Historic Columbus AVENUE

Historic Columbus avenue a walking tour andrew dolkart The tour starts near the southern end of the Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District, at West 68th Street, and moves north, ending at West 82nd Street. However, you can begin the tour at any location along the avenue. Each entry provides the address and location of the building, the architect, date of construction, and, where applicable, the original name. In order to get the best view of a building it is recommended that you stand across the street, or, in the case of corner buildings, diagonally across the street, so details can be examined closer up.

Last page of guidebook shows exact locations of the noted buildings on a map.

Original carved-stone street marker on the 2nd story of the building on the SE corner of W.75th The Sylvia, an apartment & Columbus Avenue (for- building on the NE corner merly called 9th Avenue. of W.76th Street, was probably named for a relative of the builder.

A 501 (C)(3) NOT FOR PROFIT CORPORATION Introduction Columbus Avenue is famous as one of New York’s leading contemporary shopping and dining destinations. It is also one of the most distinctive avenues in the city, lined primarily with the modestly scaled late 19th- and early 20th-century buildings that define the first wave of construction on the Upper West Side. The Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District (BID), stretched from West 67th to West 82nd Streets, connecting two of New York’s premier cultural attractions – Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the American Museum of Natural History. As you will see on this tour, many of the buildings along this part of Columbus Avenue have recently been restored and their original architectural glory is evident again. In addition, thanks to the Columbus Avenue BID, the avenue is now manicured with planted tree beds and a sustainable streetscape block (W.76th-W.77th, including a bioswale. Together, the low-scale architecture, the landscaping, the shops, restaurants, and cultural facilities combine to create a unique urban boulevard. The 9th Avenue elevated (the “el”) with the American Museum of Natural History site to right. Note how the tracks came right up to second story win- dows. The Ninth Av- enue Line opened in New York City on July 3rd, 1879, and closed and was demolished in the year 1940.

The green open space sur- rounding the Museum became beautiful Theodore Roosevelt Park, a public NYC park (see their website- FriendsOfRooseveltPark. org, for some good historic background. Building to right is Manhattan Square Hotel, no longer there.

1 Real estate developers generally ignored the West Side until 1879 when an elevated commuter railroad inaugurated service on Ninth Avenue, with stations at 66th, 72nd, and 81st Streets. Soon, the area was transformed from a landscape of swamps, rocks, fields, and market gardens into one of the city’s premier residential districts. Development was encouraged by the West Side Association, an organization of local realtors and land owners, which, in 1890, persuaded the city to rename the neighborhood’s avenues – Ninth Avenue was transformed into Columbus Avenue. Single-family rowhouses intended for upper-middle- class families lined the side streets from West 68th Street north, with development radiating out from the elevated stations. Columbus Avenue was lined primarily with multiple dwellings – tenements, French flats, and residence hotels – with shops catering to the needs of local residents on the ground floor.

Looking uptown from W.72nd & Columbus Avenue. See The El tracks, and the French flats lining both sides of the Avenue. A few of the apartment buildings on Columbus Avenue were tenements with two narrow railroad flats (apartments without private halls where rooms are lined up like railroad cars) on each floor. Most, however, were what contemporaries called French flats, a reference to the popularity of apartment buildings in Paris. These flats were part of the first generation of middle-class apartment buildings in New York. Despite the noise and dirt of the el, and the fact that the lower stories of buildings were in shadow much of the time, the Columbus Avenue French flats often had well-appointed apartments with the latest plumbing, lighting,

2 and other conveniences. A few buildings on the avenue were planned as residence hotels – buildings with suites that attracted long-term tenants who often ate in the hotel’s dining room. As you will see, Columbus Avenue is lined with distinctive buildings, many designed by the same architects responsible for the nearby rowhouses. The subtle detailing and elegant use of materials – varicolored bricks, a variety of different stones, terra cotta, and cast iron – create a dynamic landscape. As the popularity of the Upper West Side declined in the mid- 20th century, many of the buildings on Columbus Avenue deteriorated. Fortunately, beginning in the 1970s, the neighborhood experienced a renaissance that is evident on Columbus, where many owners have invested in restoration, thus attracting prestigious tenants. The revitalization was augmented in 1990 when the avenue was included in the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission’s Upper West Side Historic District. This guide will highlight some of the most interesting buildings on and just off of this dynamic avenue. And today’s Columbus Avenue is a very trendy shopping and dining area.

