Tag Archives: historic

Sherry Netherland

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The Sherry Netherland must be bored by now with all of the superlatives lavished upon it. But if actions speak louder than words, consider this: a Sherry Netherland 18th floor apartment recently went on the market (September 2012) for $95 million. (To tell the whole truth, that’s the entire 18th floor – 7,000 square feet plus 2,000 square feet of terrace – seven bedrooms/seven baths – but still: $95 million!)

The Sherry Netherland is not, oddly enough, a New York City landmark unto itself (although the clock in front of the hotel is – go figure); it is part of the Upper East Side Historic District, along with the Hotel Pierre, Metropolitan Club, and other classics. The 40-story building was the tallest apartment-hotel in New York when built, in 1927.

The structure’s design was a collaboration of New York-based architects Shultze & Weaver and Buchman & Kahn. Shultze & Weaver specialized in luxury hotels such as the Pierre and Waldorf-Astoria. The French Gothic/French Renaissance tower is among New York’s most distinctive spires, hiding a water tank above the gargoyles. There is an observation platform at the very top – though you’d have to be brave and a climber to reach it!

While the Sherry Netherland’s public personna is a hotel, it has only 54 rooms and suites; 165 co-op apartments make up the bulk of the building.

Sherry Netherland Vital Statistics
  • Location: 751 Fifth Avenue at E 59th Street
  • Year completed: 1927
  • Architect: Shultze & Weaver and Buchman & Kahn
  • Floors: 48
  • Style: French Gothic/French Renaissance
Sherry Netherland Suggested Reading

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Central Synagogue

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Central Synagogue is, according to the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, the finest example of Moorish Revival architecture in New York City. The structure, built in 1872, is also the city’s oldest synagogue in continuous use – despite two disastrous fires.

The stunning landmark is on Lexington Avenue at E55th Street; its twin towers with gilded copper onion domes are impossible to miss. The design, by Henry Fernbach, is a copy of the Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest.

Central Synagogue was damaged by fire in 1886, a mere 14 years after opening, but restored. In 1946 the synagogue underwent modernization – architect Ely Jacques Kahn made significant changes to the windows and interior decorations and lighting.

In 1995 the synagogue embarked on a five-year renovation, including the addition of air conditioning. In August 1998, three days before the air conditioning was to be turned on, a fire destroyed most of the building. The congregation decided to rebuild Central Synagogue in its original, pre-modernization, design, with Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer the architects.

(One-hour guided tours are available every Wednesday at 12:45; reservations not required.)

Central Synagogue Vital Statistics
  • Location: 652 Lexington Avenue at E55th Street
  • Year completed: 1872
  • Architect: Henry Fernbach
  • Style: Moorish Revival
  • New York City Landmark: 1966
  • National Register of Historic Places: 1970
Central Synagogue Suggested Reading

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Morgan Library

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The Morgan Library and Museum on Madison Avenue comprises three classical, landmark buildings and a fourth, modern addition that joins the three into a complex that’s doubled in size.

The original buildings are J. P. Morgan, Jr.’s House (1853, originally built for Isaac N. Phelps), on the SE corner of Madison Avenue and E 37th Street; J. Pierpont’s Private Library (1906, designed by Charles McKim of McKim, Mead & White), mid-block on E 36th Street between Madison and Park Avenues; and J. Pierpont’s Private Library Addition (1928, designed by Benjamin Wistar Morris), on the NE corner of Madison Avenue and E 36th Street. The library addition was built on the site of J. Pierpont Morgan, Sr.’s mansion, after his death. (J. Pierpont Morgan, Jr. opened the library to the public in 1924.)

In 2006, the museum built a further addition, planned by Renzo Piano Building Workshop and Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners. The modern addition connected the three original buildings and also filled the lot east of the 1853 brownstone.

In 2010, the museum restored the original library – the McKim building – to its original splendor under guidance of Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners. The interior restoration included new lighting and the re-installation of the original chandeliers, deep cleaning, and replacement of plexiglass exhibit covers with non-glare acrylic. You can see before and after photos of the interior here.

Incidentally, the lionesses guarding the Morgan Library entrance on E 36th Street – Prudence and Felicity – were carved by Edward Clark Potter, the same sculptor who created the New York Public Library lions Patience and Fortitude.

