Tag Archives: Emery Roth & Sons

888 Grand Concourse

888 Grand Concourse

888 Grand Concourse has seen better days. But even in decline, the curvaceous Art Deco landmark is striking and memorable. The bold corner treatment, in particular, stands out for its concave gilt and mosaic entry.

The Emery Roth-designed apartment building stands at E 161st Street, across the “Boulevard of Dreams” from the old Bronx County Courthouse. In 2009, The New York Times called 888 “a particular stunner, a medley of curves, scallops and concave spaces executed in black granite, bronze, stainless steel, marble mosaic and gold stripes.”

Since then, the building has fallen on hard times. In 2013, the Daily News reported that the apartment house had 341 open violations and was one of the Bronx’s ten worst buildings. In February 2016 tenants staged a rent strike, and the building is in foreclosure, according to The Real Deal. The New York Real Estate news site described the building as “rat-infested.”

One can only hope that the landmark emerges from foreclosure with an owner that can rehabilitate the building.

888 Grand Concourse Vital Statistics
888 Grand Concourse Recommended Reading

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295 Central Park West

295 Central Park West

295 Central Park West is a lesser-known work of Emery Roth, the preeminent New York apartment building architect. The 19-story-plus-penthouse building stands at W 90th Street, and is part of the Upper West Side-Central Park West Historic District.

The facade is quite plain, even for Art Moderne. A modest stone surround marks the centered entry on Central Park West; a decorative brick bandcourse separates the first and second floors. The only other significant architectural detail is the use of rounded corners (and rounded corner windows).

The building has so far resisted conversion to condominium or co-op.

295 Central Park West Vital Statistics
295 Central Park West Recommended Reading

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17 State Street

17 State Street is a stunning curved mirror-glass tower opposite Battery Park, framed in aluminum. The curved facade is not just for theatrics: that’s the shape of the lot, where State Street decides to switch from running north-south to east-west. The building floor plan resembles a quarter of a pie. Up close, you’ll also notice that there is no real first floor – just a glass-enclosed lobby (much like the Lever Building) and elevators; the building rests on cross-braced aluminum-clad columns.

The site has some history: it was the site of the Seaman’s Church Institute, and also the site of the house where Herman Melville was born, in 1819.

17 State Street Vital Statistics
17 State Street Recommended Reading

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Aramco Building

Aramco Building reminds one, with its brick, curved corner, and strip windows, of the Starrett-Lehigh Building in West Chelsea. It served as headquarters of the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco) from 1949 to 1973.

According to a New York Times article, the Aramco Building was designed with a view to possible future conversion to residential use. In 1987 the building was updated by Der Scutt, the architect responsible for the Trump Building, Grand Hyatt, and 100 United Nations Plaza Tower, among others. In the renovation, Der Scutt created a two-story lobby and modern two-story base clad in polished brass, tinted glass and marble.

Aramco Building Vital Statistics
Aramco Building Recommended Reading

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