337 Riverside Drive

337 Riverside Drive (River Mansion)

Date: 1900-02

Type:  Mansion and Townhouse

Architect:  Kohn, Robert D.

Developer/Owner/Builder: Stewart & H. I. Smith (builders), John Mace Music School (current occupant)

NYC Landmarks Designation:  Historic District

Landmark Designation Report: Riverside Drive- West 105^th Street Historic District

National Register Designation: N/A

Primary Style:  Undetermined

Primary Facade:   Brick, dark red brick, Limestone, and Red Brick

Description:  Now used as the John Mace Music School, River Mansion (the name is inscribed over the entrance) is constructed of dark red Flemish bond brickwork with limestone trim. The mansion consists of three bays on Riverside Drive and has three widely spaced bays on West 106th Street, where, the central entrance is flanked by elaborately carved, banded columns inspired by late 16th century French architecture. The entrance porch is surmounted by a high window with a cornice carried on console brackets crowned by two small lions’ heads. As at No. 330 Riverside Drive, ornament is confined to limited areas. A strong horizontal band-course forms the top of the stone English basement which is thus set off as a podium. In the two outer bays, tall arched limestone frames rise from the podium and enclose the second and third floor windows. These give a vertically to the facade which suggests a kinship with the 1890s Art Nouveau buildings of Brussels. There are simple metal-sheathed dormers in the roof. The original, tall, spiked iron fence still surrounds the property on both 106th Street and Riverside Drive, where the elevation is similar to the main facade.

Historic District: Riverside Drive-West 105th Street HD