171-179 Columbus Avenue 1 SE corner West 68th Street Thom & Wilson, 1885-87 The predominant building type on Columbus Avenue south of 72nd Street is the five-story tenement or flat, with shops on the ground floor. Although this building is faced in bright red brick, trimmed with stone, and had large glass storefronts, much of it was in permanent shadow since the elevated railroad ran overhead. Most New York City building lots are 100 feet deep and are aligned facing the Detail from 171-179 Col. Avenue long side streets. Thus, corner buildings, such as this one, often turn their side facades to the avenue. Note how Thom & Wilson, among the most popular architects on the West Side, have enlivened the facades with fancy brickwork decorating the chimney flutes.

3 181-189 & 191-199 Columbus Avenue 2 East Side between West 68th & West 69th Streets Thom & Wilson, 1885-87 This pair of flats, part of a group of five that extends onto the side streets, typifies the first wave of construction on Columbus Avenue. The five-story buildings have stores on the ground floor, supported by massive, rough- textured sandstone piers. The upper floors, each with two apartments, are clad in golden Roman brick (the long narrow bricks), trimmed with lively molded terracotta ornament. Note the handsome three-story arches, curved corners, and the surviving metal cornice at No. 191-199. Developer Edward Kilpatrick commissioned the 68th Street structure in 1892 from architect Gilbert Schellenger, an obscure designer who was responsible for hundreds of West Side structures erected Upper stories of 181-189 Columbus Avenue by speculative builders. A year later, Kilpatrick served as his own architect, copying Schellenger’s design for his 69th Street building. Despite the noise and dirt from the el, French flats like these, with two apartments on each floor, attracted middle-class families, most of whom were affluent enough to have a live-in servant.

106 West 69th Street 3 Schwartz & Gross, 1912-13 Columbus Avenue and adjoining streets are a particularly popular location for filming movies and TV shows. Maya Schaper’s Cheese & Antiques store, for example (no longer there), featured prominently in the hit film You’ve Got Mail. The shop was used as the Used as the small, independent bookstore from which Meg Ryan bookstore for film fought for survival against a large bookstore chain. You’ve Got Mail.

4 210-216 Columbus Avenue, Hotel Walton 4 SW corner West 70th Street Israels & Harder, 1903-04 At the turn of the century, the Upper West Side was a center for apartment hotels, buildings with modest suites rented by the week, month, or year. The suites had no kitchens and residents either ate in the hotel’s dining room or had meals delivered to their apartments. The Walton was marketed as “a strictly fireproof thoroughly modern apartment hotel of the highest class,” located “in one of the best residential neighborhoods on Manhattan Island.” The brick facade is enlivened by white-glazed terra-cotta Hotel Walton oriels window sills and panels and by metal oriels on the fifth and sixth stories. Now an apartment house, the Walton is entered through a boldly-scaled portal on 70th Street.

221-223 Columbus Avenue, Tuxedo 5 NE corner West 70th Street Arthur D. Pickering, 1887-90

The Tuxedo, with its exceptionally fine patterned brickwork and rugged brownstone base, was one of the first multiple-dwellings on the Upper West Side erected with an elevator. Just like apartment-house developers today, the builders of the French flats along Columbus Avenue fre-quently gave their buildings names in an effort to create an image that would attract tenants. The name “Tuxedo” (it is carved on a plaque facing 70th Street) lent this building special cachet since it reminded potential residents The Tuxedo Plaque of the elite suburban development of Tuxedo Park (where the eponymous evening dress was invented).

5 225, 227, & 229 Columbus Avenue 6 East side between West 70th & West 71st Streets George Paccison, 1891-92 The expressive qualities of Roman- esque Revival design are evident at these three tenements, each two window-bays wide. Note especially the massive round-arched entrances comprised of rough stone blocks supported, at 227-229, by clusters of thin columns. This entrance also retains its massive oak doors with their “medieval” hinges. Despite the handsome facade, these buildings were planned with small apartments (thirteen per building), which, according to census records, The round-arched entrance were rented to people of modest income – bookkeeper, salesman, shoe- maker, letter carrier, hair dresser, and dressmaker. Although most were born in New York, a few were immigrants from Germany, Ireland, and France (a milliner). The wrought-iron fire escape balconies are an elegant response to requirements of the city’s fire code. 248-254 Columbus Avenue, Park & Tilford Building 7 SW corner West 72nd Street McKim, Mead, & White, 1892-93 This striking Italian Renaissance-inspired building was erected by Park & Tilford, purveyors of gourmet canned and packaged goods, liquor, perfume, and related items. Established in 1840, Park & Tilford became one of the earliest food stores in New York to open branches in affluent residential neighborhoods. Here, the company chose a busy site adjacent to Park & Tilford building the elevated station and commissioned a design from New York’s most prestigious architectural

6 firm. McKim, Mead & White planned a building that would attract attention (and many shoppers), choosing bright white brick and limestone, in an area where earth-toned materials were far more common, employing ornate terracotta ornament, and providing a conspicuous chamfered corner for the original entrance. A cool stream running through the sub- basement was used by Park & Tilford for making ice cream. In 1977, the upper stories were converted into apartments.

