[American Revolutionary War]], Mary Lindley Murray is credited with delaying [[William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe|William Howe]] and his army during [[George Washington|General Washington's]] [[New York Campaign#Capture Of New York|retreat from New York]] following the British [[landing at Kip's Bay]], September 15, 1776. The most common version of the story is that Mrs. Murray invited the officers to tea<ref group="lower-alpha">Plying them with cakes and wine in earlier tellings, as reported in {{harvnb|Burrows|Wallace|1999|p=241}}.</ref> and succeeded in delaying the British troops for a period sufficient to allow a successful American retreat.<ref name="NYT1999" /><ref>[[David McCullough|McCullough, David]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uu1mC6zWNTwC&pg=PA216 "1776"], p. 216. "In explanation, a romantic story spread – a story that would become legendary – that a Mrs. Robert Murray, a Quaker and an ardent patriot, had delayed William Howe and his generals by inviting them to afternoon tea at her country home at Inclenberg, later known as Murray Hill."</ref><ref name="Murray pp. 17-18">{{harvnb|Murray|1894|ps=.|pp=17–18}}</ref> The Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage said she saved American independence by detaining Lord Howe long enough to permit [[Israel Putnam]] to pass up the Greenwich road from the city and join the forces of George Washington in the north end of the island, before Howe was able to overtake him. The 3,500 men led by Washington were able to escape safely.<ref name="nyt19310502">{{Cite news|date=May 2, 1931|title=TOWER SITE PART OF $2,400 FARM; 20-Acre Tract in 1799 Was the Scene of Fights With British-- Sold for $10,000 in 1805.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1931/05/02/102231333.pdf|access-date=October 23, 2017|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="Wuebber Morin 2007 p. 5">{{harvnb|Wuebber|Morin|2007|ps=.|p=3.5}}</ref> James Thacher, a surgeon with the [[Continental Army]], wrote in his journal: "It is a common saying among our officers that Mrs. Murray saved this part of the American army."<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/militaryjournald02thac | title=Military Journal, During the American Revolutionary War, from 1775 to 1783 | publisher=Silas Andrus & Son | author=Thacher, James | year=1854 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/militaryjournald02thac/page/n555 494]}}</ref><ref name="Murray p. 19">{{harvnb|Murray|1894|ps=.|p=19}}</ref><ref name="Wuebber Morin 2007 p. 6">{{harvnb|Wuebber|Morin|2007|ps=.|p=3.6}}</ref>

According to later scholarship, the Murrays did not have such a large influence on the landing at Kip's Bay than was portrayed in contemporary sources.<ref name="Wuebber Morin 2007 pp. 5-6">{{harvnb|Wuebber|Morin|2007|ps=.|pp=3.5 to 3.6}}</ref> One contemporary rumor posited that Mrs. Murray and her two daughters had used "feminine wiles" to convince the officers to stop by for tea.<ref name="Wuebber Morin 2007 pp. 5-6" /><ref name="Bliven 1956">{{Cite book|last=Bliven|first=Bruce|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/464155344|title=Battle for Manhattan|date=1956|publisher=Henry Holt|location=New York|pages=61|language=English|oclc=464155344}}</ref> However, later scholarship stated that Howe had ordered his troops to stand down until all the British Army troops had landed at Kips Bay. According to these writers, it was unlikely that Mrs. Murray would have known that Putnam was escaping on Manhattan's west side, given that the farm was on the island's east side. Furthermore, Robert Murray traded with both Continental and British Army soldiers.<ref name="Wuebber Morin 2007 p. 6" /><ref name="Bliven 1956" /> Nevertheless, the Murrays' actions during the war inspired at least two [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] shows.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 7; NYCL (2004) pp. 6-7">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2002|p=7}}; {{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2004|ps=.|pp=6–7}}</ref> The [[Daughters of the American Revolution]] placed a plaque in 1926 near the site of the Murray mansion, commemorating the family's wartime actions.<ref name="Wuebber Morin 2007 p. 6" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Schecter|first=Barnet|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/248562337|title=The battle for New York: the city at the heart of the American Revolution|date=2003|publisher=Jonathan Cape|isbn=978-0-224-06965-6|location=London|pages=189–190|language=English|oclc=248562337}}</ref>

From 1776 to 1783, when the British Army occupied New York, British soldiers often visited Inclenberg. After the end of British occupation, the Murray family was associated with unpatriotic acts during the war, and one son, [[Lindley Murray]], moved to England.<ref name="Wuebber Morin 2007 p. 6" /> Robert Murray died in 1786 and bequeathed different portions of his estate to his five children.<ref name="Wuebber Morin 2007 p. 6" /><ref name="Murray p. 20">{{harvnb|Murray|1894|ps=.|p=20}}</ref> His daughter Susannah was bequeathed the farm,<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 8; NYCL (2004) p. 7" /><ref name="Murray p. 20" /> along with some lots in [[Gold Street (Manhattan)|Gold Street]] in Lower Manhattan.<ref name="Murray p. 20" /> Her husband Gilbert Colden Willett, once a Loyalist general in the Revolutionary War, jointly ran Willett & Murray with Susannah's uncle John Murray.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 8; NYCL (2004) p. 7" /> Willett bought the farm from the New York City government in 1799 for 907 pounds.<ref name="Wuebber Morin 2007 p. 6" /> His business shuttered the next year and, as part of the bankruptcy settlement, John Murray bought the farm from the Willetts.<ref name="Wuebber Morin 2007 p. 6" /><ref name="Monaghan p. 108">{{harvnb|Monaghan|1998|ps=.|p=108}}</ref>

