Croton Cottage
The view shows a tavern known as the Croton Cottage, which stood on the corner of 5th Avenue and 40th Street. It served ice cream and refreshments while providing billiards and a few hotel rooms for customers. It was a popular spot with people who came to walk around the top of the Croton Reservoir. The print shows a prominent painted sign advertising billiards, and the William Perris Fire Insurance Atlas of 1854 shows a bowling alley running down one side of the building. Interestingly, a small diagonal lane runs through the center of the block, a vestige of the road system of Manhattan before the imposition of the grid. The little lane leads to another bowling alley, showing that, as today, similar businesses tended to cluster together. During the draft riots of 1863, the building was burned down and the lot was purchased by William H Vanderbilt. The 1885 map shows the Vanderbilt home.
