Category Archives: New York

New York City

Lord & Taylor Building

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Lord & Taylor Building, an individual New York City landmark and part of Ladies Mile Historic District, was decaying despite its protected status, until Spanish investors resuscitated the structure in 2009. However, 901 Broadway is only part of the store that existed from 1870 to 1914. A larger, L-shaped portion was separated in 1914 and remodeled – it’s now known as 897 Broadway.

The store was not the first cast iron building in New York, but architect James H. Giles innovated by letting the cast iron show, instead of disguising it as stone – common practice at the time, according to the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Lord & Taylor Building Vital Statistics
  • Location: 901 Broadway at E 20th Street
  • Year completed: 1870
  • Architect: James H. Giles
  • Floors: 5
  • Style: French Second Empire
  • New York City Landmark: 1977, 1989
Lord & Taylor Building Recommended Reading

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Warren Building

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Warren Building is a neo-Renaissance gem with exquisite detail, refurbished in 2012. Though stripped of its original first floor colonnade and fourth floor balconies, the building’s marble and terra cotta trim, combined with roman brick, are stunning.

The prominent firm of McKim, Meade & White designed this seven-story building – and also designed the Goelet Building diagonally across Broadway. Broadway cuts diagonally across E 20th Street, making corners a little awkward (because we expect building corners to be right angles). McKim, Mead & White finessed the Warren Building’s corner with a chamfer; the Goelet Building’s corner is rounded.

Warren Building Vital Statistics
  • Location: 903-907 Broadway at E 20th Street
  • Year completed: 1891
  • Architect: McKim, Mead & White
  • Floors: 7
  • Style: neo-Renaissance
  • New York City Landmark: 1989
Warren Building Recommended Reading

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1 Fifth Avenue

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1 Fifth Avenue, a pre-war apartment cooperative, was built as a “hotel” to justify its 27-story height. To meet zoning requirements, apartments lacked kitchens, instead had “pantries” – which tenants later converted to kitchens.

Thin vertical stripes of white and black brick on the flat facades give the illusion of projecting pillars, from a distance, emphasizing the building’s height.

1 Fifth Avenue Vital Statistics
  • Location: 1 Fifth Avenue at E 8th Street
  • Year completed: 1927
  • Architect: Helme & Corbett, Sugarman & Berger
  • Floors: 27
  • Style: Art Deco
  • New York City Landmark: 1969
1 Fifth Avenue Recommended Reading

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Manhasset Apartments

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Manhasset Apartments are near-twin Beaux Arts landmark buildings on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, instantly recognizable for their two-story slate mansard roof and imposing orange brick form.

The buildings were originally designed by architect Joseph Wolf as eight-story structures – then the legal limit for apartments. When the original developer went bankrupt, the new developer hired Janes & Leo to add three stories, taking advantage of new building codes. In the process, Janes & Leo changed the decorative style to Beaux Arts.

In 1910, a new set of owners added retail stores along Broadway.

The building’s current owners rebuilt the roof starting in late 1996; while the scaffolding was still up in March of ’99, an absent-minded restaurant chef set the building on fire.

Manhasset Apartments Vital Statistics
  • Location: 301 W 108th Street / 300 W 109th Street at Broadway
  • Year completed: 1905
  • Architect: Joseph Wolf, Janes & Leo
  • Floors: 11
  • Style: Beaux Arts
  • New York City Landmark: 1996
Manhasset Apartments Recommended Reading

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Scheffel Hall

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Scheffel Hall, named for German poet Joseph Victor von Scheffel, recalls the days of Kleindeutschland (Little Germany), home of German immigrants on the Lower East Side.

Carl Goerwitz, a waiter who emigrated to New York in 1873, took over the lease on 190 Third Avenue in 1894. He hired the architectural firm of Weber & Drosser to remodel the building and join it to adjacent buildings that he already owned. The elaborate facade mimics Friedrichsbau at Heidelberg Castle. According to the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, the building is among the earliest surviving examples of terra cotta cladding.

In 1904 Goerwitz subleased the building, and it was eventually bought by adjacent Allaire’s restaurant. In the early 1900s the establishment was popular with politicians and writers (including O. Henry).

In more recent years the building was home to jazz club Fat Tuesday’s. It is now a pilates studio.

Scheffel Hall Vital Statistics
  • Location: 190 3rd Avenue
  • Year completed: 1895
  • Architect: Henry Adam Weber, Weber & Drosser
  • Floors: 4
  • Style: German Renaissance
  • New York City Landmark: 1997
Scheffel Hall Recommended Reading

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19 E 72nd Street

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19 E 72nd Street belies its Great Depression heritage. Clad in expensive limestone top to bottom, designed by two of New York’s premiere architects, this landmark apartment building is quietly elegant. Quite at home with the neighboring mansions and Madison Avenue boutiques.

19 E 72nd Street Vital Statistics
  • Location: 19 E 72nd Street at Madison Avenue
  • Year completed: 1937
  • Architect: Rosario Candela, Mott Schmidt
  • Floors: 16
  • Style: Modern, Neo-classical
  • New York City Landmark: 1981
19 E 72nd Street Recommended Reading

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30 E 85th Street

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30 E 85th Street towers over its Madison Avenue neighbors and sports an illuminated crown, but it’s the high ceilings and real plaster walls that make this condo stand out from contemporary apartment buildings.

According to The New York Times, some potential buyers forced another “prewar” touch – larger apartments. Original plans called for 104 apartments; some units were combined, reducing the total to 90.

30 E 85th Street Vital Statistics
  • Location: 30 E 85th Street at Madison Avenue
  • Year completed: 1987
  • Architect: Schuman, Lichtenstein, Clamon & Efron (SLCE)
  • Floors: 30
  • Style: Postmodern
30 E 85th Street Recommended Reading

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37 Washington Square West

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37 Washington Square West (aka Macdougal Street), a 16-story apartment house designed by Gronenberg & Leuchtag, is notable for its rich use of terra cotta – particularly the colorful detailing in the building’s base.

The 1928 structure is now owned by New York University (NYU), and used for faculty housing.

37 Washington Square West Vital Statistics
  • Location: 37 Washington Square West (aka Macdougal Street) at W 4th Street
  • Year completed: 1928
  • Architect: Gronenberg & Leuchtag
  • Floors: 16
  • Style: Italian Gothic
  • New York City Landmark: 1969 (Greenwich Village Historic District)
37 Washington Square West Recommended Reading

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71-75 E 93rd Street

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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
  • Location: 75 E 93rd Street at Park Avenue
  • Year completed: 1918
  • Architect: Delano & Aldrich
  • Floors: 5
  • Style: Neo-Federal
  • New York City Landmark: 1969
71-75 E 93rd Street Recommended Reading

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101 Central Park West

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101 Central Park West is a prestigious address, referred to as a “white glove” cooperative where apartments still include maids’ rooms, elevators still have operators, and price tags are in the millions. It’s plainer than some other famous Central Park West addresses – possibly because it was built during the Great Depression.

101 Central Park West Vital Statistics
  • Location: 101 Central Park West between W 70th & W 71st Streets
  • Year completed: 1930
  • Architect: Schwartz & Gross
  • Floors: 17
  • Style: neo-Renaissance
  • New York City Landmark: 1990 (Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District)
101 Central Park West Recommended Reading

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