305 West 91st Street
305 West 91st Street
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Date:Â 1896-97
NB Number:Â NB 55-1896
Type: Â Rowhouse
Architect: Â True, Clarence
Developer/Owner/Builder:Â Smith & Stewart
Row Configuration:Â ABCBDBC
NYC Landmarks Designation:Â Historic District
Landmark Designation Report:Â Riverside Drive- West End Historic District
National Register Designation:Â N/A
Primary Style: Â Renaissance Revival
Primary Facade: Â Â Limestone and Roman Brick
Stories:Â 4 1/2
Window Type/Material:Â One-over-one double-hung/Wood
Basement Type:Â American
Stoop Type:Â Low
Roof Type/Material:Â Mansard/Tile
Structure: These seven, four and a half-story houses were designed as a row and are unified by rusticated limestone ground stories, common cornice, roof and sill lines, mansard roofs, originally covered with tile (still present at No. 309), and roof dormers with swan’s neck pediments. Parapets with chimneys mark the divisions between the houses at the roofline. The historic windows are one-over-one double-hung wood sash and most original wrought-iron grilles survive covering the first story windows, service doors and cellar windows. Each house, designed with an American basement, is twenty-five feet wide. The facades are arranged in an asymmetrical rhythm of ABCBDBC (from east to west).
The B type houses, Nos. 305, 309 and 313, have three sided projecting bays extending from the ground story through the third story. The ground and fourth stories are faced with smooth rusticated limestone, while the second and third stories are faced with beige Roman brick with limestone quoins. The three tall pairs of windows flanked by carved pilasters at the second story are capped by large carved limestone lunettes. The asymmetrically placed main entrance, flanked by pilasters, is approached by a low bay stoop with balustrade.
Historic District: Riverside Drive- West End HD
Alterations: The limestone at the ground story has been painted cream. Two recent light fixtures have been placed at the door. A few balusters are missing from the stoop wall. New iron bars have been installed at the first story window and at the lower half of the second story windows. The roof is covered with white asphalt shingles.
History:Â This row of seven houses was designed by the prolific Upper West Side architect Clarence True, and built in 1896-1897 by developers Smith & Stewart. Selected Reference: New York City Department of Taxes Photograph Collection, Municipal Archives and Record Collection, C 734.