617-619 West End Avenue, AKA 300 West 90th Street

 

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617-619 West End Avenue

 

Date: 1925-1925 NB Number: NB 6-1924 Type:  Apartment Building Architect:  Schwartz & Gross Developer/Owner/Builder: placeholder Row Configuration: West End Avenue & 90th Street Corp NYC Landmarks Designation:  Historic District Landmark Designation Report: Riverside Drive- West End Historic District National Register Designation: N/A Primary Style:  Neo-Georgian Primary Facade:   Limestone, Red Brick, and Terra Cotta Stories: 15 Window Type/Material: Six-over-Six/Wood Structure:  This fifteen story apartment building is located on a lot at the southwest corner of West End Avenue and West 90th Street which extends forty-four feet along the avenue and ninety feet along the street. It is faced in red brick laid in English bond with limestone and terra cotta trim. West End Avenue Facade: The two story base, nine story midsection set off by transitional third and thirteenth stories, and two story top of this facade are articulated by three paired window bays. The original window type is six-over-six wood sash separated by thick mullions. The main entrance, located in the center bay of the limestone base, features paired wood and plate glass doors with a natural finish and a paneled wood transom. It is framed by stone pilasters supporting a stone balcony with a wrought iron railing at the second story. The entrance is flanked by small metal and yellow glass lanterns and paired window bays, with a slit window at the southern end. The second story bays are inscribed in basket arches and those at the ends have simple wrought iron balconies. The transitional third story is faced in brick with stone banding at the base and top. The window enframements are stone; the end bays are crowned with Chippendale style broken pediments on scrolled brackets. The window openings of stories four through twelve have stone sills; the fourth story bays are topped with flush stone lintels. The transitional thirteenth story surmounts a stone beltcourse; the end bays have bowed sills. The fourteenth and fifteenth stories have double-height window enframements; the end bays have carved spandrel panels and pediments like those of the third story. The facade is capped by a bracketed cornice. West 90th Street Facade: This facade, eight bays wide, features the same overall design and articulation of detail as the West End Avenue facade. The first story contains three entrances with wood doors; the eastern door also contains a window. A fire escape is located at the two center bays. Southern Elevation: The southern elevation, visible above the neighboring building, is buff colored brick with a red brick return. Western Elevation: An alleyway separates the western elevation from the neighboring building. The elevation is brick with stone returns and contains four window openings per story with a fire escape at the southern bay. Historic District: Riverside Drive- West End HD Alterations: Approximately forty percent of the original windows (painted dark brown) remain; the rest have been replaced by one-over-one aluminum sash. A recent dark gray canopy shields the entrance. History: Built in 1924-25 for the West End Avenue and 90th Street Corporation, this apartment building was designed by the architectural firm of Schwartz & Gross, whose work is well represented within the district. It was constructed on the site of two four story rowhouses with raised basements, one faced in brick and the other in stone. Selected References: George Bromley, Atlas of the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan (Philadelphia, 1899), vol. 3 plate 11. 1 New York City Department of Taxes Photograph Collection, Municipal Archives and Record Collection, E 1295.