This group of row houses on Hancock Street in Bed-Stuy was built for developer George H. Stone. Stone owned and developed many buildings in this area in the 1870s and 1880s, these were built in 1884. For reference, most of the buildings in this part of Bed-Stuy were built in this twenty year period. Prior to this the land that makes up the neighborhood was four family farms that were subdivided into lots for development. It was one of the fastest neighborhoods to develop from farmland to residential and had some of New York’s most prolific architects designing homes such as Heinz and Lafarge and Montrose Morris. These were designed by Gilbert A. Schellenger. 198-202 Hancock Street were landmarked as a part of the Bedford Historic District on December 8th, 2015.
The oldest bike lane in the United States is in Brooklyn and was designed by the same man who created Central and Prospect Park.
Soho is a neighborhood that is rarely under appreciated for its architecture, but it still manages to surprise me with some of its buildings. Take this one at 28 Greene Street, this narrow street makes it difficult to fully appreciate the full beauty of the 6 story loft complete with mansard roof. This was built in 1873 on the site of what used to be New York’s red light district. It was built as a warehouse for the firm of Picant, Simon and Capel which only lasted 3 years after the building was built. Following the firm’s dissolution, the building became home to a variety of importing firms, specializing in lace and silks. In 2002, the building underwent a complete restoration. It is known as the Queen of Greene Street and is now a mix of retail and apartments. It was landmarked as a part of the Soho Cast Iron Historic District on August 14th 1973.
In 1826, the United States turned 50, had 24 states, John Adams & Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4th, John Quincy Adams was president, and this house was built on Hudson Street. 518 was part of a wave of development on the far west side of the village. Its builder, Isaac Hatfield, jumped into this head first building over 7 buildings wrapping around from west 10th Street. Apart from the store front, this house retains most of its original features including peaked roof and dormer windows. The home was built in the federal style which was all the rage in the early 1800s, and something of a rarity in today’s New York. It was landmarked as a part of the Greenwich Village Historic District on April 29th, 1969.
This house at 71 Vanderbilt Avenue was built in 1850 for master carpenter Richard Pease. This was at a time when the population of Brooklyn was doubling every decade. Pease, like many other residents of this part of Vanderbilt tended to built houses in pairs as a part of speculative developments. Pease lived at No. 71 and built No. 69 as its twin. Unfortunately No. 69 was torn down in 2015 due to it becoming structurally unsafe. This area became very active in the mid 19th century due to the rapidly growing naval yard a few blocks away. Pease was a carpenter, and many of his neighbors were craftsmen who worked in the ship building trade. The house was a mix of Greek Revival and Italianate styles and underwent a restoration in 1980 which removed the vinyl siding and replaced the original clapboard. 71 Vanderbilt was landmarked as a part of the Wallabout Historic District on July 12th, 2011.
The oldest bridge in NYC connects the Bronx to Washington heights and was crucial for getting fresh water to the growing city in the 19th Century. Today it’s a pedestrian park.
The Church Mission House, also known as the Protestant Welfare Agencies Building, was constructed as a part of the Episcopal Church’s increasing mission wing. The organization was conceived in the 1820s but construction on their head quarters in New York didn’t start until 1888. Cornelius Vanderbilt was one of the backers of contruction and helped acquire the land next to Calvary Church, the largest Episcopal Church in the city at the time. The building was completed in 1894 and included cutting edge construction technologies for the time, such as using a steel skeleton to allow for greater height as well as terra cotta for accents which recent renovations have ascentuated. In 2019, the building was renovated and became the American Branch of Fotografiska, a Swedish Museum of photography It was made a New York City Landmark on September 11th, 1989.
Your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you, that is simultaneously a very skinny and very wide building. Its located at the intersection of Broadway and Broome Street in Soho and was built in 1896. Normally, proportions like this wouldn’t be so bizarre if the buildings around it were a little taller, and it looks as if this building was anticipating that right? Well actually no, if you look at the back side of this building, it’s just as ornate as the front. In situations where more development was expected, that wall would be flat. Clearly the architect John T. Williams, who was also the developer, did not plan for anyone else building around his creation and went all out. 487 Broadway was landmarked as a part of the Soho Cast Iron Historic District on August 14th, 1973.
New York has always always been a city with a large wealth gap. For every gilded age mansion or modern skinny condo tower there are more homeless and food insecure families. Despite the very real issues the city faces, many charity organizations have formed to try to make it a better place. The Children’s Aid Society was founded by Charles Longing Brace in 1853 to cater to poor immigrant children and orphans. Brace believed that by creating a place where children could feel cared for, as well as learn basic skills and get an education, it could lift them from poverty. The organization had many buildings throughout the city, this one on 12th Street between 2nd and 1st Avenue was built in 1892 as the Elizabeth Home for Girls. It was the only house built specifically for young women and is one of the few remaining Children’s Aid Society Buildings left in the city. In subsequent years, the home was sold and used as a doctors office, another home for orphaned girls and eventually co-op apartments. It was landmarked by The City of New York on March 18th, 2008.
This is somehow the third Fish house I’m featuring on this page, do you think they’re a big deal? This is specifically the Stuyvesant Fish House on 78th and Madison, not to be confused with the Stuyvesant Fish House on Gramercy Park South or the Hamilton Fish house on Stuyvesant Place. Now that I’ve broken every rule in the English language about using the same word multiple times in one sentence, let’s talk about why this family was so Important. Stuyvesant Fish was a railroad magnate and a member of the New York aristocratic Fish family. His father was the Secretary of State under President Grant and his Grandfather was friends with Alexander Hamilton. If that weren’t enough, they married into the Stuyvesant Family, connecting them to the very beginning of Dutch New York. Fish and his wife built this mansion on the corner of 78th and Madison in 1898, it was designed by the firm of McKim Meade and White of Penn Station Fame. In addition to maintaining this house, and the Hamilton Fish house, the couple had a mansion in Newport called the Crossways that they spent their summers in. Today the Stuyvesant Fish House is the headquarters of Bloomberg Philanthropies. It was landmarked as a part of the Metropolitan Museum Historic District on September 20th, 1977.
