60 Plaza Street East
1939-40
Philip Birnbaum

This striking Art Moderne apartment building is contemporary with the Central Library (1937-41), and is in a similar style, injecting a note of midcentury modernity that is nonetheless compatible with its classically designed neighbors. The exceptionally wide (211 feet) building follows the curve of Plaza Street and echoes it in the gently curved corner cantilever balconies. Philip Birnbaum (1907-96) was one of the most prolific apartment building architects in New York history. He attended Stuyvesant High School and Columbia University, and his many credits range from the lushly landscaped Forest Hills South development in Queens, to One Lincoln Plaza (1971) on Broadway and 63rd Street. He also designed the nearby Vanderbilt Plaza (1956) at 34 Plaza Street.