Morgan Library Vital Statistics
  • Location: Madison Avenue between E 36th and E 37th Streets
  • Year completed: 1853 (house), 1906 (private library), 1928 (addition), 2006 (second addition)
  • Architect: McKim, Mead & White (private library), Benjamin Wistar Morris (addition), Renzo Piano Building Workshop (second addition)
  • Style: Italian Renaissance (private library), Florentine Renaissance (addition)
  • New York City Landmark: 1966
  • National Register of Historic Places: 1966
Morgan Library Suggested Reading

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Lefcourt Buildings

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Abraham E. Lefcourt is no longer a household name, but in his time – the 1920s – he rose from newspaper boy and bootblack to one of New York’s leading real estate developers. Lefcourt Buildings stood from 49th Street to Broad Street, from Seventh Avenue to Madison Avenue. Once dubbed “the Miracle Man of Realty,” from 1910 to 1932 Lefcourt developed 32 loft and office buildings – 20 in New York City – with an aggregate 5 million square feet of space on 477 floors, occupied by 200,000 people! The landmark Essex House on Central Park South was originally developed by Lefcourt as the Sevilla Towers – though it was foreclosed and auctioned off in 1931, before it was opened. He also launched a bank – and then, in the Great Depression, he lost his fortune, his son and his life.

At least 17 New York buildings remain [map and details below]. He built well, specializing in garment industry buildings that contained showrooms, factories and warehouses. However, only the Brill Building has NYC Landmark status; several have been drastically changed from their original appearance.

For more about Abraham E. Lefcourt and Garment District development, a few excellent resources are listed below. Also, the Skyscraper Museum‘s 2013 exhibit “Urban Fabric” was a fascinating view of Garment District development – the people and conditions as well as the brick and mortar. (The Skyscraper Museum is located in Battery Park City.)

Lefcourt Buildings Suggested Reading
Lefcourt Buildings Map

Printable 2-page walking guide


View Lefcourt Buildings in a larger map – print 2-page walking guide

Lefcourt Buildings – by year built (completed)

48 W 25th Street – between Sixth Avenue and Broadway
48 W 25th Street lobby detailHas been converted to cooperative apartments.

  • Built: 1910
  • Floors: 12
  • Architect: George & Edward Blum
  • Emporis database

134 W 37th Street – between Seventh Avenue and Broadway
134 W 37th Street

  • Built: 1915
  • Floors: 12
  • Architect: George & Edward Blum
  • Emporis database

42 W 38th Street – between Fifth and Sixth Avenues
42 W 38th Street

  • Built: 1915
  • Floors: 12
  • Architect: George & Edward Blum
  • Emporis database

Lefcourt National Building – 521 Fifth Avenue at E 43rd Street
Lefcourt National Building

  • Built: 1919
  • Floors: 40
  • Architect: Shreve Lamb & Harmon Associates
  • Emporis database

237 W 37th Street – between Seventh and Eighth Avenues
237 W 37th Street

  • Built: 1921
  • Floors: 14
  • Architect: George & Edward Blum
  • Emporis database

246 W 38th Street – between Seventh and Eighth Avenues
246 W 38th Street

  • Built: 1923
  • Floors: 14
  • Architect: George & Edward Blum
  • Emporis database

Lefcourt Central Building – 148 W 37th St between Broadway and 7th Avenue
Lefcourt Central BuildingAstoundingly little is written about this building, probably because it is a plain, relatively small (14 floors) structure.

  • Built: 1924
  • Floors: 14
  • Architect: George & Edward Blum
  • Emporis database

Lefcourt Madison Building – 16 E 34th Street
Lefcourt Madison Building

  • Built: 1925
  • Floors: 20
  • Architect: George & Edward Blum and Buchman & Kahn
  • Emporis database
  • SL Green (management company) website

Lefcourt Marlboro Building – 1359 Broadway at W 36th Street
Lefcourt Marlboro Building

  • Built: 1925
  • Floors: 25
  • Architect: George & Edward Blum
  • Emporis database

Lefcourt Clothing Center Building – 275 Seventh Avenue between W 25th and W 26th Streets
Lefcourt Clothing Center Building

  • Built: 1926
  • Floors: 26
  • Architect: Buchman & Kahn
  • Emporis database
  • Metro Manhattan Office Space entry
  • NY Times archive (fifth paragraph)

Lefcourt Manhattan Building / Fashion Gallery Building – 1412 Broadway at W 39th Street
Lefcourt Manhattan Building

  • Built: 1927
  • Floors: 25
  • Architect: George & Edward Blum
  • Emporis database

Lefcourt Normandie Building – 1384 Broadway at W 38th Street
Lefcourt Normandie Building

  • Built: 1928
  • Floors: 23
  • Architect: Bark & Djorup
  • Emporis database

Lefcourt State Building – 1375 Broadway at W 37th Street
Lefcourt State Building

  • Built: 1928
  • Floors: 27
  • Architect: Buchman & Kahn
  • Emporis database

ITT Building – 61 Broad Street
ITT BuildingOriginally built as the Lefcourt Exchange Building, the 35-story structure was purchased almost immediately by ITT, which added to the building to dominate the entire block.

