The Juan and Emilia Sala House at 13 West 74th St: A brazen theft on Christmas Eve
- The Upper West Side address was home to one wealthy family for half a century
- In 1924, the place was ransacked and the newly hired butler had disappeared
A colorful stained-glass arched transom decorated the parlor window and an elegant fan of wrought and cast iron filled the tympanum of the entranceway.
Have you ever passed by an interesting residential building in New York City and wanted to know more about its history? In this series, Brick Underground teams up with Tom Miller, creator of Daytonian in Manhattan, a blog about Manhattan buildings and other historic architecture. Each week, we run an excerpt from the Daytonian’s archives with a link to the full article.
In 1889, construction of five rowhouses began on West 74th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. Designed by Daniel Burgess, the four-story-and-basement homes were completed in 1890. A blend of neo-Grec and Queen Anne styles, they were clad in red brick and trimmed in brownstone.
The completed house quickly passed through several hands. In 1891 it was sold to Juan Sala and his wife, the former Emilia Chadric. The couple had one child, Aurora, born in 1881. The family moved to New York City from the West Indies in 1887. Upon arriving in New York, Juan Sala co-founded Sala, Hoheb & Co., export and commission merchants. Upon Hoheb's retirement, the firm was renamed J. Sala & Co.
Emilia quickly became part of Upper West Side society. On January 29th, 1893, for instance, The World reported, "Mrs. J. Sala, of No. 13 West Seventy-fourth street, gave a small dance on Friday evening."
Aurora's wedding to William Eadie Kotman was held in the parlor on the evening of November 17, 1893. The World called the bride, "a very lovely girl of sixteen," while the New-York Tribune said she, "is only fifteen years old." Her parents were, apparently, fudging the facts. Aurora Sala was just 12 years old. Her husband was 21. But the marriage didn’t last very long.
Aurora, rather than her mother, inherited the West 74th Street house after her father’s death in 1898. She married her second husband, Thomas Joseph Regan, in January 1905. The couple quickly filled their homes with children.
The Regans maintained a small domestic staff. In December 1924, the Regans hired a butler, Jack Archer, "a tall, dapper Englishman” who came with sterling references, including one from Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt II.
Archer started work in the Regan house in mid-December. On Christmas Eve, the family returned home to find him gone. They told police that the house "had been ransacked and everything of value that the thief could lay his hands on had been taken." The loss was estimated at $10,000—about $183,000 in 2026.
After having been home to one wealthy family for half a century, 13 West 74th St. became a rooming house, repeatedly sold and resold. Ultimately, a renovation in 2010 resulted in two triplex apartments. Although the brownstone has been painted, the exterior of 13 West 74th St is remarkably intact.
For more on this building and what happened to the Regan family’s valuables and the butler who stole them, check out the full article.
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