Newlyweds in New York

When my parents were newlyweds they lived at 86-15 Elmhurst Ave., in Queens, Long Island. I found this address on an old envelope in a letter from my parents to my grandparents.

I was able to pull up this neighborhood on Google Earth and find 86-15 Elmhurst Ave.- on the corner of Elmhurst and Judge Street; a three story building with two balconies.

Corner of Elmhurst and Judge St. Today

18-15 Elmhurst Ave. Today

This building is now showing its age; but the details on the concrete railings of the balconies clearly match the pictures I have of my parents standing in front of their apartment on Elmhurst Ave. In their day it was new and stylish;  my mother said they moved into a brand new apartment and bought all new furniture for it.

Elgin and Pauline Garrison

              
                  

Pauline and Elgin Garrison, Elmhurst 1942

     


 Mom's sister, Helen Allen, and Dad's sister, Aletheia Garrison, came to visit them in Elmhurst in 1941.

Elgin and Aletheia Garrison and Helen Allen in Elmhurst- 1941

At the end of the block, Elmhurst Ave. met Broadway beside a pretty little park. On the edge of the park was the Elmhurst Subway Station. This was a new station, opened in 1939, which was a great boost to the growth of the community. It was the gateway for commuters to Manhattan.

The Elmhurst Ave. Subway Station

 My mother told me that the subway was extremely safe in those days; she and her friends could travel into the city and ride the 5th Avenue bus for shopping and sightseeing. They had just a short walk to the station, and could be in downtown Manhattan in 20 minutes. Once a week they would take the subway up to the Bronx for Ladies Day at Yankee Stadium. My mom saw Joe DiMaggio in action!

The ladies also socialized at luncheons, and one of mom's friends taught her how to sew- something that became a lifelong hobby for her. On weekends the Shell couples would also get together to socialize.

Jackson Heights, the home of  their friends Rollie and Anita Bayless, was just one subway stop from the Elmhurst Station. Rollie also worked for Shell, and Anita, who was also from Illinois, was an actress doing shows, soap operas, and commercials.  I remember them as always smiling and happy and very kind.They had no children of their own and they were my godparents. It became a tradition to meet at one home or the other on Friday or Saturday nights and the menu was almost always the same- hamburgers!

My parents having friends for dinner at their Elmhurst Apt.- Anita and Rollie Bayless on the far right (my mother on the left)

My father took the subway daily to the Shell Oil Company offices which were located in the RCA Building (now "30 Rock") in Rockefeller Plaza at 5th Avenue and 50th St.

John D. Rockefeller had built Rockefeller Center in the midst of the Great Depression, planning a "city within a city" and employing thousands of people when many were without work. These iconic photos were taken during it's construction. I remember my dad saying that they used Mohawk Indians for constructing the skyscrapers of the time, because they had no fear of heights! I have no idea if that is true.... but surely these men were courageous!

A brave construction worker with St. Patrick's Cathedral in the background

  By 1939 more than 125,000 people came to the Rockefeller Center daily for work. It was truly a city within a city, with its own subway station and post office, along with business offices, shops, and restaurants and an observation deck that had a beautiful view of Manhattan.  The RCA building, newly completed in 1939, was at the center of the complex. It towered above the city at 70 stories tall and was a beautiful example of art deco design. The views from the building were spectacular and my dad enjoyed taking photos overlooking Manhattan from this vantage point. Below are some of his photographs.

Looking up at the RCA building

A view of the Empire State building looking south from the RCA building

A view of Central Park, looking north from the RCA building

My childhood memories of visiting my father's office include fast moving revolving doors at the entrance (I was always afraid I would get stuck in them) and a beautiful art deco designed lobby with brass inlaid designs on the floor. There was a line of elevators which went up so high so fast that it made your ears pop!

My father's photo- see the scary revolving door in the back?

An online photo showing the lobby floor (flickr)

 By the time I visited, the NBC studio was on the ground level, and at that time you could watch them broadcast through glass windows. I remember seeing Dave Garoway broadcasting, but being more interested in the parrot in the cage next to him than the news star! (I also remember being in the "Peanut Gallery" for the Howdy Doody Show with my Brownie troop, and Buffalo Bob telling me to "Shut Up!" I was shocked- smiling, happy Buffalo Bob yelling at me? (I was a rather boisterous child.)

My father's photo of Dave Garoway broadcasting at NBC Studios (I think that is Dave in the center....)

In this neighborhood on fashionable Fifth Ave. were many famous buildings and shops; St. Patrick's Cathedral, Saks Fifth Ave., Radio City Music Hall, etc.  I think my favorite as a child, though, was Horn and Hardarts "Automat" a restaurant that seemed to be a vision of the future; food choices behind glass compartments which you could see to choose and put in a coin to open the door, helping yourself and then lift the selection onto your cafeteria tray.

                                             Courtesy of Museum of the City Of New York

 The proomenade leading to the RCA Building was especially pretty and at Christmas time my father took many pictures of the angels and pointsettas leading up to the skating rink with Prometheus catching fire in the background and the famous Christmas tree.

My father's photo of the Promenade and Christmas Tree in front of the RCA Building

My father's photo of Prometheus catching fire in front of the RCA Building in summertime

What I took for granted as a child must have seemed a very long way from the farms of my parents' childhoods and a nearly impossible dream come true for the young newlyweds in New York City.

1940- Love and Marriage

That summer, Gary asked Pauline to be his bride. From the looks of this picture, they must have been visiting her family in Jerseyville at the time.

The back of this picture is labeled "Just engaged!"

