1339 Madison Avenue;
John R. Thomas, 1895; 
Park Avenue side: Morris Ketchum, 1969;
Madison Avenue façade: NYC IL, NR-P, NR-D|

In 1884, a group of gentlemen horseback riders formed the “First New York Hussars” or “First Dragoons,” and by 1889, its 53 members became Troop “A.” By 1895, the group became Squadron “A,” and served in the Spanish American War and in World War I as the 105^th Machine Gun Battalion. The armory was built for Squadron A and, true to its roots, included roughly 100 horse stalls. At one time encompassing the entire block, the building was partially demolished in the 1960s. The Madison Avenue side was saved by an emergency action by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which designated it a city landmark. This façade is notable for its two large crenellated towers. The Park Avenue side was demolished to make way for a school, but was replaced with a building that evokes the original complex, which now houses the Hunter College Elementary and High Schools.

Flemer & Kohler, 1889-90; 1209;
redesign: Lucien David, 1960-62; 1211; 
redesign: William L. Bottomley, 1922; 
NRHP-D|

These seven rowhouses that wrap the corner of East 95^th Street were built by one developer. The houses on Park Avenue were designed in the Renaissance Revival style, while the narrower ones on East 95^th Street were designed in the Queen Anne style. 1209 and 1211 Park Avenue were significantly altered in the 20^th century, the former in a Modern style when it was converted to a school, and the latter in the neo-Georgian style.

69-75 East 93^rd Street;
Delano & Aldrich;
1917-18 and 1928-29;
NYC ILs, NYC HD, NR-P, NR-D|

This L-shaped, red brick and limestone complex was built in two phases by two different owners. The three-story building that abuts Park Avenue was built for banker Francis F. Palmer. In 1928, banker and philanthropist George F. Baker, Jr. purchased the house and added the L-shaped ballroom wing, set back from the street by a courtyard. On the other end, a garage with apartments above was also constructed. The Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia purchased the house and ballroom wing in 1958. The garage wing remains a private residence.

Park Avenue at East 93^rd Street|

Though many of its slopes were flattened when the street grid was imposed in the early 19^th century, the Upper East Side’s natural topography is quite hilly. The slope at this section of Park Avenue was once prominent, and was referred to as “Mount Prospect” or “Mount Pleasant.” In 1837, a railroad tunnel was cut through the hill to bring day-trip visitors to upper Manhattan. A grand hotel, Prospect Hall, was built near what is now East 93^rd Street. Situated on 12 acres, visitors could take in views of the city, as well as Long Island and New Jersey.

(Note- Picture shown is the Park Avenue tunnel. Picture from Forgotten NY )

Schwartz & Gross, 1928-29 – NYC HD, NR-D|

Occupying the entire blockfront, this enormous Gothic Revival style apartment building is accessed through a grand triple-arched doorway leading into a landscaped interior courtyard and to the building’s six lobbies. The five bays on either end of the building resemble bookends, as their windows are surrounded by cream-colored, ornamental terra-cotta. Across the street, 1192 Park Avenue now stands where the home of prominent brewer George Ehret once stood. The brownstone mansion was built in 1878 (demolished 1928) when the area was largely unoccupied, but its location was convenient to Ehret’s Hell Gate Brewery on the East River. As one of the first “fine” residences on upper Park Avenue, the mansion inspired other prominent families to move here.

John Sullivan, 1884-85);
John Sullivan, 1884-85; altered: Emery Roth, 1924);
John Sullivan, 1884-85; redesigned: Emery Roth, 1920-21
John Sullivan, 1884-85;
John Sullivan, 1884-85; redesigned: Emery Roth, 1917;
NYC HD, NR-D|

Aside from 1141 Park Avenue, which was originally a flats building for three families, these charming buildings were built as single-family rowhouses. All five of them, which were designed in the neo-Grec style, have undergone significant alterations or wholesale façade redesigns since their construction in the 1880s, but 1147 Park Avenue retains the most of its original façade configuration.

