560 West End Avenue, AKA 277 West 87th Street
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560 West End Avenue
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Date:Â 1889-1990
NB Number:Â NB 1124-1990
Type: Â Rowhouse
Architect: Â Taft, Joseph H.
Developer/Owner/Builder:Â W E D Stokes
NYC Landmarks Designation:Â Historic District
Landmark Designation Report:Riverside Drive- West End Historic District
National Register Designation:Â N/A
Primary Style: Â Flemish Revival
Primary Facade: Â Â Brownstone and Red Brick
Stories:Â 4
Window Type/Material:Â See Alterations
Basement Type:Â Raised
Stoop Type:Â Unknown
Roof Type/Material:Â Pitched/Slate
Structure:Â Â This red brick and brownstone fronted house is four stories above a raised basement. The quarry faced brownstone basement and parlor stories cover almost the full 23′ x 100′ lot, and terminate in a three-sided bay at the east side of of the house’s southern facade, from which the brick-faced upper stories are recessed approximately twenty feet. The building is surmounted by a steeply pitched slate-tile roof.
West End Avenue Facade: The narrow West End Avenue facade is articulated by by a three-sided bay at the basement and first story, and is surmounted at the roof by a dormer with copper Dutch gable and a turret with a bell shaped roof at the southwestern corner of the building. Brownstone stringcourses run above the parlor and third stories and continue across the West 87th Street facade. The decorative spandrel panel between the windows of the second and third stories, the carved dormer surround, and the fascia are also repeated on the southern facade. In addition to the gables, copper was used for the finials on the turret roofs, the cresting along the roof and dormer ridges, and the gutters. The original windows probably had wood framed one-over-one double-hung sash.
West 87th Street Facade: This facade has the main entrance to the house. The three bays of this facade terminate in dormers at the roof; the two end dormers have copper Dutch gables. A turret with bell-shaped roof articulates the eastern bay above the extended basement and parlor stories.
Eastern Elevation: Visible above the extended basement and parlor stories, the red brick eastern elevation shares the turret with the West 87th Street facade and, adjacent to the northern lot line, has a door at the third story and single double-hung window at both the fourth and fifth stories.
Historic District: Riverside Drive- West End HD
Alterations: The stoop and entrance porch on West 87th Street were removed in 1919 and a basement entranceway with a molded surround created. The original parlor story entrance has been replaced by windows. The basement story and the sills of the western bays of the parlor story have been painted white. One-over-one aluminum replacement sash has been installed in the third and fourth stories of the western turret. Storm windows have been added on both facades to some of the second-story windows. The iron fences which surround the areaway and top the projecting eastern bay are not original. The skylight between the western and center bays of the West 87th Street facade is not original. 1919: Alt 1489-1919 (Source: Alteration Application) The entrance porch was removed and a new ground story entrance constructed when the house was converted from a single family dwelling to twelve apartments. Architects — L. Allen Ebling & Hugo E. Magnuson; Owner — Martha A. Wittnau
History:Â This house is the sole survivor of a five house row which originally extended from No. 560 to No. 568 West End Avenue, designed for the renowned West Side developer, W.E.D. Stokes, by his architect, Joseph H. Taft, and built in 1889-90. Nos. 562 through 568 were demolished in 1912, and a twelve story apartment building constructed on their sites. In 1919, No. 560 was converted from a single family residence to twelve apartments. Selected References: New York City Department of Taxes Photograph Collection, Municipal Archives and Record Collection, G 0042. Lori Zabar, “The Influence of W.E.D. Stokes’ Real Estate Career on West Side Development,” Master’s Thesis, Columbia University, 1977, 19.