381-389 West End Avenue and 303-307 W 78th Street are a row of eight Flemish Renaissance houses, Frederick B. White’s only known New York City works.
The little-known architect had a brief but incandescent career: He died at 24, but from 1883 to 1886 built more than 200 homes and cottages, and had another 50 under construction.
The original tile roofs have been replaced with asphalt, and many of the windows and doors have been replaced with modern aluminum units. One of the W 78th Street houses – 303 – was remodeled in the 1920s to a white stucco neo-Tudor design. Sadly, this breaks the harmony that was intended.
381-389 West End Avenue Vital Statistics
- Location: 381-389 West End Avenue at W 78th Street
- Year completed: 1886
- Architect: Frederick B. White
- Floors: 3
- Style: Flemish Renaissance
- New York City Landmark: 1984
381-389 West End Avenue Recommended Reading
- NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission designation report (West End-Collegiate Historic District: pp.183-186, pp. 244-249, pg. 267)
- The New York Times STREETSCAPES/West End Avenue and 78th Street; A Blazing Red That Reproached A Sea of Brown (July 4, 2004)
- The New York Times Streetscapes | West End Avenue | The School of the Stepped Gables (January 30, 2009)
- Dolkart Report – Proposal for Historic District
- Curbside Catastrophe: 381 West End Avenue
- Daytonian in Manhattan blog