Ornithology, Evolution, and Philosophy 123

102 3 The New York Years (1931–1953)
the uniquely valuable Rothschild Collection, the American Museum had finally
a bird collection that was not rivaled anywhere else in the world. In fact, other
museums today may have more specimens, but as far as balance and richness in
types, etc., is concerned, I think the American Museum collection is still unique.”
Life in New York City
InNewYorkCity,MayroccupiedasmallroomintheInternationalHouseat
500 Riverside Drive in upper Manhattan, at about 123rd Street, where he soon
met other young Germans. To the museum he took the Broadway subway south
or, when weather was nice, he walked the 44 blocks along the Hudson River. In
the evenings, he occasionally went with friends from the International House to
Times Square, to Radio City Hall, to a movie theater or a concert. They also on
occasion sponsored social events, plays, musical performances, etc. In one of the
plays Mayr appeared as a Catholic priest. Soon after visiting Europe in the summer
of 1932 he moved, with two companions from the International House, to an
apartment located at 55 Tiemann Place (Apartment 69 on the 3rd floor) just one
block away. Each of them had a bedroom and there was a large living room. One
of the other two roommates loved to go shopping and also otherwise running the
household including cooking. 5 In spite of some turnover of roommates Mayr lived
very pleasantly in this setup until he got married to Margarete (Gretel) Simon in
the spring of 1935. By then he was 30 years old (Fig. 3.3).
They had met in 1932 at a Christmas party in the International House. She was
the niece of a well-known Long Island family, the Dreiers, and had come to the
USA as an exchange student at Wheaton College, Massachusetts for one year. After
she had returned to Germany in 1933, he proposed to her during his next visit
to Europe in the summer of 1934 (when he also attended the VIIIth International
Ornithological Congress in Oxford with Erwin Stresemann as President). He left
on SS “Veendam” in June and returned to New York on SS “Statendam” on 14
October. Ernst was not certain that Gretel would say “yes” in view of his recent
kidney operation (p. 301) and the fact that she would have to leave Germany.
However, his doubts were unfounded. He traveled again to Europe on SS “Europa”
on 26 April 1935 and they were married in Freiburg in Breisgau on 4 May, a beautiful
spring day when everything was in flower. The wedding ceremony was officiated
by Gretel Simon’s brother Ludwig, who was a minister, and with her younger
brother Frieder playing the organ in the church in which their father had been the
minister. Following a few days of “honeymoon” in the Alps they had a pleasant
5 The six German and one American young men who had shared this apartment at one
time or other during the years 1932–1935 remained in contact with one another into the
1990s, and four of them (with their wives) met in North Bennington, Vermont in May
1986 to exchange memories and renew their friendship. Except for Gustav Stresow who
became a publisher in Germany, all the others had remained in the United States. Stresow
and Mayr were especially close because both had intellectual occupations and usually
worked at home in the evenings. They corresponded into their nineties and occasionally
met, when Mayr was in Europe.