249-257 Columbus Avenue 8 SE corner West 72nd Street (Thom & Wilson, 1888-89)

Like Park & Tilford across the street, John T. Farley, the developer of this building, exploited a site adjacent to the elevated station. Farley, one of many Irish builders active on the West Side, erected a mixed-use structure with stores at street 72nd St. detail level, offices on the second story, and ten apartments above. The cast-iron piers that articulate the commercial space on this and many other of the Columbus Avenue buildings were chosen because slender cast- iron columns and piers Fantastical animal heads have the ability to support on the second story. enormous weight, while opening the shops and offices to light and permitting commercial displays. On the second story, wrought-iron beams rest on the cast-iron (including several twisted columns) and fantastical animal heads with elephant-like snouts peer out from the beam ends. Also note the heads of young girls and the beautifully carved pot of sunflowers on the 72nd Street elevation.

261-267 Columbus Avenue, The Janet 9 NE corner West 72nd Street 260-268 Columbus Avenue, The St. Charles 10 NW corner West 72nd Street 269-275 Columbus Avenue, The Westport 11 SE corner West 73rd Street

Charles Buek was not only the architect of these three French flats,

7 but also the developer of the St. Charles and Westport. Buek, one of the most active West Side builders during the boom in development in the late 1880s and early 1890s, varied the facades by employing different colors of brick, stone, and terracotta. The Janet, recently stripped of white paint, retains several of the windows with small rectangular panes that Chase Bank has were popular in the 1880’s. occupied The St. Charles Chase Bank completed for many years. an exemplary restoration of the beautiful sandstone base of the St. Charles several years ago.

West 73rd Street 12 North side between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West Henry Hardenberg, 1882-1885 The earliest major development projects on the Upper West Side were undertaken by Edward Clark, whose fortune came from the Singer Sewing Machine company. Clark not only built the Dakota Apartments, but also this spectacular row of brick and greenish sandstone houses on West 73rd Street.

Many of Henry Row houses on West 73rd Street Hardenberg’s sophis- ticated facades survive, with their delicate carving, stained-glass windows, and high-quality wood and iron detail. On the Columbus Avenue corner, adjacent to the elevated tracks, Clark built a flat for five families, rather than a single-family home. Although the roofline has been altered, you can still see the original carved heads and iron balconies. Clark and Hardenberg were also responsible for the buildings across the street -- the tenement at 280- 284 Columbus Avenue and the rowhouse at 103 West 73rd Street, the only survivor of buildings Look up to see these erected in 1879-80. carvings.

8 289-295 Columbus Avenue 13 Southeast corner W. 74th St., & south side bet. Columbus & Central Pk. West Percy Griffin and George Griebel, 1902-04

The 74th Street blockfront was inherited by Edward Clark’s grandson Frederick who had Percy Griffin design a long row of 18 exceptional Georgian Revival style houses faced in 18th-century style red brick laid in Flemish bond (alternating long and short bricks) and limestone. This is one of the most spectacular residential blockfronts in New York City. Clark leased the houses, retaining ownership until the 1920s. New owners converted Detail of W. 74th St. block many of the townhouses into apartments, while others offered perfect accommodation to small private schools. On the corner, Clark erected one of the few entirely commercial buildings on Columbus Avenue, a Beaux-Arts style brick, terracotta, and cast-iron structure with large window openings that was leased to a neighborhood department store.

