266 West 91st Street

266 West 91st Street

NB Number: NB 1039-1896

Type:  Rowhouse

Architect:  Welch, Alexander M.

Developer/Owner/Builder: James Frame

Row Configuration: ABCDCBA

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 and Roman Brick

Stories: 4

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

Basement Type: High

Stoop Type: Unknown

Structure: These seven four story houses were designed as a row, with the end houses (No. 258 and No. 270) projecting slightly to serve as pavilions to the five center houses (Nos. 260, 262, 264, 266 and 268). The houses are each eighteen feet wide, except No. 260 which is seventeen feet. Each house has a smooth ashlar limestone base, while the upper stories are of beige Roman brick. There are four different facade configurations in the row which form a symmetrical rhythm consisting of ABCDCBA. The two end building, Nos. 258 and 270, have squared projecting end pavilions with the main entrances within the projection. Nos. 260 and 268 have three story bow fronts while Nos. 262 and 266 have three sided oriels with limestone surrounds at the third story. No. 264 has a three story bow front east of the stoop. The original windows were one-over-one double-hung wood sash which remain in some of the windows. Original wrought iron grilles remain on most of the basement, cellar and first story windows, while several original wrought iron fences front the areaways.

The C type houses, Nos. 262 and 266, were designed with stoops above high basements and are not of the American basement type. All three retain their original oak and glass double doors opening onto the stoops. Basement entrances are placed under the stoop. Nos. 262 and 266 have three-sided oriels carried on corbel brackets on the third story. At the fourth story the arches of the three window openings are carried on colonnettes. Roof cornices with swags link the those houses with the center house.

Historic District: Riverside Drive- West End HD

Alterations: he limestone at ground level has been painted a limestone color. New wrought-iron grilles are found at the second, third, and fourth story windows. A new wrought iron baluster leads to the recessed basement area. Recent light fixtures are placed at the main door and 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 259-271 West 90th 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; G 2032.