45 Grove Street
This manor house has a rich history. It was originally built in 1830 by local real estate developer and textile magnate Samuel Whitmore. The house was an opulent two-story mansion surrounded by stables and lush gardens. In 1851, the home was sold and converted into its current incarnation as a four-story apartment building with basement retail space. The building served as a hospital during the Spanish American war. In 1923, it also was the residence of the famous poet, Hart Crane, who wrote the poem, The Bridge while living in one of the apartments. At the end of the Civil War, the building played host to John Wilkes Booth, who conspired to kidnap Abraham Lincoln with his friend, resident Samuel K. Chester. Most recently, the building garnered notoriety on the silver screen as the residence of playwright Eugene O’Neill in the Warren Beatty film Reds.
Had a plot to kidnap President Lincoln been a success, the President may have never been shot at the Ford Theater, and the theater would have actually had to be the venue for some impressive plays to gain notoriety instead of taking the easy way out.
photo by SSchultz