  • Built: 1928
  • Floors: 35
  • Architect: Buchman & Kahn
  • Emporis database

Lefcourt Colonial Building – 295 Madison Avenue at E 41st Street
Lefcourt Colonial Building

Lefcourt Empire Building – 989 Sixth Avenue between W 36th and W 37th Streets
Lefcourt Empire Building

  • Built: 1930
  • Floors: 21
  • Architect: Buchman & Kahn
  • Emporis database

Brill Building (originally Alan E. Lefcourt Building) – 1619 Broadway at W 49th Street
Brill BuildingA Lefcourt building that bears the Lefcourt likeness instead of the Lefcourt name: A bust of Abraham Lefcourt’s son, Alan, is in a niche above the main entrance, and another bust is under the cornice. Leftcourt had announced an ambitious plan for a “world’s tallest” structure, but circumstances (and perhaps geometry – the site was too small to support a building of that height) prevailed. Lefcourt defaulted on the building’s lease, and the ground floor haberdasher, Brill Brothers, renamed the structure. The Brill Building went on to become a music industry landmark and, in 2010, a NYC Landmark.

69th Regiment Armory

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The 69th Regiment Armory, aka Lexington Armory, is notable for its design and its events. Unlike earlier armories in New York City, it is built in the Beaux-Arts style instead of mimicking a medieval fortress (though, for Beaux-Arts, the armory has very little ornament). The armory made history as the site of the 1913 Armory Show – where modern art was first publicly presented in the United States.

The armory is located on Lexington Avenue between East 25th and East 26th Streets; it was designed by the firm of Hunt & Hunt and erected in 1904-1906. The armory became a NYC Landmark in 1983, joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1994, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996.

Besides the famous art show, the armory has hosted track and field events, roller derby, basketball games (NY Knicks between 1946 and 1960), Victoria’s Secret fashion shows, and Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festivals.

69th Regiment Armory Vital Statistics
  • Location: 68 Lexington Avenue between E 25th and E 26th Streets
  • Year completed: 1906
  • Architect: Richard Howland Hunt and Joseph Howland Hunt
  • Floors: 5
  • Style: Beaux Arts
  • New York City Landmark: 1983
  • National Register of Historic Places: 1994
69th Regiment Armory Suggested Reading

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Plaza Hotel

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The century-old Plaza Hotel has changed hands several times, but it remains an architectural – and hospitality – landmark. As such, the Plaza has accumulated a history that is both educational and entertaining.

The NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission designation report for the hotel’s interiors is a rich narrative about the hotel, its owners, architects, renovations and occupants. The Wikipedia entry adds more popular details, such as the movies and television shows in which the Plaza has appeared.

Trivia buffs, add this to your repertoire: The current property is the second Plaza Hotel on this site; the first hotel (also considered among the finest in New York) was demolished after 15 years to make way for an even grander property. Also: Fairmont Hotels & Resorts manages the Plaza – and also Boston’s Fairmont Copley Plaza – which was also designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh.

Hardenbergh also designed the Dakota Apartments, the Western Union Telegraph Company Building, and the Schermerhorn Building in New York. He designed the Waldorf and Astoria Hotels (then located at Fifth Avenue from 33rd to 34th Streets), among other prominent buildings now demolished.

Plaza Hotel Vital Statistics
  • Location: Central Park South at Grand Army Plaza
  • Year Completed: 1909; addition, 1921
  • Architect: Henry Janeway Hardenbergh; addition, Warren & Wetmore
  • Floors: 20
  • Style: Second Empire Baroque
  • New York City Landmark: 1969
  • National Register of Historic Places: 1978
Plaza Hotel Suggested Reading

Google Map

Masonic Hall

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Masonic Hall and the associated Masonic Building owe their existence to a third building, the Masonic Temple, which was demolished in 1910. The Masonic Temple was designed by by Napoleon LeBrun (himself a Mason) and erected on W 23rd Street in 1870. The Masons built Masonic Hall on adjoining property on W 24th Street as an addition to the Temple, in 1909. Harry P. Knowles, head-draftsman of Napoleon LeBrun & Sons (and also a Mason), designed the addition. The Masons then decided to replace the Masonic Temple with a loft building, to generate income to finance the lodge’s activities. This building, too, was designed by Knowles and erected in 1913.

Both Masonic Hall and Masonic Building are designed on the three-part scheme that treats tall buildings as classical columns: base, shaft and capital. Masonic Hall was designed in Beaux Arts style, Masonic Building in neo-Renaissance style; both are built without setbacks, as they were erected before the 1916 zoning law change. The buildings are interconnected via a pedestrian passage with shops and a restaurant.

Masonic Hall and Masonic Building are included in the Ladies Mile Historic District, designated by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1989.

Harry P. Knowles also designed Mecca Temple on W 55th Street – now known as City Center.