1140-1144 Park Avenue;
York & Sawyer, 1938-40;
parish house: 1948-49 – NYC HD, NR-D|

The congregation of Brick Presbyterian Church dates back to 1767. Its original home was the “old Brick Church” at the corner of Beekman and Nassau Streets. After a stay in midtown, the church merged with the Park Avenue Presbyterian Church in the 1930s and constructed this lovely building. In reference to the congregation’s roots, the church was designed in the neo-Georgian style popular during the Colonial period.  It features a temple front and a polygonal tower topped by a ball finial. There is a chapel extension on the north façade, and the parish house is around the corner at 62 East 92^nd Street. The church interior was fashioned after St. Paul’s Chapel, a contemporary of the original Brick Church.

Schwartz & Gross, 1929-30 – NYC HD, NR-D;
De Pace & Juster, 1929-30– NYC HD, NR-D|

In 1929, the New York State Legislature passed the Multiple Dwelling Law, requiring better standards for safety, health and access to light and air. Its benefits for the city’s poor were great, but on Park Avenue, the law translated into a design trend toward terraced upper floors, like those on 1095 and 1100 Park Avenue. The law also introduced water tanks to the urban landscape for drinking water and fire protection. On Park Avenue, water tanks were concealed behind rooftop pavilions, which fit right in with the stepped architectural silhouette that had become trendy during the Depression era, forming a crown at the top of the entire ensemble.

Frederick T. Camp, 1886-87; Harry Hurwit, 1927-28 – NYC HD, NR-D;
redesign: Augustus N. Allen, 1925 – NYC HD, NR-D|

These two, low-scale structures were constructed in 1887 as tenements. 1082 Park Avenue was redesigned in the Mediterranean Revival style with arched window openings and intricate, vibrant terra-cotta ornament. Both have retained their commercial storefronts, which is a rarity for Park Avenue.

Henry C. Pelton, 1925-26 – NYC HD, NR-D;
Delano & Aldrich, 1923-25 – NYC HD, NR-D|

Originally constructed for the Park Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, 1035 Park Avenue was designed to relate to the adjoining church (now the Park Avenue United Methodist Church), particularly its Venetian arches. Catty-corner to the building is 1040 Park Avenue, whose eclectic ornament includes a frieze with sculpted tortoises and hares. Interestingly, the building does not have a cornice, which is unusual for a Renaissance Revival style building. It did, however, have one of the Avenue’s earliest penthouse apartments, which became fashionable in the 1920s. Though intended as servants’ quarters, the top floor was transformed by famed magazine publisher Condé Nast into a 5,000-square-foot duplex designed by actress and interior decorator Elsie de Wolfe. The building was also briefly home to Jacqueline Kennedy after she left the White House

Wechsler & Schimenti, 1963 – NYC HD, NR-D;
Gustave W. Iser, 1956 – NYC HD, NR-D;
Stephen C. Lyras, 1969-73 – NYC HD, NR-D|

A lull in construction during the Depression and World War II gave way to a building boom in the post-war period, during which these three buildings were constructed. 1020 Park Avenue’s base is clad in travertine marble, a popular material at the time. 1036 Park Avenue features stripes of blue-green ceramic panels on both façades, with wider panels on the corner. Many architects of the Modern era employed color in place of ornament to give buildings depth and character. Both buildings are distinctive for their asymmetrical massing at the top stories, which created private terraces. In 1961, the city passed a zoning code to encourage the construction of free-standing towers. 1065 Park Avenue, which took the place of a tenement, was one of the avenue’s few buildings to be inspired by the “tower in the park” concept. Its 30-story height was achieved by setting the building back and within a small landscaped plaza.

Bertram Goodhue of Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson;
1909-11–NYCHD, NR-D;
Emery Roth;
1915 – NYC HD, NR-D|

This magnificent French Gothic Revival style church is clad in grey Manhattan schist, and features a pointed arch stained glass window and a 70-foot lead fleche, cast in Birmingham, England, by Henry Hope & Sons to emulate the one at Sainte Chapelle in Paris. Goodhue also designed the adjacent rectory in the same style of the same grey schist. In 2014, controversy over its demolition led to the designation of the Park Avenue Historic District. The Gothic Revival style 1000 Park Avenue was designed to complement the church and rectory, and features intricate details like statuettes of medieval warriors and builders, animal reliefs, coats of arms and foliated moldings. The building is unusual for Emery Roth, who mostly favored the Classical or Art Deco styles.