===19th century===

==== Initial development ====
John Murray and his wife Hannah Lindley had four children. After John Murray's death in 1808, Hannah Lindley and their children moved into Inclenberg.<ref name="Wuebber Morin 2007 pp. 6-8">{{harvnb|Wuebber|Morin|2007|ps=.|pp=3.6 to 3.8}}</ref> Two of their children, Mary and Hannah, did not marry and instead lived in apartments that were specifically created for them at the estate.<ref name="Wuebber Morin 2007 p. 8">{{harvnb|Wuebber|Morin|2007|ps=.|p=3.8}}</ref><ref name="Monaghan p. 119">{{harvnb|Monaghan|1998|ps=.|p=119}}</ref> In the winter of 1808 during the embargo that closed New York Harbor, a work relief program kept out-of-work dock workers busy reducing the height of Murray Hill.<ref>{{harvnb|Burrows|Wallace|1999|p=412}}.</ref> Between twenty and forty feet were sliced off its summit and used for fill.<ref>{{harvnb|Sanderson|2009|pp=81, map "Fill and Excavation, 1609–2009"}}.</ref> Around that time, the area was subdivided into a regular street grid with the enactment of the [[Commissioners' Plan of 1811]]. Under the plan, what is now Third Avenue was opened between 1815 and 1821.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 8; NYCL (2004) p. 7" />

John Murray's children confirmed title to the land in 1816, and Mary and Hannah Murray were given the responsibility of renting out the Murray farm. In 1818, they ran advertisements for the farm, which was only {{Convert|3.5|mi}} from the developed portions of Manhattan. A fire destroyed Inclenberg in 1835 and the lots were split up.<ref name="Wuebber Morin 2007 p. 8" /> The route of the Eastern Post Road from 23rd to 31st Street was closed in April 1844, and the section of the road from 31st to 42nd Street was closed in June 1848.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 8; NYCL (2004) p. 7" />[[File:Sniffen Court 1-9 (west).jpg|thumb|[[Sniffen Court Historic District|Sniffen Court]], built as stables in the 1860s]]

In 1833 the railroad cut was begun, to carry the [[New York and Harlem Rail Road]] through Murray Hill; the route under the most prominent obstacle in its right-of-way was opened on May 1, 1834.<ref name="Brennan">[http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/38st.html Joseph Brennan (Columbia University) "Abandoned Stations: 38 St."]</ref> The locomotives, which had met the horse-cars that ran through the city's streets at the station at 27th Street, could pass  the reduced hill. By an act of 1850 the city permitted to roof over the cut for the passage of steam locomotives. This [[Park Avenue Tunnel (roadway)|Park Avenue Tunnel]], enlarged and relined, has been devoted to automobile traffic since 1937.<ref name="Brennan" />

==== Row houses and later development ====
In mid-century, the rich temporarily, and the upper middle class more permanently, filled the [[brownstone]] row houses that filled Murray Hill's streets. The [[Brick Presbyterian Church (Manhattan)|Brick Presbyterian Church]] followed its congregation; after selling its site facing [[City Hall Park]], it rebuilt in 1857 closer to its congregation, on the smoothed brow of Murray Hill, at Fifth Avenue and 37th Street.<ref>{{harvnb|Burrows|Wallace|1999|p=717}}.</ref> However, when [[J. P. Morgan]] built his conservative brownstone free-standing mansion in 1882 on [[Madison Avenue (Manhattan)|Madison Avenue]] at 36th Street (later part of [[The Morgan Library & Museum]]), it was considered a fashionable but slightly old-fashioned address,<ref name="In the no longer cutting">"In the no longer cutting-edge Murray Hill" ({{harvnb|Burrows|Wallace|1999|p=1075}}).</ref> as the rich were filling Fifth Avenue with palaces as far as [[Central Park]]. Instead stylish merchandising was changing the neighborhood; [[Madison Square Park]], at this time considered a part of Murray Hill, was bordered by the fashionable [[Ladies' Mile Historic District|ladies' shops]] of the day on Fifth Avenue.

