180-185 Riverside Drive, AKA 327-337 West 90th Street
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180-185 Riverside Drive
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Date:Â 1921-1922
NB Number:Â NB 313-1921
Type: Â Apartment Building
Architect: Â Schwartz & Gross
Developer/Owner/Builder:Â West 90th Street Realty Corporation
NYC Landmarks Designation:Â Historic District
Landmark Designation Report:Riverside Drive- West End Historic District
National Register Designation:Â N/A
Primary Style: Â Neo-Georgian
Primary Facade: Â Â Red Brick, Stone, and Terra Cotta
Stories:Â 13
Window Type/Material:Â Six-over-six/Wood (see Alterations)
Structure:Â Â This thirteen story apartment building is located on a lot at the southeast corner of Riverside Drive and West 90th Street which extends approximately 139 feet along Riverside Drive and 160 feet along West 90th Street. In plan the building is organized around a central courtyard. A series of light courts divide the eastern and northern elevations into several wings. The building is clad in scored red brick laid in English bond with contrasting stone and terra cotta trim. The Riverside Drive facade is constructed with a gradual concave curve that conforms to the line of the drive. The southwest corner of the building is chamfered, creating a one bay angled profile. The building is lined at the sidewalk level by a shallow shrub bed.
Riverside Drive Facade: The three story base, seven story midsection, and three story top of this facade are articulated by paired window bays at each end with seven tripartite bays in between. Above a high stone water table, the base features double height, basket arched stone bay enframements. Approximately one third of the original six-over-six wood sash windows (painted white) are extant at the base of the building. The fourth story bays have paneled terra cotta lintels with festoons. The tenth story is capped by a stringcourse, above which double height arched bay enframements of buff colored terra cotta articulate the eleventh and twelfth stories. The thirteenth story, featuring terra cotta window surrounds, is surmounted by a modillioned cornice.
West 90th Street Facade: This facade, ten bays wide, features the same overall design and articulation of detail as the Riverside Drive facade. The main entrance to the building is located in the fifth bay from the west. The stone entrance enframement is composed of fluted pilasters supporting a frieze and a modillioned cornice. An iron railing with a diagonal pattern surmounts the cornice. The paired wood framed multi pane doors with a glazed transom have a natural finish. Classically inspired iron and glass lanterns flank the doorway.
Eastern Elevation: An alleyway/driveway with an iron gate separates the eastern elevation from the neighboring building. The elevation is red brick and has no significant architectural features. The visible portion of the wall contains five bays; the wall steps back at the north end to a rectangular light court. A fire escape is suspended from the wall.
Historic District: Riverside Drive- West End HD
Alterations: The majority of the original wood-framed six-over-six sash windows have been replaced by white one-over-one aluminum windows on both facades. The stone water table is painted off white. Iron balconies at the second story probably replaced more ornate balconies with railings such as those found above the entrance, which is covered by a recent red canopy. Patch repointing of the brickwork is evident at the northern end of the Riverside Drive facade between the sixth and seventh stories and at the eleventh story.
History:Â Built in 1921-22 for the West 90th Street Realty Corporation, 180 Riverside Drive was designed by the prolific New York architectural firm of Schwartz & Gross. This apartment building was constructed on the site formerly occupied by the John H. Matthews Mansion, built in 1891 and designed by Lamb & Rich. Matthews was a successful soda water merchant during the late nineteenth century. Selected References: M. Christine Boyer, Manhattan Manners (New York, 1985), 210. 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.