Red House is a rarity: A building designed by architects for themselves!
The building is a deluxe apartment house – larger, brighter and more elaborate than the “French Flats” designed for middle-class New Yorkers in the late 1800s. Elaborate ornamentation is one of the earmarks of luxury apartments; Harde & Short were particularly adept at the use of terra cotta in their designs (Alwyn Court on Seventh Avenue at 58th Street is a stunning example).
Harde and Short’s other New York buildings include the landmark Alwyn Court Apartments, Studio Building (44 W 77th Street), and 45 E 66th Street.
Red House Vital Statistics
- Location: 350 West 85th Street between Riverside Drive and West End Avenue
- Year completed: 1904
- Architect: Harde & Short
- Floors: 6
- Style: French Gothic
- New York City Landmark: 1982
- National Register of Historic Places: 1983
Red House Recommended Reading
- Wikipedia entry
- NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission designation report
- Daytonian in Manhattan blog
- The New York Times archives