310 Riverside Drive (Master Building)

310 Riverside Drive: Master Building

Date:  1928-1929

NB Number: NB 24-1928

Borough of Manhattan Tax Map Information: Block 1890, Lot 40

Type:  Apartment Hotel

Architect/Builder:  Corbett, Harvey Wiley of the firm Helmle, Corbett & Harrison, with Sugarman & Berger, associated architects

Developer/Owner/Builder:  Louis L. Horch / Master Building, Inc.

NYC Landmarks Designation:  Individual Landmark

Landmark Designation Report:  Master Building Designation Report & Riverside Drive– West End Historic District Extension II

Primary Style:  Art Deco

Primary Facade:   Brick and Terra Cotta

Stories:  29 with 3 story wing

Window Type:  One-over-one

Structure:  Steel frame construction

Significant Architectural Features: Ironspot brick facade graded in color from deep purple at the base to light grey at the tower; Lower two stories of building, where the museum was originally housed, differentiated from apartment tower above by over-scale entrances
centered on both street facades, as well as by the omission of windows at the corners; primary entrance features paired glass doors framed by a glass transom and sidelights; cantilevered metal canopies extend above the entrances and openings above the canopies are filled with large, tripartite transom windows with blue leaded glass sidelights; a set of metal service doors and two pairs of paneled glass doors provide access to the theater at the eastern end of West 103rd Street facade; original wrought-iron grillwork remains in situ at the first-story windows and at a window above the main theater entrance; patterned brick panels created by header coursing with projecting bricks above the secondary doors and in some of the second-story window openings on the 103rd Street facade; upper stories feature corner windows and vertical bands of window openings with patterned brick spandrels; original metal one-over-one sash; original corner windows had metal folding casement sash and a few of these remain (most replaced with Chicago-style windows); setbacks above 14th story feature irregular and faceted massing, with angled corners and terrace creating a building-block apperance; parapets with corbelled brick bands are finished with terra-cotta cresting at the set-back upper stories; two-part octagonal tower with ornamental cap rises above irregularly massed setback stories

Building Notes: Individual landmark designated December 5, 1989 (LP-1661)

Notable History and Residents: Originally incorporated the Nicholas Roerich Museum–including galleries, library, and auditorium–on the ground floor; later housed the Riverside Museum, an art school, the Master Institute of United Arts, and the Library Theater

South Facade: Designed (historic)
Door(s): Historic primary door
Windows: Mixed
Security Grilles: Historic (upper stories)
Sidewalk Material(s): Concrete
Curb Material(s): Granite

West Facade: Designed (historic)
Facade Notes: Similar to West 103rd Street facade; Riverside Drive entrance, approached by steps, features glass doors in the reveals of the recessed entrance alcove, perpendicular to the glass window wall at the top of the steps; three-story northern wing, originally a restaurant, features wide opening retaining original design elements, although metal panels cover the windows and the leaded glass sidelights that surround the central door

North Facade: Designed (historic) (partially visible)
Facade Notes: Fully articulated side facade, similar to primary facades, above adjoining building

East Facade: Designed (historic) (partially visible)
Facade Notes: Fully articulated side facade, similar to primary facades, above adjoining building