186-187 Riverside Drive, AKA 316-320 West 91st Street
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186-187 Riverside Drive
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Date:Â 1927-1928
NB Number:Â NB 558-1927
Type: Â Apartment Building
Architect: Â Roth, Emery
Developer/Owner/Builder:Â Dominion Realty Corporation
NYC Landmarks Designation:Â Historic District
Landmark Designation Report:Riverside Drive- West End Historic District
National Register Designation:Â N/A
Primary Style: Â Neo-Renaissance
Primary Facade: Â Â Buff brick, Granite, and Terra Cotta
Stories:Â 15
Window Type/Material:Â Six-over-one/Wood (see Alterations)
Structure:  This apartment building, of fifteen stories with a basement, is located on a lot at the southeast corner of Riverside Drive and West 91st Street which extends approximately sixty-six feet along Riverside Drive and 150 feet along West 91st Street. In plan the building is organized around a shallow interior court opening to the south with an eastern wing that extends into the middle of the block. It is faced in buff colored brick laid in common bond with granite and terra cotta trim. The Riverside Drive facade is constructed with a slight curve to conform to the line of the drive. The building is lined at the sidewalk level by a shallow shrub bed.
Riverside Drive Facade: The three story base, ten story midsection, and two story top of this facade are articulated by paired window bays at each end with two tripartite windows and one narrow slit window in between. Above a high granite water table, the base features stone rosettes in the spandrel panels and is capped by a projecting dentiled cornice with a classically inspired frieze. The thirteenth and fifteenth stories are crowned by terra cotta cornices, and a stepped parapet with terra cotta coping and a large terra cotta cartouche in the center surmounts the facade.
West 91st Street Facade: This facade, fifteen bays wide, features the same overall design and articulation of detail as the Riverside Drive facade. The main entrance to the building is located in the eighth bay from the west and is enhanced by a classically inspired stone surround. Multi pane wood and glass doors with multi pane transoms are located at the first story in the fourth bay from the east and the third bay from the west. Only five of the original six-over-one wood sash windows remain on this facade. The stepped parapet is enhanced by two large cartouches.
Eastern Elevation: An alleyway separates the eastern elevation from the neighboring building. The elevation is yellow brick and contains five window openings per story.
Historic District: Riverside Drive- West End HD
Alterations: Except for five original six-over-one wood sash windows (painted brown), all of the windows have been replaced by dark gray one-over-one and Chicago style aluminum sash. The projecting water table and entrance enframement have been painted yellow to conform to the color of the brick facade. The main entrance has recent paired aluminum and glass doors. The wood doors of the West 91st Street facade have been painted brown. Portions of the eastern elevation have also been painted. A modern dark gray canopy shields the main entrance, which is flanked by recent glass and metal lanterns.
History: Built in 1928 for the Dominion Realty Corporation, 186-187 Riverside Drive was designed by the noted architect Emery Roth. This apartment building was constructed on the site of six four story brick-fronted rowhouses: three on Riverside Drive and three on West 91st Street. Selected References: George Bromley, Atlas of the City of New York,’Borough of Manhattan (Philadelphia, 1899), vol. 3 plate 11. New York City Department of Taxes Photograph Collection, Municipal Archives and Record Collection, C 719.