Tag Archives: New York City

Hotel Belleclaire

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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
  • Location: 2171 Broadway at W 77th Street
  • Year completed: 1903
  • Architect: Emery Roth
  • Floors: 10
  • Style: Art Nouveau
  • New York City Landmark: 1987
Hotel Belleclaire Recommended Reading

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One Lincoln Plaza

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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
  • Location: 20 W 64th Street at Broadway
  • Year completed: 1972
  • Architect: Philip Birnbaum & Associates
  • Floors: 43
  • Style: Postmodern
One Lincoln Plaza Recommended Reading

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American Youth Hostel

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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
  • Location: 891 Amsterdam Avenue at W 103rd Street
  • Year completed: 1883 / 1908 (addition)
  • Architect: Richard Morris Hunt / Charles A. Rich (addition)
  • Floors: 4
  • Style: Victorian Gothic
  • New York City Landmark: 1983
  • National Register of Historic Places: 1975
American Youth Hostel Recommended Reading

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Random: May 2014

Collections, Manhattan, , , , ,

Highlights from photos shot in May, 2014 – but not yet added to a New York neighborhood or specific building gallery. Mostly architecture, some whimsical, all except the last five in Lower Manhattan; the last five (Prada entrance) are from the Upper East Side.

These were all taken May 17, 18 & 20, while I was shooting residential buildings.

I started out in Chinatown, walked to the East River, then down to the Battery. I used the Staten Island Ferry Terminal as a viewpoint for some of the photos, and gathered the rest while walking up Broadway; the last five (Prada entrance) I spotted while walking down Madison Avenue.

Enjoy!

In this album:
  1. 202 Centre Street
  2. Takin’ his Chevy to the levee…
  3. Mulberry Street fire escape
  4. Mott Street
  5. God Bless America, Land of Firearms
  6. Brooklyn Heights
  7. Sheriff’s car at Wall Street Heliport
  8. Governor’s Island Ferry Terminal
  9. Governor’s Island Ferry Terminal
  10. 20 West Street
  11. 33 & 3 – 33 Whitehall Street and 3 NY Plaza
  12. 33 & 3 – 33 Whitehall Street and 3 NY Plaza
  13. 33 & 3 – 33 Whitehall Street and 3 NY Plaza
  14. Custom Reflection
  15. Trinity Church
  16. 2 Rector Street
  17. 40 Wall Street (Trump Building)
  18. Old & New
  19. Old & New
  20. Detail: Europe (Alexander Hamilton US Custom House)
  21. Trinity Building cupola
  22. 29 Broadway
  23. 2 Rector Street
  24. Trinity Building cupola
  25. Trinity Church
  26. Trinity Building entrance
  27. Trinity Building entrance
  28. United States Realty Building entrance
  29. Park Row Building – north tower
  30. Surrogate’s Court
  31. Surrogate’s Court
  32. Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank Building
  33. A Six Park
  34. Batty
  35. Smoker
  36. Blue
  37. Purple
  38. Who Me?
  39. Pair of Hooters
  40. Brass Bird
  41. Brass Bird
  42. Grace Church detail
  43. Grace Church detail
  44. 808 Broadway
  45. Roosevelt Building
  46. Clock. Tower.
  47. Entry detail [1]: Prada store, 841 Madison Avenue at E 70th Street
  48. Entry detail [2]: Prada store, 841 Madison Avenue at E 70th Street
  49. Entry detail [3]: Prada store, 841 Madison Avenue at E 70th Street
  50. Entry detail [4]: Prada store, 841 Madison Avenue at E 70th Street
  51. Entry detail [5]: Prada store, 841 Madison Avenue at E 70th Street

Financial District Revisited

Collections, Manhattan, , ,

The Financial District is where New York City’s architectural diversity started, and where it still flourishes thanks to preservation. From West Street east to Water Street, Cedar Street south to Battery Park, it seems that every other building is a past or future landmark. Nothing that I write here even comes close to doing the district justice.

Recycling seems to be a big part of the area’s preservation: Office buildings that might otherwise have been razed have been converted to condos, hotels and even schools.

Photographers will find lots to snap – and lots of challenges. The “canyons” metaphor is so appropriate for the Wall Street area – tall buildings and very narrow streets: Some building facades are in almost perpetual shadow; some of the most interesting architectural details can only be seen from blocks away. Post-9/11 and Occupy Wall Street barricades limit your viewpoints. Last but not least, this is a huge tourist attraction, so resign yourself: A photo of the George Washington statue on the steps of Federal Hall will include goofy strangers in sometimes weird poses.

Included Buildings
  • 1 New York Plaza
  • 33 Whitehall Street
  • 3 New York Plaza
  • 60 Wall Street
  • American International Building (70 Pine Street)
  • ITT Building
  • 67 Wall Street (Crest Lofts, originally Munson Building)
  • 50 Broad Street
  • 80 Broad Street
  • 90 Broad Street
  • William Beaver House (15 William Street)
  • Trump Building (40 Wall Street)
  • 18 Beaver Street
  • 20 Exchange Place
  • 30 Wall Street
  • Liberty Tower
  • Trinity Building

Random: April 2014

Brooklyn, Collections, Manhattan, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Highlights from photos shot in April, 2014 – but not yet added to a New York neighborhood or specific building gallery.