Masonic Hall Vital Statistics
  • Location: 46 W 24th Street at Sixth Avenue
  • Year completed: 1909
  • Architect: Harry P. Knowles
  • Floors: 18
  • Style: Beaux Arts
  • New York City Landmark: 1989
Masonic Building Vital Statistics
  • Location: 71 W 23rd Street at Sixth Avenue
  • Year completed: 1913
  • Architect: Harry P. Knowles
  • Floors: 19
  • Style: neo-Renaissance
  • New York City Landmark: 1989
Masonic Hall & Building Suggested Reading

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St. Bartholomew’s Church

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St. Bartholomew’s Church was a legal, as well as architectural landmark; its status was contested all the way to the Supreme Court. The NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) had designated the church and its Community House landmarks in 1967 – over the objections of the church. In 1981 the church sought to replace the community house with a 59-story office building, in order to raise cash. The LPC rejected the plans, setting off a legal battle over whether churches could be subject to historic ordinances. LPC prevailed and the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal.

The current church is St. Bart’s third site: The congregation was organized in 1835 at Lafayette Place and Great Jones Street; in 1872 it moved uptown to Madison Avenue and E 44th Street; in 1918 it moved to the Park Avenue location.

Though the church proper was designed by Bertram G. Goodhue, the three-door Romanesque porch was designed by McKim, Mead & White. The entryway, part of the Madison Avenue church, had been built as a memorial to Cornelius Vanderbilt II; it was moved to the new building.

The Community House was erected nine years later, designed by Goodhue’s associates Mayers, Murray & Phillip. (Goodhue died in 1924.) The Community House and adjoining terrace are the site of a restaurant, “Inside Park.”

Mayers, Murray & Phillip also designed the dome, erected in 1930 in place of the steeple that had been planned but never built.

St. Bartholomew’s Church Vital Statistics
  • Location: 109 E 50th Street at Park Avenue
  • Year completed: 1919 (church); 1928 (Community House); 1930 (dome)
  • Architect: Bertram G. Goodhue (church); Mayers, Murray & Phillip (Community House & dome)
  • Style: Byzantine & Romanesque
  • New York City Landmark: 1967
  • National Register of Historic Places: 1980
St. Bartholomew’s Church Suggested Reading

Google Map

Church of the Incarnation

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Church of the Incarnation and the adjoining H. Percy Silver Parish House (originally a rectory) have served the Murray Hill neighborhood for a century and a half, rebuilt after a serious fire in 1882. The rectory got a new facade in 1906, and was converted to a parish house in 1934.

Apart from the building’s longevity and classical design, the church is significant for its works of art: Stained glass windows, murals and sculpture by John LaFarge, Louis C. Tiffany, William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, Christopher LaFarge, Daniel Chester French, Henry Hobson Richardson and Augustus Saint-Gaudens. The church’s website includes a virtual tour of the artwork. The Wikipedia entry also contains a list of the artworks and artists.

Several architects were involved in the church and parish house. Emlen Littell designed the original church; David Jardine designed the restoration (after the 1882 fire), which slightly modified the original plans; Heins & LaFarge designed the spire that was added in 1896. (A spire was part of Littell’s original plans, but not built.) The rectory (later parish house) has been attributed to Robert Mook, but may have actually been designed by Littell. In any case, the facade was rebuilt in 1806 in the design by Edward Pearce Casey – switching from Victorian Gothic to neo-Jacobean style.

Church of the Incarnation Vital Statistics
  • Location: 205 Madison Avenue at E35th Street
  • Year completed: 1864 (church), 1868 (parish house)
  • Architect: Emlen T. Littell (church), Robert Mook (parish house)
  • Style: Gothic Revival (church), Renaissance Revival (parish house)
  • New York City Landmark: 1979
  • National Register of Historic Places: 1982
Church of the Incarnation Suggested Reading

Google Map

Herald Square Hotel

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Herald Square Hotel, though grossly altered, remains a bright spot on West 31st Street – just across the street and down the block from the larger Hotel Wolcott. It’s also where some fascinating histories intersect.

The building, designed by Carrère & Hastings, was erected as the home of Life magazine in 1900. At the time, Life was the upscale humor magazine that discovered Charles Dana Gibson, the artist behind the famous “Gibson Girls.” Other contributors included Robert “Believe It Or Not!” Ripley and Norman Rockwell. Gibson had a studio in the building, and took over Life magazine after John Mitchell, one of the founders, died in 1918. The magazine went into decline, and was forced to sell the building. Ultimately Henry Luce bought Life for its name.

The building was converted to an apartment hotel in 1937 and has changed hands several times. It was purchased by the Puchall family in 1970, and restored over the years. However, the family made drastic alterations to the top floors in 1995, eliminating the mansard roof.

Herald Square Hotel Vital Statistics
  • Location: 19 W 31st Street, between Fifth Avenue and Broadway
  • Year completed: 1900
  • Architect: Carrère & Hastings
  • Floors: 8
  • Style: Beaux Arts
Herald Square Hotel Suggested Reading

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