Tag Archives: Manhattan

Prasada

Prasada is one of New York’s most distinctive pieces of architecture, though not everyone’s favorite. The Beaux Arts apartment building is too heavily ornamented for some, even those who appreciate the building’s landmark qualities. One critic derides the “banded limestone ‘marshmallow’ columns that I have always regarded as one of the truly tasteless architectural elements of all time.”*

Modern viewers have been deprived of the architect’s vision, however. The original French Second Empire mansard roof, balconies and iron railings were removed over the years, altering the structure’s visual balance. Prasada’s original three-apartments-per-floor has (through combination and division) ballooned to 47. Those apartments were two-, three- and four-bedroom affairs – plus one or two servant’s rooms!

Nonetheless, there’s high demand for Prasada’s cooperative apartments: In 2013, the penthouse changed hands for a reported $42 million. Monthly maintenance on the 6,500-square-foot unit is reportedly $19,114. That probably doesn’t include washing the 45 windows.

*Francis Morrone, “The Architectural Guidebook to New York City.”

Prasada Vital Statistics
Prasada Recommended Reading

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Harperly Hall

Harperly Hall, briefly infamous as Madonna’s residence and dance studio, is notable as a rare (for New York) example of Arts and Crafts style in architecture.

Henry W. Wilkerson, the architect, partnered with several other creative types to develop the building as a cooperative – the first on Central Park West.

The building has a T-shaped courtyard on W 64th Street, with three entrances at the top of the T. An iron fence and gatehouse guards the courtyard.

Harperly Hall Vital Statistics
Harperly Hall Recommended Reading

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200 Central Park South

200 Central Park South disguises its height well; the curvy, balconied and glass-wrapped 21-story base takes all the attention away from the 35-story tower. On the other hand, those deep curving balconies give the impression of a beachfront resort instead of a luxury apartment building.

Apartments range from studios to three bedrooms. The three-bedroom units include a room labelled “den or maid’s room” – old-style luxury survives!

For tenants, of course, the prime attraction is that precious commodity – a protected view of Central Park.

200 Central Park South Vital Statistics
200 Central Park South Recommended Reading

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324 E 51st Street

324 E 51st Street is not your typical townhouse. It’s startling, even for New York architecture. But there is reason behind the perforated skin.

The building may remind you of Cassa NY, though on a smaller scale. The architect explains the facade as a way to reference rather than mimic its neighbors: The perforations are the size and shape of bricks.

Why?

Behind the street wall there are no traditional rooms to hold traditional windows. The stair and elevator core was moved to the front, to consolidate space and create a “vertical loft.” See the project video – it makes sense.

Thinking outside the box, even if it looks like a box.

324 E 51st Street Vital Statistics
324 E 51st Street Recommended Reading

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Schinasi Mansion

Schinasi Mansion, the last privately owned freestanding mansion in Manhattan, has history and quirks as rich as its French Renaissance architecture.

The mansion was commissioned by Morris (originally Mussa) Schinasi, a Turkish immigrant who became wealthy from his invention of a cigarette rolling machine – and use of strong Turkish tobacco. The architect was none other than William Tuthill, known for his design of Carnegie Hall (1891). Despite his wealth, Schinasi refused to pay Tuthill – who sued.

Why Schinasi wouldn’t pay is a mystery – as is the secret tunnel (now sealed) from the mansion’s basement to the Hudson River.

Morris Schinasi lived in the house until he died in 1928; his family sold the mansion in 1930 and it became the Semple School for Girls, a finishing school.

Rosa Semple, the school’s founder, herself died in the mansion in 1956. Columbia University bought the property in 1960 and established “Children’s Mansion Day Care Center.”

Columbia decided to sell in 1979 – to Hans Smit, one of its own law professors, who wanted to restore and resell the home.

After nearly three decades of slow interior restoration, Hans Smit (who never lived in the house) tried to sell – but he died in 2012. His son succeeded in selling Schinasi Mansion in late 2013.

Schinasi Mansion Vital Statistics
Schinasi Mansion Recommended Reading

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Clebourne

The Clebourne (Cleburne) stands out, even on an avenue of standout architecture; its ornate facade and porte-cochere give the building an elegant presence. (Alas, stanchions block what was once a drive-through entrance.)

