It's Elemental, My Dear Bloomingdale

Locate that Element!

You know the rules. Locate that element!

By Caitlin Hawke

Oh, diner. Oh, oh diner. Oh, oh, oh. Looking for my diner (to paraphrase Hair).

Yes, I gave a big contextual clue in the last "It's Elemental" by talking about the Metro Diner, because the element I featured was the beautiful third story of the woodframe Grimm building, now occupied by the diner.

The thing of beauty is how many readers got it right.  You love your old buildings, Bloomingdalers! And you gave me some juicy additional details, which I will feature in an upcoming post.

My traditional hat tip goes to those who know their frontage. So kudos to Anthony, Elizabeth, Emily, Jim, Lorne, and Pam.

The historic Grimm building taken from the south side of W. 100th Street -- at the intersection with Broadway -- looking north

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Henry Grimm built it in 1871 as a grocery store for the up and coming neighborhood. It came to be known as "The Boulevard House" and among its many incarnations was a saloon and a millinery store. And darn if it isn't a miracle that it still stands!

I featured this intersection below in a "Throwback Thursday" post back in June, relishing that some corners actually have stayed nearly the same for the past 110 years.

In the post that gave the clue, I featured the third floor because I love a beautiful cornice propped up on scroll brackets, and who can resist clapboards in Manhattan? And also, decontextualized, it looks mighty unlikely that it would be anywhere near us.  But near us it is, sitting at the northwest corner of W. 100th Street and Broadway. 

The second floor -- now a salon, but once a saloon -- was originally similarly clad in clapboards, but according to The Daytonian in Manhattan, the clapboards were removed around the Great Depression and large windows put in.

It's got a great history, so click through to the Daytonian piece to learn more.

Built by Henry Grimm in 1871, here's an image of the historic building in 1909 taken from the east side of Broadway looking west down W. 100th Street. Of course when Grimm built it, the avenue was called "The Boulevard."

And when you see Frank and Fotios at the Metro, thank them for keeping the little wooden building going since 1993.  Remember, they are the "new" kids on the block, but since the Times wrote about their having taken over this building to bring us the Metro, diner culture has begun to vanish.  Or so they say.

So, fellow Bloomingdalers: it's time again to locate that element! You remember the rules. The blog feature "It's Elemental" is our version of Name that Tune. Tell me what and where the architectural element at the top of this page is.  As always, extra points for any additional history you might know.

Put your answer in the comments or email: [email protected].  Stumped and have to know? Check back and at the top of the next "It's Elemental" post, I will reveal the location.

And stay tuned for more lore about the Building Grimm.