1015 Park Avenue;
Ernest Flagg, 1913-14 – NYC HD, NYC IL, NR-P, NR-D ;
1025 Park Avenue John Russell Pope;
1911-12– NYC HD, NYC IL, NR-D|

These two townhouses were constructed on property owned by lawyer Amos R. E. Pinchot. In 1910, Pinchot commissioned a grand house for himself at 1021 Park Avenue (demolished 1930), and purchased a considerable amount of property nearby. At the time, little was built this far north, making Pinchot a neighborhood pioneer. Constructed for Lewis Gouverneur and Nathalie Bailey Morris, 1015 Park Avenue is a distinctive neo-Federal mansion that faces East 85^th Street. Upon Mr. Morris’ death in 1968, the house became the headquarters of several private charitable foundations. 1025 Park Avenue was built for Reginald DeKoven, a popular composer and music critic. The house was designed in the Jacobean Revival style, a reprise of an English style popular during the Renaissance and named for King James I. The house’s Jacobean features include two prominent bay windows and an arched entrance flanked by columns and pilasters.

980 Park Avenue;
parish hall/rectory: Patrick C. Keely, 1881-83;
church: Schickel & Ditmars, 1895-1900, NYC IL;
school: Schickel & Ditmars, 1899-1900 – NYC HD, NR-P, NR-D|

One of the first institutions on Fourth Avenue was the parish of St. Lawrence O’Toole, which initially acquired property on both sides of the railroad tracks at East 84^th Street. Its first building was erected in 1854. The parish, later incorporated as St. Ignatius Loyola (founder of the Jesuits in 1541), expanded in the 1880s, beginning with the construction of a four-story parish house and residence hall. The church itself was designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival, in homage to the architecture that was popular during St. Ignatius’ lifetime. It was one of the first houses of worship in the city to use steel roof beams and trusses for fireproofing. Its two upper towers were never realized. In 1899, the Loyola School was established to educate the sons of wealthy Catholics (it became co-educational in 1973), for which the limestone building at the corner of East 83^rd Street was built.

C3D Architecture, 2008-11 – NYC HD, NR-D;
Costas Kondylis and Partners, 2005-08 – NYC HD, NR-D;
Kohn, Pedersen, Fox Associates with H. Thomas O’Hara, 2005-09 – NYC HD, NR-D|

On the east side of Park Avenue, three new apartment buildings were constructed in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Because they were all built on small lots, having replaced low-rise 19^th century buildings, they are strikingly similar in their tall and narrow footprints, as well as in their glassy materiality. Another new building, designed by Barry Rice Architects, began construction in 2013 at 1110 Park Avenue. While some find them to be stark intrusions, others believe these buildings represent the latest chapter in the avenue’s history.

George & Edward Blum, 1925-26 – NYC HD, NR-D;
George F. Pelham, 1929-30 – NYC HD, NR-D|

Directly abutting one another are two noteworthy examples of Art Deco style apartment buildings. One of the earliest examples of the style on Park Avenue, 940 features stylized ornament, which is most prominent on the East 81^st Street façade. Decorative ironwork motifs include female nudes and children tending gardens. 944 Park Avenue is a bit more restrained, but has stylized pilasters and terra-cotta “frozen fountain” reliefs.

Sloan & Robertson, 1929 – NYC HD;
Warren & Wetmore and Robert T. Lyons, 1912-13 – NYC HD, NR-D|

Developers Leo and Alexander M. Bing were the most prolific developers on Park Avenue, having constructed at least seven apartment buildings. One of the most notable was the Renaissance Revival style 903 Park Avenue, which, at 210 feet, was considered one of the tallest apartment buildings in the world upon completion. The luxury building was designed with one very large apartment per floor. Across East 79^th Street is the striking 893 Park Avenue. Its Art Deco style has some powerful Classical motifs, including monumental fluted pilasters.

