254 West 93rd Street

254 West 93rd Street

NB Number: NB 177-1893

Type:  Rowhouse

Architect:  Gilbert, C.P.H.

Developer/Owner/Builder: City Real Estate Co

Row Configuration: ABB

NYC Landmarks Designation:  Historic District

Landmark Designation Report:   Riverside Drive- West End Historic District

National Register Designation: N/A

Primary Style:  Beaux-Arts

Primary Facade:   ashlar, Limestone, and Roman Brick

Stories: 5

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

Basement Type: American

Stoop Type: Low

Structure:  These three, five story houses were designed as part of a row of seven. The three houses are faced with smooth ashlar limestone at the ground stories 241 West 93rd Street Between Broadway and West End Avenue (South Side) continuation of….. 254, 256, 258 West 93rd Street and Roman brick and limestone at the upper stories. Nos. 254 and 258 are each seventeen feet wide while No. 256 is eighteen feet wide. Each house is of the American basement type with an asymmetrically-placed entrance approached by a low stoop, and they share common roof, sill and string course lines and their cornices and carved decorative elements are identical. The two different facade configurations form a pattern of ABB (from east to west). The historic windows are one-over-one double-hung wood sash which remain in most windows in the row. Two of the three houses retain decorative wrought-iron grilles on the ground story windows. The A type house, No. 254, is distinguished by its flush facade, balustraded tripartite window at the second story, and bulls-eye windows at the fifth story flanked by ornate panels. The eastern wall, which is partially visible, has no distinctive architectural features.

Historic District: Riverside Drive- West End HD

Alterations: The first story, and a portion of the second story, have been painted gray, and the rest of the house has been painted cream. A glass and wood entrance door with sidelights and transom is a replacement. A new wrought iron fence fronts the areaway, and a recent light fixture is placed at the door.

History: These three houses (Nos. 254-258), designed by C.P.H. Gilbert, were built in 1893 as part of a row of seven. Two houses at each end of the row, Nos. 250, 252, 260 and 262, were later demolished. Nos. 260 and 262 were demolished for the construction of the apartment building at 670-678 West End Avenue in 1925-1927. The commercial building at the corner of Broadway and West 93rd Street replaced Nos. 250 and 252. Selected Reference: New York City Department of Taxes Photograph Collection, Municipal Archives and Record Collection, G 2032.