265 West 90th Street
265 West 90th Street
NB Number: NB 1039-1896
Type: Rowhouse
Architect: Welch, Alexander M.
Developer/Owner/Builder: James Frame
Row Configuration: ABCCCBA
NYC Landmarks Designation: Historic District
Landmark Designation Report: Riverside Drive- West End Historic District
National Register Designation: N/A
Primary Style: Renaissance Revival
Primary Facade: Limestone
Stories: 4
Window Type/Material: One-over-one double-hung/Wood
Basement Type: Raised
Structure: These seven four story houses were designed as a row, with the end houses (No. 259 and No. 271) projecting slightly to serve as pavilions to the five center houses (Nos. 261, 263, 265, 267, 269). The houses are each eighteen feet wide, except for No. 261 which is seventeen feet. Each house has a smooth, ashlar limestone base, while the upper stories are of beige Roman brick. There are three different facade configurations in the row which form a symmetrical rhythm consisting of ABCCCBA. The two end buildings, Nos. 259 and 271, have squared projecting end pavilions with the main entrances within the projections. Nos. 261 and 269 have three-story bow fronts while Nos. 263, 265 and 267 have oriels with limestone surrounds at the third story. The historic windows are one-over-one double-hung wood sash which remain in most windows of all but one house in this group. Many of the houses retain decorative wrought iron grilles on the ground story windows. Original wrought iron areaway fences remain at Nos. 259, 265, 267 and 269. The A type houses, Nos. 259 and 271, are of the American basement type with the entrance approached by a low stoop and flanked by fluted Doric pilasters. Upper story windows are accented by limestone detail contrasting with the brick wall surfaces. At the fourth story limestone bands alternate with the brickwork. A modillioned cornice links these end buildings with those of the B type. The side wall of No. 259 is visible and is of common bond brick.
The C type houses, Nos. 263, 265 and 267, were designed with stoops above high basements and are not of the American basement type. No. 263 is the only one to retain a stoop; there is a basement entrance under the stoop. No. 263 retains its original entrance with double doors. The third story oriel of the central house is bowed while the other two are three sided. At the fourth story terra-cotta panels with torch designs flank the window openings. A continuous roof cornice with rosettes links the three houses.
Historic District: Riverside Drive- West End HD
Alterations: The stoop has been removed and the parlor floor entrance now contains a double-hung wood window. The basement entrance replaces the original stoop. The basement level is painted a limestone color. At the three upper stories all window openings have storm windows except for the central window in the oriel. One recent light fixture is above the basement door.
History: These houses were designed as a row of seven (and part of a through block development of fourteen houses) by architect Alexander M. Welch for the developer James A. Frame who had been in business in New York since 1868. Frame worked with his son William H. Frame beginning in 1890, and their firm, known as James A. Frame & Son, was “… regarded as one of the most substantial and of the best type.” These buildings, constructed in 1896-97, were built in conjunction with the row at 258-270 West 91st Street. Both rows were constructed on the same New Building permit. Selected References: History of Real Estate, Building and Architecture in New York City (1898, rpt. New York, 1967), 223. New York City Department of Taxes Photograph Collection, Municipal Archives and Record Collection, G 2031.