In this album:
  • Metro theater, Broadway at W 99th Street – go there, see how the neighboring tower facade mimics the theater accent lines.
  • Saint Michael’s R. C. Church, Sunset Park, Brooklyn. I was drawn to the church’s unusual steeple, but on closer examination the doors were more interesting.
  • Belvedere Castle, Central Park. For a change, I decided to frame the shot.
  • The Alexandria apartments, 201 W 72nd Street at Broadway. The cascade of ladders reveals facade repairs in progress.
  • 171 E 77th Street – terra cotta grill detail.
  • French Embassy Cultural Services – the doors of adjoining buildings on Fifth Avenue (975 and 972) next to the Ukrainian Institute.
  • Guggenheim Museum detail.
  • The Capitol Apartments, 12 E 87th Street. The top half of the cornice was removed; the remaining brackets give the roofline a toothed appearance.
  • Park Avenue Synagogue. Beautiful detailing.
  • 67 and 65 E 93rd Street. Notice the “65” in the transom grille.
  • Essex House: the iconic sign on Central Park South is now reflected in One57, the apartment tower two blocks behind (south).
  • The Dorilton: I usually shoot the maidens head on. This time I shot from the side, to bring them closer together – conversational distance.

194 Riverside Drive

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194 Riverside Drive is relatively small, and well-screened by the trees of Joan of Arc Island – it would be easy to miss. But the building’s bold features are well worth seeing close up.

According to the Street Easy real estate website, the seven-story building originally had three 13-room apartments per floor; now there are 42 units.

The architect, Ralph S. Townsend, also designed neighboring 190 Riverside Drive as well as the much showier Kenilworth on Central Park West. In one of his Streetscapes columns, The New York Times’ architectural historian, Christopher Gray, provides some background on the architect.

(A wonderful collection of Gray’s columns was published in 2003 under the title New York Streetscapes. Although it is now out of print, you can still get copies at Amazon.com – both new and used: New York Streetscapes: Tales of Manhattan’s Significant Buildings and Landmarks)

194 Riverside Drive Vital Statistics
  • Location: 194 Riverside Drive at W 92nd Street
  • Year completed: 1902
  • Architect: Ralph S. Townsend
  • Floors: 7
  • Style: neo-Renaissance
  • New York City Landmark: 1989
194 Riverside Drive Recommended Reading

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Traffic Building

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Traffic Building is standout architecture for its elaborate brown brick and terra cotta facade. The six-story loft building on Chelsea’s West 23rd Street was designed for the now-defunct Traffic Cafeteria. A diner has taken its place.

According to the Daytonian in Manhattan blog, the ground floor brick and terra cotta has been replaced with stone tiles, but the top five floors – except for modern windows – have kept their original design.

Traffic Building Vital Statistics
  • Location: 163 W 23rd Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues
  • Year completed: 1931
  • Architect: Abraham Fisher
  • Floors: 6
Traffic Building Recommended Reading

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Astor Place

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Astor Place, a blue-green glass exclamation point in NoHo, leaps up from the center of an architecture-rich neighborhood.* New York critics’ opinions seem as varied as the surrounding buildings.

The New York Times‘ review asked, All That Curvy Glass: Is It Worth It? Suzanne Slesin noted a disconnect “between the grittiness of the neighborhood and the shiny newness of Mr. Gwathmey’s design,” but focused on interiors. She loved the views from within all that wraparound floor-to-ceiling glass, but bemoaned the paucity of solid wall space for paintings and other essentials. (You can peruse floor plans at the Street Easy NY listing.)

The New Yorker called it the Green Monster. Paul Goldberger acidly remarked, “Its shape is fussy, and the glass façade is garishly reflective: Mies van der Rohe as filtered through Donald Trump.”

City Realty’s extensive review is more neutral and academic. Among other things, Carter Horsley reveals that the Gwathmey, Siegel & Associates design is actually the third proposal for that site. (Mr. Horsley previously wrote about real estate and architecture for The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, and New York Post.)

The developer, Related Companies, calls the design “Sculpture For Living.” And whether you like the building or not, the 39 multi-million-dollar condominium units are all sold.

* See Astor Place and Vicinity for a quick neighborhood tour.

Astor Place Vital Statistics
  • Location: 445 Lafayette Street
  • Year completed: 2005
  • Architect: Gwathmey, Siegel & Associates
  • Floors: 21
  • Style: Postmodern
Astor Place Recommended Reading

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Gramercy House

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Gramercy House is one of New York’s most colorful apartment houses, designed by George and Edward Blum. The prolific architects designed at least 70 apartment buildings and 60 commercial structures in New York, but only three in the Art Deco style.*

Like most of the Blums’ apartment houses, Gramercy House is distinctive for its unusual brickwork and ample terra cotta – notably the bold geometric band above the first story. Even the rear light courts (viewed from E 23rd Street) have broad blue terra cotta bands. The corners of the E 22nd Street facade have bricks set at an angle, and setbacks in the upper floors have unusual inset chamfers. Contrasting brick bands break up the facades on E 22nd Street and Second Avenue.

* The other two are 210 E 68th Street (1929) and 315 E 68th Street (1930).

Gramercy House Vital Statistics
  • Location: 235 E 22nd Street at Second Avenue
  • Year completed: 1930
  • Architect: George and Edward Blum
  • Floors: 17
  • Style: Art Deco
Gramercy House Recommended Reading

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