In 1925, the architectural firm Margon & Glaser designed the Griffon, a residential building at 77 Park Avenue and 39th Street. The Griffon which was converted into a condominium in 1969 and is known for its stunning lobby as well as its oversized apartment layouts with original details and fireplaces.&nbsp;The Griffon is included in the NRHP's Murray Hill historic district.<ref name="In the no longer cutting" />

===<span class="anchor" id="Twentieth century"></span>Late 20th century to present===
[[File:Midtown_Manhattan_from_the_East_River_NY1.jpg|thumb|View of Murray Hill and [[Midtown Manhattan]] from the [[East River]]]]
For much of the 20th century, Murray Hill was a quiet and rather formal place, with many wealthy older residents. In 1905, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt lived close by Franklin's mother [[Sara Roosevelt]] in the Murray Hill neighborhood.<ref name="The Historical Marker Database 2023 i349">{{cite web | title=Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Historical Marker | website=The Historical Marker Database | date=January 31, 2023 | url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=198699 | access-date=December 16, 2023}}</ref>

Since the late 1990s, many young people in their twenties have moved to the area from the suburbs of New York. As reported in ''The New York Times'' in 2011, "...recent college graduates can find themselves among fellow alumni, meet up for familiar drinking rituals and flock to the frozen-yogurt shops and sushi bars that help them stay fit and find a mate for the next stage of life".<ref name="nyt-2011-01-19">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/19/nyregion/19about.html |title=In Murray Hill, the College Life Need Never End |access-date=January 19, 2011 |last=Berger |first=Joseph |author-link=Joseph Berger (author)|date=January 18, 2011 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> On weekends, the raucous restaurant-and-bar scene along Third Avenue, beyond the traditional eastern limits of Murray Hill, particularly reflects this change. In the late 1990s, Murray Hill began to attract an influx of young college graduates, leading to a "work-hard, play-hard" atmosphere, which has since been referenced in several media sources such as ''The New York Times''<ref name="nyt-2011-01-19"/> and ''New York Post''. Though housing in the neighborhood is slightly cheaper than in fashionable nearby parts of Manhattan, prices for apartments here rose greatly during the boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s—as much as 500 percent in a decade.

The eastern part of Murray Hill, between [[FDR Drive]] and First Avenue from 34th to 41st Streets, formerly contained industrial uses including a [[Coca-Cola]] bottling plant, [[Consolidated Edison]]'s [[Kips Bay Generating Station]], the [[Kips Bay Brewing Company]], and Con Edison's [[Waterside Generating Station|Waterside power plant]]. In the 1980s some of these blocks were rezoned to allow for residential development, which led to the construction of the [[View 34|Rivergate]], [[Manhattan Place]], and Horizon high-rise apartment buildings.<ref>{{cite news |last=Anderson |first=Susan Heller |date=March 8, 1983 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/08/nyregion/luxury-housing-is-being-erected-on-the-east-side.html |title=Luxury Housing Is Being Erected on the East Side |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 29, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Thomas |first=Scott |date=March 30, 1987 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3eQCAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA17 |title=Neighborhood Profile – Midtown East |magazine=New York |page=17A |access-date=March 29, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Bagli |first=Charles V. |date=August 21, 2005 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/21/nyregion/developers-find-newest-frontier-on-the-east-side.html |title=Developers Find Newest Frontier on the East Side |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 29, 2023}}</ref> Con Edison's lots were placed for sale in 1999.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/17/nyregion/con-ed-plans-to-sell-3-lots-near-the-un.html|title=Con Ed Plans To Sell 3 Lots Near the U.N.|last=Holusha|first=John|date=February 17, 1999|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 17, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The billionaire developer [[Sheldon Solow]] purchased the three plots of land in 2000 and demolished the sites in anticipation of the construction of a multi-building complex. However, these plans stalled with the [[2008 financial crisis]], and the land lay unused.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/20/nyregion/prime-lot-empty-for-years-yes-this-is-manhattan.html|title=Prime Lot, Empty for Years (Yes, This Is Manhattan)|last=Bagli|first=Charles V.|date=August 19, 2013|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 17, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Solow later sold the 35th–36th Streets plot, and the [[American Copper Buildings]] were built on that site, opening in 2017–2018.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/nyregion/resilient-design-american-copper-buildings-weather-flooding.html|title=Building to the Sky, With a Plan for Rising Waters|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|date=January 26, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 17, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Solow commissioned architect [[Richard Meier]] to design a residential tower on the 39th–40th Streets plot, 685 First Avenue, which began construction in 2016 and was completed in 2018.<ref>{{cite news |last=Higgins |first=Michelle |date=November 4, 2016 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/06/realestate/a-richard-meier-building-in-black.html |title=A Richard Meier Building. In Black. |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=February 19, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.architectmagazine.com/project-gallery/685-first-avenue_o |title=685 First Avenue |website=Architect Magazine |access-date=February 19, 2025}}</ref> {{As of|2018||df=}}, the 38th–41st Streets plot was still unused, but Solow intended to construct a four-building condo and office complex on that site.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ny.curbed.com/2018/4/6/17207358/sheldon-solow-685-first-avenue-development|title=Sheldon Solow's empty east side site will gain 3 more condos, biotech office space|last=Rosenberg|first=Zoe|date=April 6, 2018|website=Curbed NY|access-date=April 17, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/06/realestate/a-real-estate-dynasty-passes-the-torch.html|title=A Real Estate Dynasty Passes the Torch|last=Hughes|first=C. J.|date=April 6, 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 17, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>