James E. Ware;
1884-85 – NYC HD|

Wedged between two 14-story, 1920s apartment buildings is this five-story rowhouse, which, with its gable roof, pedimented dormer and chimney, appears quaint in comparison. Originally one of a group of rowhouses that wrapped around East 79^th Street, this brick and brownstone house’s front stoop was removed in 1929 and its entrance was converted into a round-arch window with columns and a fanlight.

Pollard & Steinem, 1907-08 – NYC HD;
Delano & Aldrich, 1907-08)– NYC HD, NR-D|

As the first tall apartment buildings to be constructed on Park Avenue, 865 and 925 Park Avenue set the standard for the avenue’s principal building type. Both designed in the Renaissance Revival style, the buildings share similar architectural features, such as rusticated stone bases, buff-colored brick, decorative metalwork and projecting cornices. Their heights, which are also similar (12 stories for 865 Park Avenue and 14 stories for 925 Park Avenue), set the precedent that formed Park Avenue’s now iconic street wall.

unknown architect, c. 1890 – NYC HD;
John Hauser, 1898-99 – NYC HD, NR-D|

Seven blocks apart, these two corner buildings are two of Park Avenue’s only remaining tenements. They share not only a building type, but a Renaissance Revival architectural vocabulary, which includes rusticated bases, double-height pilasters topped by arched window surrounds and projecting rooftop cornices. 821 Park Avenue had been one of a row of seven called The Terrace. 957 Park Avenue, which originally had a saloon on the ground floor, had been one of four nearly identical tenements with commercial bases.

Rosario Candela, 1928-29;
Lafayette A. Goldstone, 1928-29;
Rosario Candela, 1929-30;
Rosario Candela, 1929-31;
Emery Roth, 1928-29;
NYC HD|

Along the west side of Park between 70^th and 74^th Streets is a series of contiguously constructed apartment buildings that feature varied massing and setbacks at their crowns, including elaborate towers and chimneys. 770 Park Avenue even features massive buttresses supporting its central rooftop tower. These five buildings were designed in the Renaissance Revival style, some with Jacobean Revival and neo-Georgian details. The view of this stretch of Park Avenue, either from the south or the north, is quite magnificent.

Bassett Jones;
1882-85;
NYC HD|

Some of the earliest single-family residences on Park Avenue, these two Queen Anne style rowhouses were once part of a row of ten along the entire blockfront. The most marked feature of the five-story, brick and brownstone houses are their grand arched pediments. The wave-like rhythm of these arches was a distinctive characteristic of this part of Park Avenue when all ten were still standing.

McKim, Mead & White, 1909-11;
McKim, Mead & White, 1925-26;
Delano & Aldrich, 1917-19;
Walker & Gillette, 1916;
all: NYC ILs, NR-P|

On the west side of Park between East 68^th and 69^th Streets is an architecturally cohesive group of neo-Federal townhouses, referred to as the Pyne-Davison Row. 680 Park Avenue was built for banker and philanthropist Percy Rivington Pyne. In 1960, Nikita Kruschchev gave a press conference on the balcony when he stayed there during a visit to the United Nations. 684 Park Avenue was built for Percy Pyne’s daughter, Mary, and son-in-law Oliver D. Filley. In December of 1964, before the city passed the Landmarks Law to enable the legal protection of historic buildings, plans were underway to demolish 680 and 684 Park Avenue. A last minute purchase by the Marquesa de Cuevas, the former Margaret Rockefeller Strong, granddaughter of John D. Rockefeller, saved the buildings, along with 49 East 68^th Street. The Marquesa donated 680 Park Avenue to the Center for Inter-American Relations (absorbed into the Americas Society in 1985), and sold 684 Park Avenue to the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute, stipulating that changes could not be made to its exterior. The threat to these buildings was one of many that underscored the great need for a law to protect the city’s architectural heritage. 686 Park Avenue was built for William Sloane, president of the home furnishings store W. & J. Sloane. In 1958, it was purchased by the Republic of Italy for its Istituto Italiano di Cultura. 690 Park Avenue was built for banker Henry Pomeroy Davison and his wife Kate Trubee. In 1952, it became the residence of the Consul General of Italy.

