312 West 91st Street
312 West 91st Street
NB Number: NB 513-1893
Type: Rowhouse
Architect: Ferdon, Martin V.B.
Developer/Owner/Builder: Walker & Lawson
Row Configuration: ABCBD
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: Brownstone
Stories: 4
Window Type/Material: One-over-one double-hung/Wood
Basement Type: Unknown
Stoop Type: Unknown
Structure: These five brownstone fronted, four story houses were designed as a row. Each is seventeen feet wide except for No. 312 which is eighteen feet wide. They are unified by a common roof line, string course and sill lines, stoops, and multi story oriels at four of the five houses. Four designs alternate within this group of houses, arranged in a rhythm of ABCBD (from east to west). The historic windows are one-over-one double-hung wood sash which remain in most windows on all of the buildings. Original wrought iron grilles, in a twisted design, cover the ground story windows, basement entrance doors, and the cellar windows facing the areaways. Entrance doors above the stoops are the original oak and glass double doors with transoms and original hardware. The original basement level entrances are present under these stoops.
Historic District: Riverside Drive- West End HD
Alterations: The walls flanking the steps of the stoop are replacements. The ground level facing has been painted grey. The windows in the oriel at the parlor story have full length casements below transoms. Wrought iron grilles have been removed from the cellar windows. New iron bars are placed over the second story windows. Recent light fixtures are placed at both basement level and parlor story doors.
History: This row of five houses was designed by architect Martin V.B. Ferdon, who was active on the Upper West Side, and built in 1893. The developers, Walker & Lawson, were described in Real Estate Record and Guide as “…about the earliest pioneers among the builders” in the area around West 104th Street. Selected References: New York City Department of Taxes Photograph Collection, Municipal Archives and Record Collection, C 734. Real Estate Record & Guide 46 (Dec. 20, 1890), 39.