Meet the 93-year-old who has lived in the same Hamilton Heights building her entire life

By BrickUnderground | September 29, 2015 - 3:59PM

Ever wonder about the people in your building who've been there so long they seem to come as a package deal with the place? (If nothing else, you've probably fantasized about their rent-controlled apartments.) The New York Times recently chronicled one such lifer in their "Character Study" column, a 93-year-old woman born—literally—in her Hamilton Heights building.

The backstory: Eleanor Murray's mother gave birth to her in a basement unit at the Milton, a prewar at 531 West 135th Street, in 1922. She has since moved from that apartment to another within the building—she and her sister moved into the space on their own, her mother staying in the basement apartment—and now pays a covetable $500 a month. (It cost $31 back then.) She met her husband in high school, and he lived just a block away. When they married, he moved in and raised their family in the same place; later, her mother, passed away in the apartment, too. Talk about full circle!

For a quick glimpse of what the city was like back when she was born, check out this video capturing NYC in the 1920s:

And here's what it was like when she was just six years old:

To read the full article (and we recommend you do, as well as other "Character Study" stories, too), click here.

New Yorker's biggest misconceptions about rent-stabilization

Brick Underground articles occasionally include the expertise of, or information about, advertising partners when relevant to the story. We will never promote an advertiser's product without making the relationship clear to our readers.