19 West 105th Street
19 West 105th StreetÂ
(aka 19-37 West 105th Street)
Date:Â 1916-17
NB Number:Â NB 301-1916
Type: Â Apartment Building and X-ray Laboratory
Architect: Â Hornbostel & Jones
Developer/Owner/Builder: General Memorial Hospital (owner)
NYC Landmarks Designation:Â Historic District
Landmark Designation Report: Manhattan Avenue Historic District
Use:Â X-ray laboratory (original); Apartment building (current)
National Register Designation: N/A
Primary Style: Â Neo-Gothic
Primary Facade: Â Â Brick, Cast Stone, and Sandstone
Stories:Â 3 and basement
Historic District: Manhattan Avenue HD
History:Â Construction of this $35,000 structure began in November 1916 and was completed in September 1917. Originally constructed as an x-ray laboratory for the hospital, in terms of scale and materials, 19 West 105th Street was apparently designed to complement both the hospital and the row houses situated to west. The building was designed by architects Palmer, Hornbostel & Jones, a firm founded by William J. Palmer in the 1890s whose partners included Henry Hornbostel and Sullivan W. Jones. This prolific firm worked frequently with public institutions during the years when the lab was planned, building city halls in Oakland, California (1910), Wilmington, Delaware (1911), Hartford, Connecticut (1917) and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1910), where Hornbostel lived and taught at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. The structure was converted in 1957 into an apartment building.
Description of 105th Street facade: Brick facade; two stone bands, one flat against facade, the other angled, at water table; clipped corners beginning at triangular stone blocks above water table; two vertical courses of dog-toothed brick capped by spherical stone finials with foliate motif at clipped corners; three double-hung windows at basement with narrow, chamfered stone surrounds and angle projecting stone sills; double-height central bay at second and third stories featuring stone Gibbs surround with flat top rail at third story and angled projecting sill at second story; tripartite windows at second and third stories of central bay featuring recessed double-hung sashes and transoms separated by chamfered stone mullions; three inset cast stone panels featuring geometric diamond details between second and third stories of central bay; molded stone band at second story abutting top rail of central bay, wrapping around clipped corners and continuing on east facade; third story recessed from rest of facade beginning at angled stone coping of second story; tripartite fenestration at third story featuring a shorter, double-hung central window with stone sill, and paired double-hung outer windows, one taller, one shorter with stone sill; three inset cast stone panels featuring geometric details and separated by stone mullions beneath third story fenestration; molded stone coping at roofline continuous with east facade; four conical finials at roofline; possibly historic security grilles at basement; possibly historic ironwork at areaway; stone curb at areaway
Alterations to 105th Street facade: facade repointed; non-original windows and sashes; second and third stories possibly originally featured casement windows with transoms at second story; portions of cast stone panels at third story removed to accommodate non-historic taller windows for use with fire escape; stone mullions at third story fenestration removed; security grilles at shorter third story windows; single-story brick and concrete addition at basement set back from street wall of West 105th Street, featuring brick facade, two doorways, lighter colored brick accents, a recessed brick panel, and projecting brick soldier courses; tiled concrete stairway with iron handrails leading to below-grade entrances at addition; non-historic gate at stairway; security camera at main facade; signage, lighting, conduit and intercom at addition)
Description of the east facade: Five bays; brick facade; paired fenestration at basement with narrow, chamfered stone surround and angled projecting stone sill; double-height bays at second and third stories featuring stone Gibbs surrounds with flat top rails and angled projecting sills; paired window configurations, featuring recessed double-hung windows with transoms at second and third stories of each bay; recessed brick panels with flush stone surrounds between second story lintels and third story sills of each bay; molded stone band at second story abutting top rail of bays, wrapping around clipped corners and continuing on West 105th Street facade; third story recessed from rest of facade beginning at angled stone coping of second story; paired double-hung windows at third story with projecting brick soldier course sills; molded stone coping at roofline continuous with West 105th Street facade; possibly historic security grille at basement
Alterations to the east facade: Fire escape at central bay; security grilles at first story; majority of basement obscured by single-story brick and concrete addition at basement featuring unfinished facade facing east, mostly hidden by wall of neighboring property)