313 West 91st Street

313 West 91st Street

 

Date: 1896-97

NB Number: 55-1896

Type:  Rowhouse

Architect:  True, Clarence

Developer/Owner/Builder: Smith & Stewart

Row Configuration: ABCBDBC

NYC Landmarks Designation:  Historic District

Landmark Designation Report:  Riverside Drive- West End Historic District

National Register Designation: N/A

Primary Style:  

Primary Facade:   Limestone and Roman Brick

Stories: 4 1/2

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

Basement Type: American

Stoop Type: Low

Roof Type/Material: Mansard/Tile

Structure:  These seven, four and a half-story houses were designed as a row and are unified by rusticated limestone ground stories, common cornice, roof and sill lines, mansard roofs, originally covered with tile (still present at No. 309), and roof dormers with swan’s neck pediments. Parapets with chimneys mark the divisions between the houses at the roofline. The historic windows are one-over-one double-hung wood sash and most original wrought-iron grilles survive covering the first story windows, service doors and cellar windows. Each house, designed with an American basement, is twenty-five feet wide. The facades are arranged in an asymmetrical rhythm of ABCBDBC (from east to west).

The B type houses, Nos. 305, 309 and 313, have three sided projecting bays extending from the ground story through the third story. The ground and fourth stories are faced with smooth rusticated limestone, while the second and third stories are faced with beige Roman brick with limestone quoins. The three tall pairs of windows flanked by carved pilasters at the second story are capped by large carved limestone lunettes. The asymmetrically placed main entrance, flanked by pilasters, is approached by a low bay stoop with balustrade.

Historic District: Riverside Drive- West End HD

Alterations: The limestone facing at ground level has been painted cream. The entrance door is a glass and aluminum replacement. Two recent light fixtures are placed at the door. The balustrade above the ground level has been blocked in. A new wrought iron grille has been placed over the dormer window to the west. The roof is covered with black asphalt shingles.

History: This row of seven houses was designed by the prolific Upper West Side architect Clarence True, and built in 1896-1897 by developers Smith & Stewart. Selected Reference: New York City Department of Taxes Photograph Collection, Municipal Archives and Record Collection, C 734.

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