Country Road?
I have a hard time imaging this city as farmland, but that is exactly what most of it was in the 1800s. According to Margaret Manor Butler in Romance in Lakewood Streets, “When James Newman came from London in 1843 at the age of eleven with his parents, sister, and brother, he helped to build their log cabin near West 117th Street. Eventually he was able to buy some land of his own. By 1896 demands for low-cost housing in a growing community induced James’ three sons to cut Newman Avenue through their farm and build rental houses.”
Walking down the street today, I wondered if some of those 1896 rental houses were still standing. I have observed many two-family homes in Lakewood, but Newman had several with a unique appearance. They were more like side-by-side homes, with separate front porches and entrances. The twin roof peaks on each side gave them an impressive look.
Unlike most Lakewood streets, Newman also curves gently in an “S” shape in several spots. Perhaps this was to fit in with the contours of the Newman farm when the road was built.
I also appreciated the flower boxes I found when I arrived at the end of the street where it connected with Madison. One appeared to be hand-build and hand painted, with a logo for the nearby Madison Car Wash and a nod to Birdtown.
