228 West 71st Street

228 West 71st Street

NB Number: NB  229-1916

Type:  Apartment Building

Architect:  Roth, Emery

Developer/Owner/Builder: Gresham Realty Co., Inc.

Row Configuration: Several row houses were demolished for construction of this apartment hotel, including four of the five houses that were part of the row at 226 to 234 West 71st Street (NB 522-1892; only no. 226 remains) and one of a row of ten at 238 to 254 West 71st Street designed by Thom & Wilson (NB 515-1892; the other nine remain).

NYC Landmarks Designation:  Historic District

Landmark Designation Report: Addendum to the West End-Collegiate Historic District Extension Designation Report 

National Register Designation: N/A

Primary Style:  Colonial Revival with alterations

Primary Facade:   Brick, Granite, Limestone, Red Brick, and Terra Cotta

Stories: 14 and penthouse

Historic District: West End-Collegiate HD Extension

Decorative Metal Work: Roundels with sculptural lion’s heads with rings in mouths at second story (historically held suspended canopy; see c. 1939 tax photograph); balconette railings at third story.

Significant Architectural Features: Two-story limestone base with large engaged pilasters on molded bases; Classical door surrounds at base; granite base trim; red brick above second story with few terra-cotta details including molded sills, decorative lintels at third and fourth stories, balconettes at third and 11th stories, and decorative spandrels at the 12th and 13th stories; stylized brick pilasters extend from third to 13th story and culminate in small terra-cotta capitals; terra-cotta molding above 14th story.

Alterations: Geometric terra-cotta details removed from rebuilt brick parapet (still present at east, west and south facades, latter only visible in aerial photographs; possibly still extant at penthouse); replaced sashes (six-over-six double-hung sashes present in c. 1939 tax photograph and in historic postcard images); historic overhanging marquee removed from first story (present  in c. 1939 tax photograph); commercial advertisements in first-story windows west of main entry; non-historic transoms at first-story window and door openings; non-historic awning at main entry (extends over sidewalk); lights at main entry; small sign to east of main entry; security gate at service entry at western end of facade; metal spikes at recessed first-story window openings; conduit at first story towards eastern end of facade; sign and small intercom at reveal of eastern secondary entry.

Site Features: Single granite step at main entry; single granite step at eastern secondary entry; three-step granite stoop at western secondary entry; in-ground vents to east of main entry; masonry stairs descend to service area.

Notable History and Residents: This building was constructed as an apartment hotel known as the Hotel Robert Fulton, named for the inventor of the first commercially successful steamboat to provide ferry service up the Hudson River from New York City to Albany in 1807. Advertisements for the hotel, beginning shortly after its c. 1917 opening through at least 1955 touted one- to three-room suites (either furnished or unfurnished), “complete hotel service,” an “excellent restaurant,” and emphasized its views overlooking the Hudson River. By 1955, kitchenettes were also being advertised, though previously illegal in apartment hotels. The interior of the hotel was noted for its tasteful design in a 1917 issue of Architecture and Building Magazine in an article that included images of the lobby, a typical living room, and the hotel dining room (interior not part of this designation). The building now functions as a rental apartment building.

References: Display Advertisement 45, New York Times, July 6, 1955, 47; Display Advertisement 63, New York Times, June 29, 1924, X6; Display Advertisement 136, New York Times, June 22, 1919, 41; “Notes on Illustrations,” Architecture and Building Magazine, Vol. XLIX No. 12 (December 1917) 112; “Robert Fulton Hotel 2,” The Restaurant Ware Collectors Network, http://www.restaurantwarecollectors.com/forums (accessed November 23, 2012).

North Facade: Designed (historic, repointed, some painting at first story; parapet rebuilt)
Door(s): Replaced primary door; doors replaced at secondary entries
Windows: Replaced
Sidewalk Material(s): Concrete
Curb Material(s): Concrete and metal

East Facade: Partially designed (historic) (partially visible)
Significant Architectural Features: Limestone at base; red brick above second story; some details from primary (north) facade return slightly onto this facade; geometric-terra-cotta details at parapet continuous within lightwell of the H-shaped building.
Alterations: Brick repointed

West Facade: Partially designed (historic) (partially visible)
Facade Notes: Same as east elevation