Each floor has five apartments of six to nine rooms; layouts are old-fashioned, with some very long hallways, galleries, maid’s rooms and servant’s entrances.

Of historical note, Clebourne is on the site of a former mansion owned by Isador and Ida Straus. Isador Straus was a co-owner of Macy’s; he and his wife perished with the Titanic. A memorial to the couple is in Straus Park, one block north.

Clebourne Vital Statistics
Clebourne Recommended Reading

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Graham Court

Graham Court is sometimes called “Harlem’s Dakota,” but it’s actually much closer in style to the 1908 Apthorp Apartments, on Broadway at W 78th Street.

The building’s grandeur stems from its sponsor: Graham Court was commissioned by William Waldorf Astor, and designed by the firm of Clinton & Russell. Before joining the firm, Charles Clinton was the architect of the Park Avenue Armory, Manhattan Apartments and New York Athletic Club, among others. With William Russell, the firm went on to design the Apthorp Apartments, Langham Apartments, and Astor Apartments (and a score of important commercial buildings).

The last 50 years have been hard on Graham Court: Successive owners haven’t been as quality-conscious as the original builders. One commentator after another (see Recommended Reading list) has lamented the security problems, disrepair, and financial problems of the landmark.

But beyond the unfriendly iron front gates and crudely hand-painted “No Parking” sign at the service entrance, Graham Court is still mighty impressive. I hope I look as good when I’m 113!

Graham Court Vital Statistics
Graham Court Recommended Reading

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Hotel Belleclaire

Hotel Belleclaire was one of the first residences designed by Emery Roth, who went on to become one of New York’s most important apartment house architects.

Although Roth’s later work was primarily in Beaux Arts and Art Deco styles, Belleclaire was designed in Art Nouveau. The original design included a domed turret on the corner, which was removed in the ’50s. The ground floor restaurant and hotel office windows have been replaced with storefronts, and the original Broadway entrance was moved to the W 77th Street courtyard.

Belleclaire began life as an upper class apartment hotel – families lived there more or less permanently, relying on hotel services for housekeeping and meals. Over the years the hotel’s clientele – and facilities – changed. Transients were accepted; kitchenettes were added; for a time it was among New York’s “welfare hotels” for indigent families.

Fast forward to 2008: owners embarked on a total renovation and upgrade, now (May 2014) nearly complete. Later this year they plan to open a rooftop restaurant.

Hotel Belleclaire Vital Statistics
Hotel Belleclaire Recommended Reading

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One Lincoln Plaza

One Lincoln Plaza (aka ASCAP Building) was the first residential tower to go up in Lincoln Square after completion of Lincoln Center. But it’s not exactly what the developers had in mind, thanks to a scrappy holdout – the owner of a five-story brick-and-brownstone on W 63rd Street.

There are two versions of what transpired between tenement owner Col. Jehiel R. Elyachar and developer Paul Milstein. The New York Times’ account and Holdouts!: The Buildings That Got in the Way differ in some details, but essentially the Colonel kept raising the price of his $50,000 property to more than $600,000. Exasperated, the Milsteins decided to build around the tenement (a city-mandated park had already been cut out of One Lincoln Plaza’s footprint).

One Lincoln Plaza Vital Statistics
One Lincoln Plaza Recommended Reading

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American Youth Hostel

American Youth Hostel occupies the former Association Residence for Respectable Aged Indigent Females (aka Association Residence for Women). The landmark is one of the three surviving New York buildings designed by Richard Morris Hunt, one of America’s leading architects of the nineteenth century.

The original structure – a home for destitute war widows – was extended in 1908; architect Charles A. Rich followed Hunt’s design for the exterior.

The building – rare as it is – came close to being demolished in 1974. Then known as the Association Residence Nursing Home or Association Residence for Women, the building was vacated with plans to demolish and rebuild. During the July 1977 blackout much of the roof was destroyed by fire. The following May, the City of New York acquired the building; in 1981 the roof was finally repaired.

American Youth Hostels purchased the building and began restoration in 1984; the hostel began operations in 1990. It is reportedly the world’s largest hostel, with more than 650 beds.

American Youth Hostel Vital Statistics
American Youth Hostel Recommended Reading

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