Envy, History, and a Mistake

From the Wurts Brothers, a tenant directory at 250 Park Avenue: Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. “250 Park Avenue (East 46th Street – East 47th Street)” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1887 – 1964. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/4ba64aa0-c5ed-012f-19b6-58d385a7bc34 (Note that the photo date is listed as “1887 to 1964, approximate,” which would seem to cover all the possibilities.) I love that style of directory, which is dying out in favor of touchscreens and concierge desks. “POSTVM BVILDING” caught my eye. I am vaguely aware of Postum as a coffee substitute – apparently with a more convoluted history than one might expect – but I did not know there was a Postum Building in New York. The address of 250 Park Avenue raises some interesting questions: that address, between 46th and 47th Street, is part of the original “Terminal City” development north of Grand Central. That…