227 Riverside Drive, AKA 340 West 95th Street

227 Riverside Drive, AKA 340 West 95th Street

NB Number: NB 567-1897

Type:  Apartment Building

Architect:  John Wooley

Developer/Owner/Builder: Bingham Brothers

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:   Gray Brick, Limestone, and Terra Cotta

Stories: 7

Window Type/Material: One-over-one/Wood

Structure: This seven story apartment building is located on a lot at the southeast corner of Riverside Drive and West 95th street, which extends approximately seventy-six feet along the drive and ninety feet along the street. It is clad in narrow gauge gray brick laid in common bond with limestone and terra cotta trim. The Riverside Drive facade is constructed with a slight curve to conform to the line of the drive.

Riverside Drive Facade: This facade is divided horizontally into a one story base, a four story midsection set off by a transitional second story, and a one story top. The entrance, located in the center of the rusticated limestone base, is reached by four steps and is flanked by engaged fluted columns, narrow windows, and pilasters supporting a projecting entablature. There are three window bays to the south of the entrance and one to the north. The original one-over-one wood sash windows are intact. The facade curves at the northern corner to form a projecting bay with three window openings per story. The second story is faced in gray brick banded with decorative terra cotta, and has three bays in the center surmounted by a wide projecting triangular pediment with acroteria. The three center openings of stories three through six are flanked by projecting bowed bays; stories four and six have bay openings framed by engaged stone columns with diagonal banding and crowned by blind balustrades. The seventh story has terra-cotta banding ornamented with a wave pattern. The building is surmounted by a projecting bracketed metal cornice.

West 95th Street Facade: This facade, with nine window bays per story east of the projecting corner bay, continues the same overall design and articulation of detail as the Riverside Drive facade. The eastern half of the facade has an areaway enclosed by a wrought iron fence with stone posts. The bowed bay at the eastern end of the facade is spanned by a fire escape. The metal cornice extends beyond the eastern building line.

Eastern Elevation: An alleyway separates the eastern elevation from the neighboring building. Faced in red brick with a return of the West 95th Street facade, it has six window openings per story.

Historic District: Riverside Drive- West End HD

Alterations: The basement and steps are painted brown. The entrance has a recent aluminum and glass door, and the flanking window bay to the north has been sealed. The cornice is painted green. The alleyway adjacent to the eastern elevation is enclosed by a recent wrought iron gate.

History: Erected in 1897-98 for the Binqham Brothers, Avalon Hall was designed by John Woolley, architect of the neighboring building at 224 Riverside Drive for which a similar narrow-gauge brick was used. This apartment building was formerly known as the Hudson. Selected References: George Bromley, Atlas of the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan (Philadelphia, 1899), vol. 3 plate 11. “Riverside Apartment House, Southeast Corner of Riverside Drive and 95th,” Architecture & Building 27 (Dec. 25, 1897), 27.