639 West End Avenue, AKA 301 West 91st Street

639 West End Avenue

NB Number: NB 448-1926

Type:  Apartment Building

Architect:  Gronenberg & Leuchtag

Developer/Owner/Builder: 639 West End Avenue Corporation

NYC Landmarks Designation:  Historic District

Landmark Designation Report:Riverside Drive- West End Historic District

National Register Designation: N/A

Primary Style:  Neo-Renaissance

Primary Facade:   Buff brick, Limestone, and Terra Cotta

Stories: 15 and basement

Window Type/Material: Six-over-six/Wood

Basement Type: Unknown

Roof Type/Material: Pitched/Tile

Structure:  This apartment building, of fifteen stories with a basement, is located on a lot at the northwest corner of West End Avenue and West 91st Street which extends approximately sixty-five feet along the avenue and 100 feet along the street. In plan the building is arranged around an interior court which opens to the north. It is faced in buff-colored brick laid in common bond with limestone and yellow terra cotta trim.

West End Avenue Facade: This facade is divided horizontally into a three story base, a nine story midsection, and a three story top. Above a low granite water table, the first story is faced in stone. The central entrance is flanked by single bays with paired bays at each end. It is flanked by two metal and yellow glass lanterns and set into an arched enframement with Norman style moldings, small capitals, archivolts, and carved panels. Above, the facade is faced in brick and articulated by four center bays, paired window bays at each end, and a slit window next to the northern end bay. The original window type is six-over-six wood sash. The second and third stories, capped by a cornice, are framed by terra cotta quoins; a decorative engaged colonnette at each corner has Norman style ornament. The center bays of the third story are crowned by terra cotta lintels, and the paired end bays are grouped within double-height terra cotta arched enframements. Fourth story windows have terra cotta surrounds and a terra cotta balcony spans the two center bays at the ninth story. The thirteenth story has balconies at each end which intersect a belt course punctuated by balustrades at the windows. The end bays of the thirteenth and fourteenth stories are articulated like those at the base, and the center bays of the fourteenth story are arched and have ornate terra cotta tympanums. The facade is capped by a parapet with an arched corbel table and a narrow cornice. The building has a one story penthouse with a pitched red tile roof.

West 91st Street Facade: This facade features the same overall design and articulation of detail as the West End Avenue facade, expanded to ten bays.

Northern Elevation: The elevation, which is divided into two wings by a light court, is faced in buff-colored brick and contains one window opening per story at the eastern end.

Western Elevation: An alleyway with an iron railing separates the western elevation from the neighboring building. The elevation is faced in buff colored brick and has four (visible) window openings per story.

Historic District: Riverside Drive- West End HD

Alterations:  Approximately seventy-five percent of the original windows (painted brown) survive; the remainder have been replaced with one-over-one aluminum sash. The penthouse has been painted white with green brackets supporting the roof. The stone base has been painted gray. The entrance doors have been replaced with paired glass and aluminum doors, shielded by a green canopy.

History: Built in 1926-27 for the 639 West End Avenue Corporation, this apartment building was designed by the architectural firm of Gronenberg & Leuchtag. Sources indicate that it was constructed on the site of the Arbutus, a brick-faced apartment-hotel of seven stories with a basement. Selected References: George Bromley, Atlas of the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan (Philadelphia, 1899), vol. 3 plate 11. New York City Department of Taxes Photograph Collection, Municipal Archives and Record Collection, C 734.