643 Park Avenue;
Charles W. Clinton;
1877-79;
NYC HD, NYC IL, NYC INL, NR-P, NHL|

The Seventh Regiment was formed in 1806 from four volunteer militia companies, and served in the War of 1812, the Civil War and both World Wars, as well as aided in subduing numerous civilian disorders. In 1880, after years of using various buildings, its own grand armory, designed in the style of a fortified castle, opened to much fanfare. Often referred to as the “silk stocking regiment,” its members were socially prominent. As such, the building features lavish interiors designed by noted artists and architects, including Louis Comfort Tiffany, Stanford White, the Herter Brothers and Pottier & Stymus, among others. Much of the first and second floor interiors are protected by landmark designation. Because the drill hall was used for maneuvers, the 55,000-square-foot space required very high ceilings. Normally used for train sheds, enormous iron trusses span the enclosure to support the roof. It remains one of the largest unobstructed spaces in the city, and has been used for a variety of functions. From 1900 to 1963, the National Indoor Tennis Championships were held here, and since 1902, the Knickerbocker Greys, a junior cadet corps for school boys, has used the space for drills. In 2006, the Park Avenue Armory Conservancy took over the building with a mission to restore its historic spaces and transform it into a world-class venue for the performing and visual arts.

James Gamble Rogers, 1910-11 – NYC HD;
Walter Lund & Julius F. Gayler, 1919-20 – NYC HD|

Across the street from one another are two grand mansions. 600 Park Avenue was built for businessman Jonathan Bulkley and his wife Sarah Tod. After their deaths in 1939 and 1943, the Renaissance Revival mansion sat empty until 1946, when the Swedish Government purchased it as its Consul General’s residence. In 2009, the house became the residence of the Swedish Ambassador to the United Nations. 601 Park Avenue, a neo-Federal mansion with 100 feet of Park Avenue frontage, was built for sugar wholesaler Thomas A. Howell. A long, half-elliptical stair hall occupies the center of the house and all of its rooms face the avenue. Interestingly, this house was left on the market for almost two decades, unable to find a buyer from 1989 to 2008.

583 Park Avenue, Delano & Aldrich, 1922-24– NYC HD;
593 Park Avenue, Henry C. Pelton and Allen & Collens, 1920-22 – NYC HD;
J. E. R. Carpenter, 1923 – NYC HD|

Two contiguously constructed churches stand on this block. The Third Church of Christ Scientist is a lovely example of the neo-Georgian style, its red brick façades graced with a grand columned portico and its central dome crowned by a balustrade and cupola. In 2006, the pews were removed from the interior so the space could also be used for events. The construction of the Central Presbyterian Church building was partly funded by the Rockefellers. Its Gothic Revival style is evidenced by its rough granite cladding, a large pointed arch window and intricately carved octagonal tower. Across the street, note the stylized colonnade formed by a series of pilasters at the base of 580 Park Avenue, which occupies the entire blockfront.

564 Park Avenue;
Delano & Aldrich, 1914-16 – NYC HD;
701 Park Avenue;
Delano & Aldrich, 1930-31 – NYC HD|

Park Avenue has two of the city’s early private clubhouses, both designed by Delano & Aldrich. The Colony Club, which still operates, was the first women’s group in the city to erect a clubhouse, though this neo-Georgian building is the club’s second home. Its first home at 129 Madison Avenue is an Individual Landmark. The Union Club was established in 1836, making it the oldest private club in the city and the third oldest in the country. This Renaissance Revival structure is its sixth home, which includes card and backgammon rooms and squash courts.

Park Avenue’s iconic malls were born in the mid-1870s, when the railroad vents were covered with shrubs and surrounded by simple iron fences. In 1894, residents formed the Park Avenue Association, which, by the 1920s, had the vents fully covered over. Private donations in 1929 and 1931 led to the planting of roughly 7,000 trees from 34^th to 96^th Streets. Another private donation in 1946 introduced flowering varieties. In 1969-70, the malls and fences were redesigned by Clara Coffey. The Park Avenue Malls Planting Project Committee formed in 1980 to establish and maintain a uniform planting plan. Today, planting, maintenance and the annual holiday tree lighting (since 1945), is funded and performed by the Carnegie Hill Neighbors and the Fund for Park Avenue.