James A. & Ruth M. Bailey House

The limestone mansion at the northeast corner of Nicholas Place and W. 150th Street was built between 1886 and 1888 for James A. Bailey, the orphan who became a millionaire through the circus industry (he was the Bailey in Barnum & Bailey Circus). The Baileys spared no expense in constructing the Romanesque Revival house with a corner tower, Flemish-style gables, stained glass windows and intricate woodwork inside. It later became a funeral home in the 1950s and was badly deteriorated before new owners took on the massive restoration project in 2009. The Bailey House became a New York City Landmark in 1974 and was listed in the New York and National Registers of Historic Places in 1980.

James Anthony Bailey, a native of Detroit, founded his own circus in 1872. He teamed up with rival P.T. Barnum in 1881 and became part owner of Barnum & Bailey Circus. Bailey was manager of the company's Greatest Show on Earth. He also had interests in the Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and the Forepaugh & Sells Brothers Show. The former orphan instituted "Orphan's Day" at the circus; on one afternoon per year, orphans were given free admission.

Samuel B. Reed was the New Jersey-based architect of James A. Bailey's mansion in the Sugar Hill neighborhood of West Harlem. The 12,000-square-foot rock-faced ashlar building features two basement levels and three stories above ground. The corner tower is covered by a conical roof topped by a spiked finial; the other three corners of the house have small turrets. The entrance on St. Nicholas Place features a one-story porch with a heraldic crest above; a second squared porch projects from the W. 150th Street side and both porches are topped by stone parapets in a checkerboard pattern. The grey slate roof has dormer windows on all sides and features a wrought iron railing. The glass and iron conservatory was one of 29 rooms in the mansion. The opulent interiors were designed for Bailey by Joseph Burr Tiffany, a cousin of Louis Comfort Tiffany, and included hand-painted wallpaper, art glass chandeliers, and carved wooden fireplace surrounds. Henry F. Belcher created dozens of stained glass windows for the mansion. Bailey later had a stable/ carriage house built behind the house. Bailey estimated that he spent $160,000 on the property.

The Baileys only occupied the mansion for eleven years before putting the property up for sale in 1899. They advertised the property at a discount due to Mr. Bailey being away in Europe. When Bailey came to New York in December 1900 after sailing from Europe, he stayed at the Hotel Manhattan. He only expected to be in town for ten days and then needed to return to Europe for the rest of the extended tour of the circus. Bailey went on to buy the 30-acres Glover Estate in Mount Vernon, New York, and announced plans in 1903 to build a masonry house on the property worth $100,000. Bailey died in April 1906 and his funeral was held in Mount Vernon. By the time of his death, Bailey still held over 300,000 of the 400,000 shares in the Barnum & Bailey Company; they were bequeathed to his widow.

The former Bailey house went through a number of wealthy owners, including millionaire contractor John C. Rodgers, before being purchased by Dr. Louis Schaefer in 1910. After Dr. Schaefer's death in the home in 1911, the property went to his four children (two in the U.S. and two who stayed in Germany). One daughter later married Dr. Franz Koempel and bought the house from her father's estate in 1916. Dr. Koempel's medical office was located on E. 86th Street.

A girl named Marguerite lived in the neighborhood and dreamed of owning the "castle" someday; she reportedly asked the Koempels for a tour when she was a teenager. Years later, she and her husband, Warren Blake, purchased the mansion in 1951 and operated a funeral home - the M. Marshall Blake Funeral Home - from the premises for many years. In 2008, 87-year-old Marguerite Blake put the deteriorated house/ former funeral home on the market. The new owners in 2009, Martin and Jenny Spollen, began their multi-year restoration efforts. The house continues to be a private home.

Anonymous. "James A. Bailey in Town." New-York Tribune (New York) December 18th 1900, 2-2.

Anonymous. "James A. Bailey to Build Fine House." New-York Tribune (New York) June 30th 1903, 11-11.

Anonymous. "Orphans' Day at Circus." New-York Tribune (New York) March 31st 1905, 5-5.

Anonymous. "Tributes to Bailey." New-York Tribune (New York) April 13th 1906, 2-2.

Kurshan, Virginia. NRHP Nomination of Bailey Residence, 10 St. Nicholas Place, New York, N.Y.. National Register. Washington, DC. National Parke Service, 1979.

Lewis, Christina S. N. "NYC House Built by Bailey, of Circus Fame, Goes on Sale." Wall Street Journal (New York) November 14th 2008.

Miller, Tom. James A. Bailey House, Daytonian in Manhattan. Blog. May 1st 2019. Accessed October 24th 2021. http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-james-bailey-house-10-st-nicholas.html.