Tag Archives: Carnegie Hill

71-75 E 93rd Street

71-75 E 93rd Street (aka 1180 Park Avenue) is a beautifully maintained Neo-Federal mansion in Manhattan’s Carnegie Hill section, and the cornerstone of a complex of four adjoining buildings at the corner of E 93rd Street and Park Avenue.

The five-story building was originally built for financier Francis F. Palmer, and completed in 1918. (The building is still sometimes referred to as the Francis F. Palmer House.)

George F. Baker, Jr., another financier, purchased the mansion in 1927 and expanded it with three extensions: a garage (69 E 93rd Street), ballroom wing (1180 Park Avenue) and townhouse residence for his father (67 E 93rd Street). All four buildings were designed by Delano & Aldrich, a prominent architectural firm of the early 1900s. With the main house, the ballroom and garage form a courtyard open to E 93rd Street.

(George Baker, Sr. died before his home was completed; his daughter-in-law later occupied the house.)

The Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia – exiles from Soviet oppression – purchased the main house and ballroom wing in 1958 with funds donated by Russian-born banker Serge Semenenko.

Financier Richard Jenrette purchased 67 and 69 E 93rd Street in 1987 and 1988. These homes are now headquarters of Classical American Homes Preservation Trust.

The George F. Baker, Jr. House Complex is subject of three NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission designations – and part of the Expanded Carnegie Hill Historic District.

71-75 E 93rd Street Vital Statistics
71-75 E 93rd Street Recommended Reading

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1185 Park Avenue

1185 Park Avenue is one of a handful of luxury New York apartment houses built around a central courtyard – and the only one of note without a name. (You’ve probably heard of the others: The Dakota, Apthorp, Belnord and Graham Court.) The architects, Schwartz & Gross, specialized in hotels and apartment buildings and were known for exceptional apartment layout.

There are 12 apartments to a floor (though some have been combined) arrayed around the courtyard. Six separate lobbies serve those apartments, so that each elevator landing has only two apartments. The NY Curbed archive takes a peek at some of 1185 Park’s multi-million-dollar homes.

If you Google “1185 Park Avenue,” many of the results will refer to the book of that name, a memoir of Annie Roiphe. That’s getting off the subject of architecture, but her tale is a reminder that money and plush surroundings aren’t everything. So don’t feel bad that you don’t live here.

1185 Park Avenue Vital Statistics
1185 Park Avenue Recommended Reading

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