270 West 91st Street
270 West 91st Street
Date: 1896-97
NB Number: NB 1039-1896
Type: Rowhouse
Architect: Welch, Alexander M.
Developer/Owner/Builder: James Frame
Row Configuration: ABCDCBA
NYC Landmarks Designation: Historic District
Landmark Designation Report: Riverside Drive- West End Historic District
National Register Designation: N/A
Primary Style: Renaissance Revival
Primary Facade: Limestone and Roman Brick
Stories: 4
Window Type/Material: One-over-one double-hung/Wood
Basement Type: American
Stoop Type: Low
Structure: These seven four story houses were designed as a row, with the end houses (No. 258 and No. 270) projecting slightly to serve as pavilions to the five center houses (Nos. 260, 262, 264, 266 and 268). The houses are each eighteen feet wide, except No. 260 which is seventeen feet. Each house has a smooth ashlar limestone base, while the upper stories are of beige Roman brick. There are four different facade configurations in the row which form a symmetrical rhythm consisting of ABCDCBA. The two end building, Nos. 258 and 270, have squared projecting end pavilions with the main entrances within the projection. Nos. 260 and 268 have three story bow fronts while Nos. 262 and 266 have three sided oriels with limestone surrounds at the third story. No. 264 has a three story bow front east of the stoop. The original windows were one-over-one double-hung wood sash which remain in some of the windows. Original wrought iron grilles remain on most of the basement, cellar and first story windows, while several original wrought iron fences front the areaways.
The A type houses, Nos. 258 and 270 are of the American basement type with the entrance approached by a low stoop. Upper story windows are accented by limestone detail contrasting with the brick wall surfaces. At the fourth story limestone bands alternate with the brickwork. A modillioned cornice links these end buildings with those of the B type.
Historic District: Riverside Drive- West End HD
Alterations: The door has been replaced and is covered with a new wrought iron grille. Two recent light fixtures are placed at the door.
History: These houses were designed as a row of seven (and part of a through block development of fourteen houses) by architect Alexander M. Welch for the developer James A. Frame who had been in business in New York since 1868. Frame worked with his son William H. Frame beginning in 1890, and their firm, known as James A. Frame & Son, was “…regarded as one of the most substantial and of the best type.” These buildings, constructed in 1896-97, were built in conjunction with the row at 259-271 West 90th Street. Both rows were constructed on the same New Building permit. Selected References: History of Real Estate, Building and Architecture in New York City (1898, rpt. New York, 1967), 223. New York City Department of Taxes Photograph Collection, Municipal Archives and Record Collection, G 2031; G 2032.