New York has frequently put advancement over sentiment. "Progress" over preservation. So many beautiful New York buildings have been torn-down, only to be replaced by something ugly—and that replacement is usually a pale comparison of the handcraft of the original building. Think of the fabulous Beaux-Arts Penn Station on Eighth Avenue. Or the Art Deco Bonwit-Teller Store on Fifth Avenue. Both architectural gems were destroyed to make way for cheap and ugly replacements. Neither could be called "progress."
But, even today, a stroll-about New York City always delights with unexpected architectural gems and architectural details. Sometimes these delights are big, sometimes they are small. And sometimes, thankfully, a community will insist that the historic past be restored and preserved.
Let's take a walk around the Upper West Side to unearth some little, domestic treasures—both large and small.
Shown above, the view out my guest room window at the Hotel Beacon. While this view (across 75th Street) is far from flamboyant, the building is handsomely restrained, with a nice balance of color and visual weight. Such thoughtful, sandy-colored brick is so good at reflecting light back into its neighbors' windows.
Shown above, the handsome entrance to an Upper West Side townhouse. The massiveness of the stonework is offset by the lightness of the color. The brutality of the rusticated stonework is offset by the clean lines of the steps and the balustrade.
The La Rochelle is an eleven story apartment building built in 1896. The architects, Lamb and Rich, provided a robust façade with four fluted and banded columns which support a curved pediment with its central escutcheon. Today, it is home to 91 apartment dwellings—a blend of rented and owner-occupied units.
The Del Monte was built by architect Gilbert Schellinger in 1891. The seven story Renaissance/Romanesque building is now a coop of 50 units. Rusticated stonework and trios of small, Romanesque columns flank the entryway.
The Kenilworth was built in 1908 in the French Second Empire style—a look popular in Paris during the late Nineteenth Century reign of Napoleon III. The architects, Townsend, Steinle and Haskell, allotted three apartments on each of the thirteen floors. The façade is a handsome blend of carved limestone and red brick. The entry way is flanked by complex, banded columns and the building is capped with a mansard roof.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
To arrange a visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only), please call 917-446-4248.