In the late 1800s, if you were a person of any means in New York or Brooklyn, you needed to belong to a social club. These were hubs of upper middle class/upper class activities in both cities, with clubhouses popping up all over the place. Members of these clubs spared no expense in utilizing the latest architectural trends, and trying to one up each other. This building on Putnam avenue in Clinton Hill was built for the Lincoln Club. The club was originally founded for local Republicans in the neighborhood but would drop its political affiliation. They hired Brooklyn architect Rudolph L. Das to design the Queen Anne masterpiece, although I see a lot of Romanesque Revival, which was completed in 1899. However, due to changing tastes the Lincoln Club, like so many others, disbanded. In 1931 the club officially dissolved, and in 1940, the building was sold to the Independent Order of Mechanics of the Western Hemisphere. As far as I can tell it is still owned by them. It was landmarked on May 12th, 1981. #NewYork#manhattan#brooklyn#queens#thebronx#statenisland#mysecretnyc#explore#iloveny#architecure#history#preservation#uppereastside#ues#westvillage#GreenwichVillage#timessquare#soho#landmarksofny#centralpark#unionsquare
88 and 90 Grove Street in the Village are two dramatically different takes on what to do with townhouses from 1827. Both of these homes would have started as two story federal buildings with dormer window for their attics. No. 88 on the right, was built by mason Henry Halsey, and had a full third story added in the 1850s. The third floor is a 2nd French Empire style which basically means it looks vaguely Parisian. No. 90 on the left has a dramatically different look. Built by a different mason, William Banks, this house underwent modifications in 1893 when it was bought by artist Frederick Blum. He hired architectural team of Carrère & Hastings, who designed the main branch of the New York Public Library, to modify the top two floors into a large studio space. Frankly, I assumed that this was a modification from the 1960s, rather than the end of the 19th Century but there you go. Both of these buildings were landmarked as a part of the Greenwich Village Historic District on April 29th, 1969.
Since I haven’t found a good way to put up an all encompassing tour calendar, I am going to pin tour dates on my page each month. Click book now on my profile if you want to join.
From Middlebergh to Nieuwe Stad, from Newtown to Elmhurst, this neighborhood in Queens has seen quite a few name changes in its history. Don’t forget to comment on which neighborhood you’d like to see next.
This is the story of why you never celebrate before reaching the finish line.
It never ceases to amaze me how much former homes of horses sell for today. This stable turned townhouse was used in the 2014 Julia Roberts movie Eat Pray Love. It was built in the 1850s and was an early example of the Romanesque Revival style which uses large arches. I’ve seen a few sources say that it was a firehouse but I haven’t found quite enough evidence to back that claim. This matches up with other stable/driver living accommodations in the Borough. It sold in 2015 for over $6 Million. It was landmarked as a part of the Cobble Hill Historic District on December 30th, 1969. #NewYork#manhattan#brooklyn#queens#thebronx#statenisland#mysecretnyc#explore#iloveny#architecure#history#preservation#uppereastside#ues#westvillage#GreenwichVillage#timessquare#soho#landmarksofny#centralpark#unionsquare
It’s hard to believe, but the Upper East Side used to be a country getaway from the hustle and bustle of New York when it was confined below Chambers Street. The Mount Vernon Hotel Museum gives New Yorkers a glimpse of that past. This building was actually the stable built for Abigail Adams Smith, the daughter of John Adams, in 1799. The Smiths never saw it to completion as financial trouble forced them to sell the property. It was converted into the Mount Vernon Hotel in 1826 catering to a more middle class clientele offering horse trotting and fishing in the east river. Nowadays it is surrounded on all sides by massive residential and commercial development and is in the shadow of the Queensboro Bridge. It was converted into a museum by the Colonial Dames of New York. The Mount Vernon Hotel Museum, or Abigail Adams Smith House, can be found on east 61st street between 1st and 2nd Avenues. It receive its landmark designation from The City of New York on January 24th, 1967.
Ozone Park was one of the most requested name in this series. Here is the background behind its unique name.
Here are the available May Tour Dates: Brooklyn Heights: Sunday May 7th 1pm, Saturday May 20th 1pm Lower Manhattan: May 18th 6:15pm West Village Thursday May 11th & 25th 6:15pm Visit landmarksofny.com or click “Book Now” on Instagram to get your tickets.
In the steel canyons of lower Manhattan it can be odd to see an eight story office building but in the late 1800s, these would have been a normal site. This particular building was home to the Keuffel and Esser company who specializes in drafting and architectural tools. It was built in 1893 by the firm of De Lemos and Cordes, a German American company. The plot at 127 Fulton Street was leased from the Dutch Reform Protestant Church who acquired the property in 1791. They church only sold it in 2004, a fairly impressive span of ownership. The building was landmarked on April 26th, 2005. #NewYork#manhattan#brooklyn#queens#thebronx#statenisland#mysecretnyc#explore#iloveny#architecure#history#preservation#uppereastside#ues#westvillage#GreenwichVillage#timessquare#soho#landmarksofny#centralpark#unionsquare