Adele & Fred Astaire peformed in Yonkers at the Proctor’sPalace as part of a Vaudeville show in 1916
By Mary Hoar, City of Yonkers Historian, President Emerita Yonkers Historical Society, recipient of the 2004 Key to History, Member of the Yonkers Landmarks Preservation Board, and President Untermyer Performing Arts Council
Monday, February 12th
February 12, 1916: The up-and-coming brother and sister dance team of Fred and Adele Astaire appeared at Proctor’s Palace of Yonkers in a vaudeville program headed by “The Bank’s Half Million.” The Palace featured only the “Highest Type Vaudeville,” and had reserved seating at the price of 25 cents. Regular seating was 10 cents for the matinee and 15 cents for the evening performance.
February 12, 1930: Peene’s Wharf Corporation presented a claim for $150,000 in damages for damage done by the Nepperhan River diversion to their property on the Hudson River. The company claimed the Plaza flume was depositing so much fill just south of their property, it was unfit for shipping.
Tuesday, February 13th
February 13, 1930: Otis Elevator was awarded the single largest elevator contract in the world, to install sixty-six lifts in the Empire State Building in Manhattan. Although the contract’s exact amount was not announced, it was just under $3 million. Work was to start immediately so they would be installed by May 1, 1931, when the building was scheduled to open; the 85-story building would be the largest in the world. All work would be done in the Yonkers plant.
February 13, 1945: Trial Commissioner Francis Duffy cleared YPD Lieutenant Edward O’Connor of one charge in the Copcut Lane case; he was cleared of the charge of not recording a call he received from Patrolman Thomas Boyle. The other three charges were continued.
Wednesday, February 14th
February 14, 1931: Motion picture stars Charles Farrell and Virginia Valli slipped into Yonkers City Hall to obtain a marriage license. They were married by the Reverend Ralph Houston in the First Methodist Church at North Broadway and Ashburton Avenue.
Valli starred in her last film, “Night Life in Reno” in 1931; that same year, the couple moved to Palm Springs, where Virginia lived out her retirement. Besides starring in movies, Charles Farrell played Gail Storm’s father Vern Albright in the 1950’s TV series “My Little Margie.” He was elected to the Palm Springs City Council in 1946; he became the city’s Mayor from 1947 to 1955.
February 14, 1931: Brilliant Czechoslovakian tennis star Karrel Kozeluh arrived in Yonkers to spend a week with Mr. and Mrs. Paul Ostruk of Warburton Avenue. While staying in Yonkers he played against Bill Tilden in Madison Square Garden, Tilden’s professional debut; Tilden won the match in 65 minutes.
Thursday, February 15th
February 15, 1929: The firm of Carreau and Snedeker of New York City gave a seat on the New York Stock Exchange to James Fitzpatrick of Convent Avenue for his “efficient service.” The seat was valued at $650,000.
February 15, 1934: Mrs. Arthur Maudlin, wife of the County Register and Yonkers Republican City Chairman, 2ith two other teachers (Harriet Gehr and Elizabeth Vail), were back on the city payroll after their jobs were abolished by the Board of Education as an economy measure. The reinstatement was kept a secret; Schools Superintendent Lamont Hodge refused to discuss the case.
Friday, February 16th
February 16, 1914: The Yonkers Teachers Association petitioned the Board of Education to provide rest rooms for grammar school teachers; apparently most Yonkers elementary schools did not have them!
February 16, 1920: Mayor William Wallin appointed Comptroller James Lynch to head of a committee against the repeal of the Daylight Saving Law; they were to speak at a public hearing in the NYS Legislature on February 18th. Other committee members were William Merritt, Frank Ward, Henry Herz, Frederick Fuller, and Aldermen Dedrick, Davis and McGeory.
February 16, 1924: Copper magnate William Boyce Thompson of North Broadway sent a $500 check to the Yonkers Committee on the Relief of Starving Children in Germany. The Committee, chaired by Walther Spreckels, had collected $17,500 in contributions from the people of Yonkers.
Saturday, February 17th
February 17, 1924: Future basketball star and union leader John Acropolis scored 26 points to lead Leake and Watts Basketball team to a 67 -10 victory over the Hebrew national Orphan Home; the game was played on the Leake and Watts court.
February 17, 1944: Thirteen–year old Jimmy Coogan of Palisade Avenue, who ran away three months earlier, returned home… after completing US Navy boot training! He was believed to be the youngest person ever discharged from any branch of the service! Jimmy had moved to Albany, got a room in the Y, and then got a job. He registered with an Albany Draft Board, fibbed about his age and entered the Navy on January 11th. Jimmy’s story attracted national attention, including a mention in the Saturday Evening Post.
February 17, 1947: Sister Elizabeth Kenny, an Australian nurse famous for creating a successful method of treating polio, visited Yonkers City Hall to receive a check for $4500 from PAL President Lieutenant Edward O’Connor; the money was raised at a benefit show, held specifically to raise money to fight polio. She thanked “the good people of Yonkers for their generous support of my foundation.”
Sunday, February 18th
February 18, 1925: Samuel Untermyer of Greystone donated $10,000 of the $300,000 raised at Carnegie Hall for the Palestine Foundation Fund.
February 18, 1933: Riverdale Avenue resident and internationally known sculptor Isidore Konti was elected President of the Yonkers Art Association, replacing the late Rudolf Eickemeyer.
February 18, 1943: Proving that Yonkers is a hard place to forget, Marine Lester Teed of Palmer Road, serving somewhere in the Pacific, sent a note to members of his church, the Calvary Baptist Church on North Broadway. Enclosed in his letter was a generous check to help the church continue its good works!
Questions or comments on this column? Email YonkersHistory1646@gmail.com. For information on the Yonkers Historical Society, Sherwood House and upcoming events, please visit our website www.yonkershistoricalsociety.org, call 914-961-8940 or email info@yonkershistoricalsociety.org.