301-303 Columbus Avenue, The Greylock 14 Northwest corner West 74th Street Gilbert A. Schellenger, 1890-91

While many of the buildings along Columbus Avenue have flat roofs, the Greylock is enlivened by a dynamic roofline that is eye-catching despite the loss of slate shingles. The roof bristles with tiny pyramids and a central gable, set above the massive arched entry on 74th Street, highlighted by a projecting lions’ head. Look up to see. Gable at 61 West 74th Street

9 302 Columbus Avenue, J.M. Horton Ice Cream Company 15 Between West 74th & West 75th Streets Cleverdon & Putzel, 1889-90 “The J. M. Horton Ice Cream Co. is a name familiar to all New Yorkers ... for its delicious creams have been enjoyed by all. To the epicurean of the table they are indispensable,” declared an 1893 guide to the city. So famous was this brand that the guide relates how “a little girl on being asked to spell ice cream, said ‘H-o-r-t-o-n.” Not only did the company have numerous branches throughout the city, including this one with its name proudly advertised on the ornate cornice where it would be visible to el riders, but it also See J.M. Horton supplied transatlantic sign at building’s top liners and railroad dining cars, and was the ice cream purveyor to the inaugural balls of presidents Harrison and Cleveland.

321-329 Columbus Avenue, La Rochelle 16 Northeast corner West 76th Street Lamb & Rich, 1895-98 Incongruously named for the French seaside resort of La Rochelle, this massive apartment house was designed by a prominent architectural firm responsible for many nearby rowhouses. The commercial base, with its monumental banded Ionic columns is especially striking. The building is entered through a magnificent pedimented portico emblazoned Detail of La Rochelle’s with wreaths, cornucopias, entrance and the building’s name. Original bronze doors lead into an impressive lobby with marble walls and fireplace mantelpiece and complex plaster ceiling. The large apartments attracted wealthy residents including prominent early 20th- century theatrical producer William Harris.

10 331-339 Columbus Avenue, Aylsmere 17 Southeast corner of West 76th Street Henry Andersen, 1892-94 The poetic name Ayslmere, given to what is perhaps the most beautiful of all the French flats on Columbus Avenue, may be derived from the town of Aylesmore in Gloucestershire, or may be a name invented as a marketing tool by the builder to conjure up an image of the English countryside. Despite the name, however, the design derives from Florentine Renaissance precedents, especially evident in the arches on the second story and the elegant fourth-story balconies, each with [Ionic] columns and an arched pediment, creating something akin to a loggia. The building has cast-iron storefronts, a beautifully detailed brownstone base on 76th Street, and especially handsome orange Roman brick facades. The affluent residents of the 26 original apartments entered through a prominent arch emblazoned with the building’s name. In the film “Crossing Delancey,” the lonely woman played by Amy Irving, who falls in love with a Lower East Side pickle purveyor, lived in this building. The Alysmere’s entrance faces on West 76th Street American Museum of Natural History 18 West 77th Street and Columbus Avenue Original wing: Calvert Vaux, 1872-77; 77th St. facade: J.C. Cady & Co. (later Cady, Berg & See), 1887-1900; Columbus Ave. wing: Charles Volz, 1906-08; Polshek Part- nership, Rose Center for Earth & Space and Arthur Ross Terrace 1994 (begun)-2001; Gilder Center: 2019 construction begun, Studio Gang: Jeanne Gang, Architect.

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A view of the Museum today, from West 77th Street, one of several entrances The American Museum of Natural History, one of the world’s great museums, is housed is an extraordinary complex of buildings that visitors often fail to look at as they rush to the dinosaurs, animal dioramas, and other exhibit halls. The major facade, along 77th Street, is a masterpiece of Romanesque Revival design, faced with rough- textured red granite from New Brunswick, Canada. Margaret Meade, the famed anthropologist surveyed life on Columbus Avenue from her office window in the corner tower. If you walk past the stone wing on

Beautiful Theodore Roosevelt Park is open to the public for strolling and relaxation with many pastoral places to sit. There is the living Nobel Monument, a dog run, Margaret Mead Green, and more to discover. As of this writing, parts of the park near Columbus Avenue are closed temporarily for construction of the new Gilder Center. Check out friendsofrooseveltpark. org for park updates and interesting history of the park and how it’s maintained.

12 Columbus Avenue and look into the museum’s courtyard you will see a portion of the original red brick and gray granite [Victorian Gothic Style] museum building designed by Calvert Vaux, one of the original designers of Central Park. The massive museum complex is surrounded by parks and gardens; recently restored Margaret Mead Green, a part of Theodore Roosevelt Park to the north, is a lovely spot to rest. Outside the spectacular Rose Center for Earth and Space on 81st Street, is the stainless-steel time capsule, the only work in New York designed by the prominent Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava (temporarily in storage as of this writing during the building of the Gilder Center.).