 A flurry of parties ensued that summer, with congratulations from friends and family.

One party was held with Jerseyville friends and family. Her mother (Mrs. Thomas Allen) and great- aunt (Rose Allen) along with her sisters (Margaret and Helen Allen) sister in law Adah (Mrs Hugh Allen) and cousins (Loretta and Mrs. John Quinn) attended, along with friends and neighbors.

 

Another engagement party was held for Pauline at the Gatesworth Hotel at the entrance to Forest Park, in St. Louis.

 

Apparently Gary and Pauline enjoyed playing bridge, and this was a bridge party. There were 24 guests seated at 6 tables which were decorated with fall flowers. Among the guests were Pauline's neice, Marjorie Rose Allen. Pauline's mother, cousins, and sister-in-law, Adah, also attended, along with other local and hometown friends.

Pauline was a devout catholic, and would have likely attended the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, as it was just a short distance from her apartment. This beautiful church was completed in 1914, and was famous for its architecture and mosaics.

Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis

Tour of Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis 

However Gary was a protestant. In those days, this presented a problem. They could not have a catholic ceremony in the church. So they were married in the church rectory on September 23, 1940.

Here are the "before" and "after photos- carefully labeled by my mother!

Gary Garrison and Pauline Allen in front of her home in Jerseyville before the wedding

Mr. and Mrs. L.E. Garrison after their wedding 

An Article in the Alton Evening Telegraph on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 1940, described the wedding...

Jerseyville- The Marriage of Miss Pauline Allen of St. Louis, formerly of this city, and Lewis Elgin Garrison of St. Louis was solemnized at 4 o'clock Monday afternoon, September 23, in the rectory of St. Louis Cathedral.  The Rev. Father J. Cowan officiated.
    Miss Helen Allen of Alton, sister of the bride, served as her bridesmaid and Quintin Peckel of Tulsa, Okla., was attendant for the groom.
    Following the wedding the immediated relatives of the couple attended a dinner served the bridal party at the Forest Park hotel in St. Louis, after which Mr. and Mrs. Garrison left on a wedding trip. On their return to St. Louis they will be at home in the Gatesworth hotel, St. Louis, until Nov. 1 when they will go to New York to reside.
    Mrs. Garrison is the youngest daughter of Mrs. Thomas Allen of Jerseyville. She is a graduate of the Jersey Township High School and for some time has held a secretarial position with the Sampson Distributing Co., in St. Louis.
    The groom is a son of Mr. and Mrs. William Garrison of Enid, Okla. He is a graduate of Oklahoma A. & M. College. For some time he has been the employee of Shell Oil Co., in St. Louis, but will be transferred Nov. 1 to New York.
    Those from here attending the wedding Monday were: Mrs. Thomas Allen, Acquinas Allen, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Allen, Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Allen and Miss Rose Allen of Jerseyville, and the Misses Helen and Margaret Allen, Alton.

Gary and Pauline would have just a few weeks in the Gateway Hotel in Saint Louis before their move to New York City.

The Last Bachelor Bash

It is difficult to reconstruct our parents' lives from tidbits of conversation and tiny pieces of information, but now and then we get a treasure of an artifact. This letter was among my mother's things- something she saved and treasured. It tells of a time they were apart, but a time when her young beau clearly missed her.

My father loved to travel and spent most of his vacations traveling during the summers with our family. Two things were important to him as a married man and father; visiting far away family, and sharing the great sights in the United States with his family. Our trips were always car trips.

But this trip was different. I knew that my father had been to Cuba; he spoke briefly about it when he gathered items for Cuban refugees who he knew at Shell many years later. I knew that he spoke Spanish. This trip was a special one- a trip with another lifetime buddy, "Pickel" and the last trip of his bachelor days.

The letter describes his adventure. After a couple of days in Houston, He and "Pic" drove to Galveston to board the Iroquois, one of the Clyde-Mallory Steamship vessels. They sailed to Miami and spent a few days there.

I don't know if they went to the Copa Cabana- but it surely would have been a big draw to someone who loved dance band music!

Then they flew to Cuba for a few days. This may have been my father's first experience on an airplane.

 

A 1930's Cuban Travelogue 

They took Gary's car onboard with them to Miami, so after the trip to Cuba they could take a leisurely drive back up the east coast and then over to St. Louis.

I didn't find a letter describing his experiences in Havana. I would guess he enjoyed music and sightseeing. But knowing my mother she was imagining some of the sights he was seeing like this!

The Letter

Transcript:

Hello Darlin,
    The water is still a bit rough, but not so bad as yesterday. what I mean there were several sea sick people yesterday.
    We landed in Houston about four a.m. Monday and was there until Wednesday afternoon when we drove to Galveston to board this ship. Its the "Iroquois" and a very nice vessel. Left Galveston about six p.m. Wednesday and will arrive in Miami about eight in the morning.
    Incidentily, just took a little swim a few minutes ago not bad at all.
   We will be in Miami for a couple of days, will then fly to Cuba and be there for a couple of days and then catch a plane back to Miami.
     We have my car aboard so will drive up the coast until we get tired of it, then cut on over to St. Louis and expect to be back there by at least Monday morning the 5th.
   Do you know that I have been missing you! Hope you have been getting plenty of sleep because when I get back it would certainly be a pleasure to take up part of your time. And how is the roomie- give her my regards.
   Tis about time to dress for dinner so expect I had better run along. Pic and I have been along with the last getting in to dinner and we decided to try and do better this evening you know- always later- too many other things to do.
       Be sweet and will see you soon,
                             Love, Gary