Le Rivage Apartments

 landmark, skyscraper, apartment building

364-foot, 31-story Art-Deco residential building completed in 1931 as an office building. Designed by Starrett & Van Vleck, the building is clad in shades of tan, orange, and purple brick, which is set in a variety of patterns and textures. Although this building has always used the address of 21 West Street, the main entrance is near the middle of the 10-bay-wide facade on Morris Street. It is recessed under an arcade which runs along the entire ground story. The underside of the arcade is ornamented with multi-colored mosaics, while bronze panels and bronze light fixtures are placed on the walls and piers. The arcade is supported on squared brick piers which form the base of the piers which continue up the height of the building. The arcade openings are corbelled arches, formed by stepped, bronze panels. In the bay where the main entrance is located, the arched opening has been changed to made it square and it is framed by polished black marble.

In the spandrel area above the arcade, a central chevron design with flanking horizontal lines is created out of bricks of contrasting colors. Except for the end bays with their corner windows, at the 2nd floor, three narrow windows fill each bay. The spandrels between the 2nd and 3rd stories are ornamented by bricks of contrasting colors forming horizontal lines, and each of the eight central bays of the 3rd story have two windows, separated by plain, narrow piers. On the three lowest stories, the main piers are clad with dark brick framing a center section of lighter, undulating brick. The dark brick stops at the spandrel level of the 3rd story, where it also projects slightly, with a different brick pattern.

On the central shaft, the pier and window arrangement continues straight up through the building, with two sets of double windows meeting at each corner, uninterrupted by piers. Above the 3rd floor, the ten bays are separated by large, continuous piers faced in pale tan brick set in an undulating pattern. Within the eight other bays narrow, flat continuous brick piers separate the two windows located there. The spandrels between most floors are faced in dark brick, framed at the top and bottom by a light-colored brick.

Above the 10th floor, the facade steps back one bay on the Washington Street corner. There is another 1-bay set-back above the 16th floor at this corner also. Above the 21st floor, set-backs occur on both the Washington and the West Street corners. Further set-backs on all corners are also located above the 26th, 29th, and 30th floors. The 21st and 26th floors are given added emphasis by parapets with a distinctive brick pattern, and (at the 21st floor) finials which finish each main pier. On these parapets, the bricks are laid in patterns and colors to indicate a series of vertical lines, either inset or projecting. Nearby, the brick is laid to simulate fabric draped around the finials and hanging down to the floors below. The spandrels of these upper stories have distinctive horizontal brick patterns as well. In addition, at the 21st and 26th floors, each corner has been truncated, creating a diagonal with a single bay. The building finishes with a single, flat-topped story, further recessed from the floor below.

The West and Greenwich Street elevations are similar in design to that on Morris. The building was converted to residential in 1998 by Rose Associates, one of the city's leading residential developers and managers, and named Le Rivage. The conversion was designed by Schuman Lichtenstein Claman & Efron. The ground floor storefronts are occupied by West Bank Gourmet deli/grocery/cleaners.