Rowhouses at 322–344 East 69th Street
Encyclopedia
The 12 rowhouses at 322–344 East 69th Street are located on the south side of that street between First
and Second
avenues on the Upper East Side
of the New York City
borough
of Manhattan
. They are Neo-Grec
brownstone
structures built around 1879, in two sets designed by different architects.
Together they constitute one of few remaining areas of low-rise rowhouse development in a neighborhood where many such houses have been demolished in favor of high-rises. In 1984 they were recognized as a historic district
and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
s, some of which have been painted. Their raised rusticated
basements all have segmental-arched windows and stoop
s leading to the main entrance. The stoops lead to double-doored main entrances flanked by narrow parlor windows. At the flat rooflines are galvanized
iron cornice
s with dentils and angular bracket
s.
There are distinctions between the western six houses (Nos. 322–332) and the eastern six (334–344), built after the first two, primarily in the door and window enframements. The main entrances of the former group have slab lintels on stylized brackets with the flanking windows having simple lip lintels and sills on corbel
s similar to the entrance brackets. The upper windows have sills on simpler corbels.
The eastern houses have more elaborate enframements. Their main entrances are enframed with deep lintels on angular brackets. The windows are fully enframed and have more complex lintels. There have been no major changes to any of these houses. Some of the dwellings have fireplaces.
At 328 East 69th, in the western row, there was the only significant addition or structural alteration to any of the houses when a garage was cut into the basement. Other houses have had doors or windows replaced. All the original cast iron
railings have been removed and replaced.
The row is in the central portion of the block, with more extensively modified rowhouses on either side leading to high-rises that anchor the block at the intersections. At the east end is the First Hungarian Reformed Church of New York
, designed by Emery Roth
and also listed on the Register. The adjacent house is owned by the church and serves as its parsonage.
On the north side of the street are higher, more modern apartment buildings. The area as a whole is high-density urban mixed use development typical of Manhattan. Talent Unlimited High School
is to the south on East 68th Street. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
and Weill Cornell Medical School two blocks to the southeast.
had been gradually developing as the economy recovered from the Panic of 1873
. In 1878, a housing boom began with the completion of the Third Avenue El, putting the neighborhood within easy commuting distance of Midtown
and Lower Manhattan
where most businesses were. The blocks to the east of Third were very quickly developed with speculative rows, which sold quickly.
At that time most were built in the Neo-Grec
architectural style
. Using forms and scale similar to the Italianate
styles popular before and during the Civil War
two decades earlier, the Neo-Grec differs in its detailing. Buildings in that style used angular, more geometric forms for their ornamentation
, as opposed to the curvilinear forms preferred on Italianate buildings. These reflect the use of early stonecutting machines, which could not yet duplicate the latter.
The buildings in the western half, Nos. 322–332, were built first. Architect Jacob Valentine designed them for builder James E. Ray in 1879. Among the many Neo-Grec rowhouses Valentine built in the area at the time, there are few survivors other than these. Ray hired William J. Smith for the eastern buildings, begun later in 1879 and completed the following year.
There have been few changes to the exteriors of the buildings. The original cast iron
railings on the stoops were replaced some time after 1945, when a photograph shows them all in place. In 1966, the basement of 328 East 69th was converted into a garage. The houses themselves have remained as newer high-rises have displaced most of the other rowhouses built in the early years of the Upper East Side, a rare surviving group of buildings from that era. But there has been substantial renovation of building interiors; for example, 342 East 69th Street has had new window
s, plumbing
, electricity, roof, floor boards, and cooling system
s.
The buildings have had huge price appreciation in the last few decades. For example, building 342 was valued at $1.1 million in 1990; in 2004 it was valued at $2.9 million; by December 2010, it was valued at $4.7 million.
Other groups of historic houses on the Upper East Side:
First Avenue (Manhattan)
First Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from Houston Street northbound for over 125 blocks before terminating at the Willis Avenue Bridge into The Bronx at the Harlem River near East 127th Street. South of Houston Street, the...
and Second
Second Avenue (Manhattan)
Second Avenue is an avenue on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan extending from Houston Street at its south end to the Harlem River Drive at 128th Street at its north end. A one-way street, vehicular traffic runs only downtown. A bicycle lane in the left hand portion from 55th...
avenues on the Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
of the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. They are Neo-Grec
Neo-Grec
Neo-Grec is a term referring to late manifestations of Neoclassicism, early Neo-Renaissance now called the Greek Revival style, which was popularized in architecture, the decorative arts, and in painting during France's Second Empire, or the reign of Napoleon III, a period that lasted...
brownstone
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
structures built around 1879, in two sets designed by different architects.
Together they constitute one of few remaining areas of low-rise rowhouse development in a neighborhood where many such houses have been demolished in favor of high-rises. In 1984 they were recognized as a historic district
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Buildings
The houses are three-story brownstoneBrownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
s, some of which have been painted. Their raised rusticated
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
basements all have segmental-arched windows and stoop
Stoop
Stoop may refer to:* Adrian Stoop , English-naturalised rugby union player* Georgie Stoop , English professional tennis player* Urban stoop, a small staircase or porch* a mild form of kyphosis...
s leading to the main entrance. The stoops lead to double-doored main entrances flanked by narrow parlor windows. At the flat rooflines are galvanized
Galvanization
Galvanization is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, in order to prevent rusting. The term is derived from the name of Italian scientist Luigi Galvani....
iron cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
s with dentils and angular bracket
Bracket (architecture)
A bracket is an architectural member made of wood, stone, or metal that overhangs a wall to support or carry weight. It may also support a statue, the spring of an arch, a beam, or a shelf. Brackets are often in the form of scrolls, and can be carved, cast, or molded. They can be entirely...
s.