The Evelyn, 380-384 Columbus Avenue 19 Northwest corner, West 78th Street (Emile Gruwé, 1882; upper floors, D & J. Jardine, 1885) The Evelyn was one of the first buildings erected on the Upper WestSide. In the 1880s its deep red brick and terra-cotta facades must have been a striking landmark in an area that was still largely open fields. If you look carefully at the facades you can see that they were constructed in two building campaigns. In 1882, work began on what was to be a “palatial” eight-story building; “the largest and best appointed in the world,” wrote one enthusiastic critic. After completing five stories, the developers ran out of money and a second architectural firm added the simpler top floors. The most extraordinary feature of the building is the survival of the first story with its moat-like gateway lined with original ironwork and its superb terra-cotta ornament. Terra cotta is a clay material produced in molds, permitting the inexpensive manufacture of complex details. Note,

Detail of the Evelyn, on the corner of Columbus Avenue and West 78th Street.

13 in particular, the male and female figures growing from leaves and the voluptuous bare-breasted winged women between the first floor windows.

Park Belvedere, 402-416 Columbus Ave. 20 Northwest corner West 79th Street Frank Williams & Associates, 1983-86) Legendary New York developer William Zeckendorf built this 28-story brick and concrete building, one of the first high-rise apartment buildings erected on the Upper West Side since the construction of the great twin-tower buildings on Central Park West in the early 1930s. With its setbacks and slender tower, this is far and away the tallest building on Columbus Avenue and has, over the past decades, become a The Park Belvedere major focal point in the neighborhood. opened in 1984

Hotel Orleans, 410-416 Columbus Avenue 21 Southwest corner West 80th Street Buchman & Deisler, 1898-1900 A cluster of fashionable hotels opened on Columbus Avenue convenient to the 81st Street elevated station, including the Endicott (photo at right), the Colonial (1903-05) on the northeast corner of 81st Street, and the Orleans, a handsome building with facades combining American, colonial-inspired Flemish-bond brick- work, with bold French-inspired ornament, including the dynamic cartouche (the shield-like feature) over the entrance arch. The same contractor who erected the Orleans had previously been responsible for Carnegie Hall. In 1993, the hotel was The Orleans, as it appears today, with converted into apartments and architects fashionable shops on the Columbus Avenue side. Peix & Crawford were responsible for the elegant storefront restoration.

14 426 Columbus Avenue 22 West side between West 80th Street and West 81st Streets (Clarence True, 1892-93)

Not every building on Columbus Avenue was built with apartments above shops. This wonderful little building was entirely commercial. Clarence True, one of the most sophisticated architects active on the Upper West Side (he was responsible for many of the rowhouses on Riverside Drive) loved Northern European architecture and provided this building with a Dutch-inspired stepped gable. 426 Columbus Avenue

Hotel Endicott, 440-456 Columbus Avenue 23 West side between West 81st Street and West 82nd Streets (Edward L. Angell, 1889-91)

The Endicott is one of the great buildings of Columbus Avenue. Its transformation by developer Robert Quinlan and architect Steven B. Jacobs & Associates, from an abandoned hulk into spacious apartments in 1979-81 marked the metamorphosis of the Upper West Side. The Endicott was built over three years in two sections, beginning on West 81st Street, and was an immediate success, with all 44 suites soon rented despite the presence of the elevated railroad Hotel Endicott outside many of the windows. In 1890, the building was described as built of “Pompeiian brick and red (Carlisle) stone, with handsome panels of terracotta” and was especially touted for its large number of windows – over 300! The public interiors were lavishly appointed in marble, onyx, and wood, with large mirrors, exotic rugs, and newfangled electric chandeliers. Life at the hotel centered on the

15 Walking Tour Map: W. 82nd St.-W. 67th St. West Side of Columbus Avenue

W. 82nd St. 23. Hotel Endicott, 440-456 Columbus Ave. bet. W.81st-W.82nd 23 W. 81st St. 22. 426 ColumbusWest Ave. bet 81W.80stth St.& 81st 22 W.80th St. st 21. Hotel Orleans, 410-416 Columbusth Ave. SW cor. 81 20. Park Belvedere,West 402-416 80 ColumbusSt. Ave. NW cor. 78th St. 20 21 W.79th St. 19. The Evelyn, 380-384 Columbus Ave. NW corner 78th. 19 West 78th St.

W. 77th St. Outside the district but well worth a visit: New-York Historical Society at 170 Central Park West W. 76th St.

W.75th St.

W. 74th St. 14. The Greylock 301-303 Columbus Ave. NW corner W. 73rd St. 14 W.73rd St. 11. The Westport, 269-275 Columbus Ave. SW corner 73rd St. 11 Amsterdam Avenue W.72nd St. 7. Park & Tilford Building, SW corner W.72nd St. 7 10 Avenue Columbus W.71st St.

