Tag Archives: upper east side

31 E 79th Street

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31 E 79th Street is two buildings in one, though you wouldn’t know it at first glance. The original, eastern section was built in 1925 with one seven-room apartment per floor; the western section, added three years later, contained triplex apartments.

From the outside, only three clues that the building was built in parts: Inconsistent cornice, cracks developing in E 79th Street facade, and unusual horizontal spacing of windows.

See Andrew Alpern’s “New York’s Fabulous Luxury Apartments“ for floor plans (not to mention 73 other luxury apartment houses).

31 E 79th Street Vital Statistics
  • Location: 31 E 79th Street at Madison Avenue
  • Year completed: 1925 / 1928
  • Architect: G.B. Beaumont
  • Floors: 15
  • Style: neo-Renaissance
31 E 79th Street Recommended Reading

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Random: April 2014

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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.

19 E 72nd Street

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19 E 72nd Street belies its Great Depression heritage. Clad in expensive limestone top to bottom, designed by two of New York’s premiere architects, this landmark apartment building is quietly elegant. Quite at home with the neighboring mansions and Madison Avenue boutiques.

19 E 72nd Street Vital Statistics
  • Location: 19 E 72nd Street at Madison Avenue
  • Year completed: 1937
  • Architect: Rosario Candela, Mott Schmidt
  • Floors: 16
  • Style: Modern, Neo-classical
  • New York City Landmark: 1981
19 E 72nd Street Recommended Reading

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30 E 85th Street

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30 E 85th Street towers over its Madison Avenue neighbors and sports an illuminated crown, but it’s the high ceilings and real plaster walls that make this condo stand out from contemporary apartment buildings.

According to The New York Times, some potential buyers forced another “prewar” touch – larger apartments. Original plans called for 104 apartments; some units were combined, reducing the total to 90.

30 E 85th Street Vital Statistics
  • Location: 30 E 85th Street at Madison Avenue
  • Year completed: 1987
  • Architect: Schuman, Lichtenstein, Clamon & Efron (SLCE)
  • Floors: 30
  • Style: Postmodern
30 E 85th Street Recommended Reading

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Mayfair House

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Mayfair House was designed as a residential hotel by James Carpenter, one of New York’s premier apartment house architects. For a time, the building operated as the Mayfair Regent Hotel.

Colony Capital bought the building at a bankruptcy auction in 1998, and partnered with Trump International to convert the 210 hotel rooms and suites to 70 condominium apartments. At the same time the new owners expanded the ground floor restaurant, and swapped entrances: The restaurant entrance is now on E 65th Street and the residential entrance is on Park Avenue.

Thankfully, no glass boxes were added (as was done four blocks away, at Trump Park Avenue).

Mayfair House Vital Statistics
  • Location: 610 Park Avenue at E 65th Street
  • Year completed: 1925; conversion 1998
  • Architect: James Carpenter; Costas Kondylis & Partners (conversion)
  • Floors: 15
  • Style: neo-Gothic / neo-Renaissance
  • New York City Landmark: 1981 (Upper East Side Historic District)
Mayfair House Recommended Reading

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1185 Park Avenue

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1185 Park Avenue is one of a handful of luxury New York apartment houses built around a central courtyard – and the only one of note without a name. (You’ve probably heard of the others: The Dakota, Apthorp, Belnord and Graham Court.) The architects, Schwartz & Gross, specialized in hotels and apartment buildings and were known for exceptional apartment layout.

There are 12 apartments to a floor (though some have been combined) arrayed around the courtyard. Six separate lobbies serve those apartments, so that each elevator landing has only two apartments. The NY Curbed archive takes a peek at some of 1185 Park’s multi-million-dollar homes.

If you Google “1185 Park Avenue,” many of the results will refer to the book of that name, a memoir of Annie Roiphe. That’s getting off the subject of architecture, but her tale is a reminder that money and plush surroundings aren’t everything. So don’t feel bad that you don’t live here.

1185 Park Avenue Vital Statistics
  • Location: 1185 Park Avenue between E 93rd and E 94th Streets
  • Year completed: 1929
  • Architect: Schwartz & Gross
  • Floors: 16
  • Style: neo-Gothic
  • New York City Landmark: 1993 (Expanded Carnegie Hill Historic District)
1185 Park Avenue Recommended Reading

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