670-678 West End Avenue, AKA 260-270 West 93rd Street

670-678 West End Avenue, AKA 260-270 West 93rd Street

NB Number: NB 690-1925

Type:  Apartment Building

Architect:  Blum, George and Edward

Developer/Owner/Builder: Samidor Realty Company, Inc

NYC Landmarks Designation:  Historic District

Landmark Designation Report: Riverside Drive- West End Historic District

National Register Designation: N/A

Primary Style:  Neo-Renaissance

Primary Facade:   Buff brick, Stone, and Terra Cotta

Stories: 15 with basement

Structure:  This apartment building, of fifteen stories with a basement, is located on a lot at the southeast corner of West End Avenue and West 93rd Street which extends approximately 101 feet along the avenue and 154 feet along the street. The building is U shaped in plan, with a courtyard opening to the south. It is faced in buff colored brick laid in common bond with contrasting stone and terra cotta trim.

West End Avenue Facade: This facade is divided horizontally into a three story base, a nine story midsection, and a three story top. Each story is articulated by fourteen window bays arranged in pairs, with a slit window between the windows of the third pair from the southern end. The original window type is six-over-one wood sash. The windows all have notched terra cotta sills. Above a terra cotta frieze at the fourth story, the center bays are slightly recessed. The four end bays at the fifth and fifteenth stories have arched openings. Stories thirteen through fifteen are enhanced at each end by triple height terra cotta surrounds terminating in arches reminiscent of Gothic plate tracery. The building is surmounted by a parapet with sculpted terra cotta coping.

West 93rd Street Facade: This facade, ten bays wide, continues the same overall design and articulation of detail as the West End Avenue facade. Located in the fifth bay from the east is the entrance to the building, set into a double height arched stone surround with carved foliate ornament containing paired glass doors with intricate wrought iron grilles and paired arched windows with multi pane sash at the second story. The third bay from the eastern end and the fourth bay from the western end contain paneled arched wood doors; the western door has a glass transom.

Eastern Elevation: An alleyway enclosed by a wrought-iron gate separates the eastern elevation from the neighboring building. Faced in yellow brick with buff-colored brick returns, it contains six window bays per story.

Historic District: Riverside Drive- West End HD

Alterations: Approximately seventy percent of the original windows (painted brown) are extant, the remainder replaced with one-over-one aluminum sash. Many windows have exterior storm sash and screens. The basement and entrance surround have been painted light gray. The wood doors and wrought iron trim of the West 93rd Street facade have been painted black.

History: Built in 1925-27 for the Samidor Realty Company, Inc., this apartment building was designed by the noted architectural firm of George & Edward Blum. It was constructed on the site of eleven brick-fronted rowhouses of five stories each. Selected References: American Apartment Houses of Today (New York, 1926), 9. George Bromley, Atlas of the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan (Philadelphia, 1899), vol. 3 plate 11. New York City Department of Taxes Photograph Collection, Municipal Archives and Record Collection, G 2042.