194 Riverside Drive, AKA 316-320 West 92nd Street
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194 Riverside Drive
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Date:Â 1902
NB Number:Â NB 169-1901
Type: Â Apartment Building
Architect: Â Townsend, Ralph S.
Developer/Owner/Builder:Â Charles Lowen Company
NYC Landmarks Designation:Â Historic District
Landmark Designation Report:Riverside Drive- West End Historic District
National Register Designation:Â N/A
Primary Style: Â Beaux-Arts
Primary Facade: Â Â Buff brick, Stone, and Terra Cotta
Stories:Â 7
Window Type/Material:Â See Structure/Alterations
Structure:Â Â This seven story apartment building is located on a lot at the southeast corner of Riverside Drive and West 92nd Street which extends 114 feet along the drive and 125 feet along the street. In plan the building is organized into four wings which flank narrow light courts opening to the west, north, and south. It is clad in buff colored brick laid in common bond with contrasting stone and terra cotta trim. The building is lined at the sidewalk level by a decorative wrought iron fence. The rounded corner bays and elaborate ornamental detail make this a prominent building on Riverside Drive.
Riverside Drive Facade: A two story base, five story midsection, and crowning cornice articulate this facade which is separated by a light court into two wings that are united by a one story pavilion encompassing the elaborate main entrance. The entrance contains the original paired glass and wrought iron doors with sidelights and transoms, set into a stone enframement and flanked by stained glass windows in the original wood sash. The entryway is recessed behind a portico of four polished granite columns with Ionic capitals supporting a stone entablature crowned by a balustrade. The southern wing of the facade contains four bays per story. The first two stories are faced in brick banded in stone; consoles flank the center openings of the second story, supporting a stone balcony. Stories three through seven, faced in buff colored brick, are enhanced by stone quoins, classically inspired terra cotta window surrounds, and beltcourses. The facade is crowned by a metal cornice supporting a balustrade. The northern wing, meeting the light court with a chamfered corner, has six window openings per story and is a mirror-image of the southern wing. The walls of the courtyard are less detailed.
West 92nd Street Facade: This facade, eleven bays wide and divided into two wings of different dimensions by a light court, features the same overall design and articulation of detail as the Riverside Drive facade. The western wing contains seven bays per story with a fire escape located in the first bay from the curved western corner. The light court, with,chamfered corners, has an ornate fire escape on the west side and contains seven window openings with stone lintels and splayed keystones per story. The eastern wing, with a projecting curved bay at the eastern end, contains four openings per story.
Eastern Elevation: The eastern elevation, visible above the adjacent five-story building, is faced in non-ornamented red brick.
Southern Elevation: A wide alleyway separates the southern elevation from the neighboring building. A narrow light court divides the elevation into two wings. Each story contains eleven window openings, with a fire escape adjacent to the Riverside Drive facade. Two projecting bays, one on each wing, are sheathed in metal with three window openings per story, and rise from the first story to the seventh.
Historic District: Riverside Drive- West End HD
Alterations: Except for the stained-glass windows flanking the entrance (painted brown), the original windows have been replaced by dark gray one-over-one aluminum sash. The projecting bays of the southern elevation and the metal cornice are painted off-white. Patch repointing of the brickwork is evident at the parapet level of the eastern elevation.
History:Â Built in 1901-02 for the Charles Lowen Company, 194 Riverside Drive was designed by the prolific New York architect Ralph Samuel Townsend. Local folklore has it that Townsend lived on a boat offshore in the Hudson River while this building, his first major project, was constructed. This apartment building was constructed on the site of five brick faced rowhouses. The wide alleyway at the south side of the building is the remnant of a path or lane that once led from the old Bloomingdale Road (slightly off line with Broadway) to Twelfth Avenue. It separated the farms of Brouckholst Livingston to the south and R.L. Schieffelin to the north. 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. Peter Salwen, Upper West Side Story: A History & Guide (New York, 1989), 321.