There are distinctions between the western six houses (Nos. 322–332) and the eastern six (334–344), built after the first two, primarily in the door and window enframements. The main entrances of the former group have slab lintels on stylized brackets with the flanking windows having simple lip lintels and sills on corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
s similar to the entrance brackets. The upper windows have sills on simpler corbels.
The eastern houses have more elaborate enframements. Their main entrances are enframed with deep lintels on angular brackets. The windows are fully enframed and have more complex lintels. There have been no major changes to any of these houses. Some of the dwellings have fireplaces.
At 328 East 69th, in the western row, there was the only significant addition or structural alteration to any of the houses when a garage was cut into the basement. Other houses have had doors or windows replaced. All the original cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
railings have been removed and replaced.
The row is in the central portion of the block, with more extensively modified rowhouses on either side leading to high-rises that anchor the block at the intersections. At the east end is the First Hungarian Reformed Church of New York
First Hungarian Reformed Church of New York
The First Hungarian Reformed Church of New York is located on East 69th Street in the Upper East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan...
, designed by Emery Roth
Emery Roth
Emery Roth was an American architect who designed many of the definitive New York City hotels and apartment buildings of the 1920s and 30s, incorporating Beaux-Arts and Art Deco details...
and also listed on the Register. The adjacent house is owned by the church and serves as its parsonage.
On the north side of the street are higher, more modern apartment buildings. The area as a whole is high-density urban mixed use development typical of Manhattan. Talent Unlimited High School
Talent Unlimited High School
Talent Unlimited High School is a public high school of the performing arts located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is the smallest performing arts high school in New York City and has a family-like environment.-History:...
is to the south on East 68th Street. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center is a cancer treatment and research institution founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital...
and Weill Cornell Medical School two blocks to the southeast.
History
The Upper East SideUpper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
had been gradually developing as the economy recovered from the Panic of 1873
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...
. In 1878, a housing boom began with the completion of the Third Avenue El, putting the neighborhood within easy commuting distance of Midtown
Midtown
-In cities:Nepal*Midtown, Kathmandu, NepalUnited States*Midtown, Agoura Hills, California*Midtown Atlanta, Georgia**Midtown , passenger rail station near this area*Midtown Columbus, Georgia*Midtown, Detroit, Michigan...
and Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
where most businesses were. The blocks to the east of Third were very quickly developed with speculative rows, which sold quickly.
At that time most were built in the Neo-Grec
Neo-Grec
Neo-Grec is a term referring to late manifestations of Neoclassicism, early Neo-Renaissance now called the Greek Revival style, which was popularized in architecture, the decorative arts, and in painting during France's Second Empire, or the reign of Napoleon III, a period that lasted...
architectural style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
. Using forms and scale similar to the Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
styles popular before and during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
two decades earlier, the Neo-Grec differs in its detailing. Buildings in that style used angular, more geometric forms for their ornamentation
Ornament (architecture)
In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
, as opposed to the curvilinear forms preferred on Italianate buildings. These reflect the use of early stonecutting machines, which could not yet duplicate the latter.
The buildings in the western half, Nos. 322–332, were built first. Architect Jacob Valentine designed them for builder James E. Ray in 1879. Among the many Neo-Grec rowhouses Valentine built in the area at the time, there are few survivors other than these. Ray hired William J. Smith for the eastern buildings, begun later in 1879 and completed the following year.
There have been few changes to the exteriors of the buildings. The original cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
railings on the stoops were replaced some time after 1945, when a photograph shows them all in place. In 1966, the basement of 328 East 69th was converted into a garage. The houses themselves have remained as newer high-rises have displaced most of the other rowhouses built in the early years of the Upper East Side, a rare surviving group of buildings from that era. But there has been substantial renovation of building interiors; for example, 342 East 69th Street has had new window
Window
A window is a transparent or translucent opening in a wall or door that allows the passage of light and, if not closed or sealed, air and sound. Windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent material like float glass. Windows are held in place by frames, which...
s, plumbing
Plumbing
Plumbing is the system of pipes and drains installed in a building for the distribution of potable drinking water and the removal of waterborne wastes, and the skilled trade of working with pipes, tubing and plumbing fixtures in such systems. A plumber is someone who installs or repairs piping...
, electricity, roof, floor boards, and cooling system
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
s.
The buildings have had huge price appreciation in the last few decades. For example, building 342 was valued at $1.1 million in 1990; in 2004 it was valued at $2.9 million; by December 2010, it was valued at $4.7 million.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan above 59th to 110th StreetsNational Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan above 59th to 110th StreetsList of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 59th to 110th StreetsThis is intended to be a complete list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places between 59th and 110th Streets in Manhattan...
Other groups of historic houses on the Upper East Side:
- East 73rd Street Historic DistrictEast 73rd Street Historic DistrictThe East 73rd Street Historic District is a block of that street on the Upper East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is a neighborhood of small rowhouses built from the mid-19th to early 20th centuries....
- East 78th Street HousesEast 78th Street HousesThe East 78th Street Houses are a row of five attached brick houses on that street in Manhattan, New York, United States. They are the remainder of an original group of 11 built in 1861, when the area was originally being developed due to the extension of rail transit into it.As a result, they are...
- East 80th Street HousesEast 80th Street HousesThe East 80th Street Houses are a group of four attached rowhouses on that street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They are built of brick with various stone trims in different versions of the Colonial Revival architectural style....
- Houses at 208-218 East 78th StreetHouses at 208-218 East 78th StreetThe houses at 208–218 East 78th Street in Manhattan, New York, United States, are a group of six attached brick rowhouses built during the early 1860s...