I had a request from a fellow blogger to show the home of E. E. Cummings (1894-1962). The charming alley he lived in is called Patchin Place next to Jefferson Market Library.
The property that became Patchin Place and Milligan Place was once part of a farm belonging to Sir Peter Warren. In 1799 it was sold to Samuel Milligan, who later conveyed it to his son-in-law, Aaron Patchin. The buildings that now occupy the site were put up in 1848-1852 as boarding houses for Basque waiters and other workers at the nearby Brevoort House hotel on 5th Avenue.
A story: The then modernist writer Djuna Barnes (1982-1982) moved into a room-and-a-half apartment at 5 Patchin Place in 1941. She became so reclusive that Cummings would occasionally check on her by shouting out his window “Are you still alive, Djuna?”.
- For Norm’s Thursday Doors 6/7/2018
- Patchin Place (Wikipedia)
The even more charming private Milligan Place around the corner on 6th Avenue.
