THE ROOTS OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: HISTORIC SITES IN THE NEW YORK AREA
Town's Hospital, 293 Central Park West: Bill had 4 trips to T.H. and ultimately a Spiritual Experience. Dr. William Silkworth, Medical Superintendent, treated 40,000 alkies and wrote the Doctor's Opinion.
Calvary Church House, 21st and Park Avenue South: Where Bill attended Oxford Group meetings and got sober along with Ebby, Rowland, Cebra, Hank and all the gang. Sam Shoemaker, source of "all AA's spiritual principles via the OG's, was the pastor of Calvary.
17 Williams Street, Newark, New Jersey, Honest Dealers: Hank Parkhurst and Bill set up first "Headquarters" office. Wrote Big Book. Ruth Hock, first nonalcoholics employee.
30 Vesey Street, New York City: Second Office, After Bill splits with Hank. (1938-1940)
415 Lexington Avenue: Office moves to Grand Central Area after Bill gets Bedford Hills home. Easy commute. (1940-1944)
141 East 44th Street: More Space. (1950-1960)
315 East 45th: Larger quarters in Grand Central Area. (1960-1970)
468 Park Avenue South: General Service Office for over 20 years, finally occupying 5 floors in 2 buildings (470). (1970-1992)
182 Clinton Street, Brooklyn: Bill's home when he got sober. Gift of Lois's father. Lost during Depression (sober).
30 Rockefeller Plaza: Where Bill met "Uncle Dick" Richardson, conduit to John
D. Rockefeller. Bill sat in Rockefeller's chair on the 66th Floor Office of John D.
475 Riverside Drive: 11th Floor/ half of 10th (l992-Present)
38 Livingston Street, Brooklyn: Bill's home during High-Flying years on Wall Street. Combined two apartments.
Roosevelt Hotel, Madison Avenue & 44th Street: Site of over 35 General Service :Conferences.
Park Omni, Seventh Avenue & 56th Street: Site of General Service Conferences.
High Watch Farm, 62 Carter Road, Kent, Connecticut (about 2 hours north of New York City):
High Watch Farm is an independently run retreat for recovery from alcoholism, drug addiction, and substance abuse, founded in 1940 and based in the fellowship and program of Alcoholics Anonymous. Bill W. visited the farm in 1939 with Marty Mann and other M's. An informal agreement was reached between AA and the farm's managers, to enable established members of Alcoholics Anonymous to use the Farm for rest and spiritual renewal while also being available to share their experience, strength, and hope with newcomers to the program. Individuals interested in visiting should contact the Farm well in advance to plan their stay.
BILL AND LOIS'S HOMES
38 Livingston Street (between Clinton and Court Streets), Brooklyn: Bill and Lois's home during the flush, high-flying years on Wall Street, from 1926-1929. Bill was asuccessful stockbroker during these years and the couple was wealthy. Lois and Bill knocked down a wall and converted two apartments into one to give them more space. These were also, however, the years of worsening drinking by Bill.
182 Clinton Street (Clinton and State Streets), Brooklyn: This home was owned by Lois's family for many years. Lois Burnham was born in this house in 1891. Bill and Lois lived there briefly in 1919 with her parents when they were just getting on their feet. They moved there again in 1930 when the couple's financial situation had deteriorated severely, after the stock market crash. Lois's mother was dying of cancer, and Bill's drinking was quite bad. Lois's father gave the home to Lois and Bill after he remarried a few years after his wife's death. It was in this house that Bill finally got sober -Ebby T. brought Bill his message of spiritual healing and recovery in 1934, sitting with him in the kitchen at 182 Clinton Street. In 1935, Bill began hosting meetings at the house on Tuesdays, meeting with drunks constantly, some of whom lived there with Bill and Lois if they had nowhere else to go. After Lois's father died in 1936, the mortgage company took over ownership of the home, but the couple continued living there, renting the property, until 1939, when they were too penniless to afford the rent. They were then virtually homeless for two years, living with friends and above offices.
Stepping Stones: 62 Oak Road, Katonah, New York, 10536: About an hour north of Manhattan, Bill and Lois moved to this home in 1941, and lived here for the rest of their lives. A wealthy woman named Helen Griffith had heard that the couple needed a home, and offered them the home for a small price, with no down payment, in installments of $40 per month. Fortunately, AA was then on the cusp of success, and Bill and Lois were able to pay for the home quickly. It can be reached easily by car or on the Metro North train line, but you should call ahead of time to make an appointment to visit. Web: www.steppingstones.org phone: (914) 232-4822; email: info@steppingstones.org.
WAYSTATIONS FOR SERVICE: HOTELS IN AA HISTORY
Roosevelt Hotel, Madison Avenue and 45th Street, Manhattan: Site of over 35 General Service Conferences.
The Park Central (formerly the Omni Park Central), 870 7th Avenue (at 56th Street), Manhattan: Site of many General Service Conferences.
Hilton New York, 1335 Avenue of the Americas (at West 53rd Street), Manhattan: Site of the Bill W. Dinner, put on annually by the New York Intergroup since 1945.
Crowne Plaza Times Square, 1605 Broadway (at 49th Street), Manhattan: Site of General Service Conferences from 1992 to the present.
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