W.70th St. 4. Hotel Walton, 210-216 Columbus Ave., SW cor. W.70th St. 4 W.69thSt. 3. 106 West 69th St. 3 W.68th St.

W.67th St.

16 Walking Tour Map: W. 82nd St.-W. 67th St. East Side of Columbus Avenue

W. 82nd St.

W. 81st St.

Rose Center for Earth and Space Enter on W.81st St.

Theodore Roosevelt Park Surrounds the Museum Columbus Avenue 18 on all four sides W. 77th St.

W. 76th St. 16. La Rochelle, 321-329 Columbus Ave. NE cor. 76th St. 16 17 17. The Aylsmere, SE corner W.76th St. W. 75th St. 15 15. J.M. Horton ice Cream Co. 302 Col. Ave. bet. W.74th-75th Sts. W.74th St. 13. 289-295 Columbus Ave. SE cor. W.74th St. bet. Col. & CPW 13 Central Park West W. 73rd St. 12 12. West 73rd St., North side bet. Columbus & CPW W.72nd St. 8. 249-257 Columbus Ave., SE corner W.72nd St. 8 9 9. The Janet, 261-267 Columbus Ave, NE corner W.72nd St. W.71st St. 6 6. 2225, 227, 229 Columbus Ave. bet. W.70th & 71st Sts. W.70th St. 5 5. Tuxedo, 221-223 Columbus Ave., NE cor. W.70th St. W. 69thSt. 2 22.181-189 & 191-199 Columbus Ave. bet. W.68th & W.69th Sts. W. 68th St. 1 1. 171-179 Columbus Avenue, SE corner W.68th St. W.67th St.

17 A Few of the Many Decorative Details found on Buildings in the Neighborhood

As you walk around the neighborhood, especial- ly on the side streets off Columbus Avenue to the east and west, you will see all sorts of ornamen- tal trim on the buildings. A few are pictured here, but it’s fun to try finding your own. Once you be- gin to find them, you’ll see they’re all over.

Use the lines below to make your own notes about details you discov- er while touring Colum- bus Avenue and its envi- rons. Notes

18 Glossary of Terms in this Booklet

Cartouche: an oval or oblong design, typically edged with ornamental scrollwork such as a carved tablet or drawing representing a scroll with rolled- up ends, used ornamentally or bearing an inscription. Grotesque: a style of decorative art characterized by fanciful or fantastic human and animal forms often interwoven with foliage or similar figures that may distort the form into absurdity, ugliness, or caricature.

Chamfered: a transitional edge between two faces of an object.

Facade: An exterior wall, or face, of a building. The front facade of a building contains the building’s main entrance, the rear facade is the building’s rear exterior wall, and the side facades are a building’s side exterior walls.

Flat: Generally a single family home where each level has been converted to a separate dwelling.

Gable roof: A roof with two slopes – front and rear– joining at a single ridge line parallel to the entrance façade. When the ridge line of a gable-roofed house is perpendicular to the street, the roof is said to be a “gable-end roof.”

Gargoyle: A carved stone grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building. Preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls is important because running water erodes the mortar between the stone blocks.

Pediment: A pediment is an architectural element consisting of a gable, usually of a triangular shape, placed above the horizontal structure of the entablature. (An entablature is a horizontal, continuous lintel on a classical building supported by columns or a wall, comprising the frieze, and cornice, typically supported by columns.)

Portico: An entrance porch with columns or pilasters and a roof, and often crowned by a triangular pediment.

Romanesque Revival Design: a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture.

Tenement: Legally defined in New York by the Tenement House Act of 1867 as “any house, building, or portion thereof, which is rented, leased, let or hired out to be occupied or is occupied, as the home or residence of more than three families living independently of one another and doing their own cooking. Terracotta: unglazed, typically brownish-red earthenware, used chiefly as an ornamental building material and in modeling.

19 About the Author Andrew S. Dolkart is an architectural historian teaching at Co- lumbia University School of Architecture, whose work focuses on the architecture and development in New York City. He has writ- ten extensively about New York, including walking tour guides to Harlem, Lower Manhattan, and the Upper East Side. He is also the author of the award-winning “Morningside Heights: A History of Its Architecture and Development.

This guide was originally designed by Barbara Adler in 1992 and revised in 2019 to include new photos and updated information.

Cover & back photo: 1922, Courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History.

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