Ritz Tower Cooperative (New York City, New York)

 skyscraper, apartment building, 1926_construction, housing cooperative, Beaux-Arts (architecture)

541-foot, 41-story Beaux-Arts cooperative-apartment building completed in 1926 as an apartment-hotel. Designed by Emery Roth in collaboration with Thomas Hastings (of the firm of Carrère & Hastings) for Arthur Brisbane, it was managed by the Ritz Carlton Hotel Company. Brisbane sold the property to William Randolph Hearst in 1928 (against the advice of his financial advisors), and lived there from 1935-1938 with actress Marion Davies (in Brisbane's old apartment). By 1938 Hearst was taking huge yearly losses on the building, and he tried to sell it but found no buyers. He discontinued mortgage payments and the Ritz Tower was taken over by the bank, as the rest of his newspaper and real estate empire also collapsed.

In 1952, the property was purchased by the Sonnabend hotel chain. They hired the famous designer Dorothy Draper in 1955 to redecorate the interior, and then converted the building to co-operative apartments. Although co-operatively owned, the building continued to provide luxury hotel services. Transient rentals were discontinued at the Ritz Tower in 1987. It also included a branch of the prestigious Japanese department store Mitsukoshi which operated from 1979-1991.

The building has a 3-story limestone base with tan brick above, highlighted by terra-cotta ornament on the upper floors. The building is articulated on all four facades above the adjoining buildings and rises to a pyramidal roof above the 41st floor. Setbacks occur at the 4th, 19th, 21st, 25th, and 33rd floors and are highlighted by terra-cotta string courses and ornament. The commercial space on the ground story has been altered, with new windows and doors and most of the windows in the upper stories are not original.

On Park Avenue the base is five bays wide, with three, double-height, round-arched windows in the center. The outside bays have squared doorways, each capped by a full stone entablature carried on stone brackets. Small, squared window openings are located above these entrances. The door on the north serves as the main pedestrian entrance to the building and is fronted by a sidewalk-spanning fabric awning. The double glass and bronze doors are original. The opening on the south allows access to the main ground floor commercial area, now occupied by Harry's of London shoes. The 3rd floor has smaller, squared window openings with three large stone cartouches between them, centered above each of the large, arched windows. The cartouches alternate with flat stone panels between the windows. Above the 3rd floor is a stone parapet and balustrade, ornamented by carved putti and topped by urns. Two large flags fly from the balustrade. This facade sets back from Park A venue for one bay above the 3rd floor.

The 4th floor is faced with brick and is eight bays wide. Each window of this floor is surrounded by stone quoins and is topped by a flattened stone disk, while a terra-cotta string course runs above this level. The two end bays project slightly from the more closely arranged center grouping of windows, with quoins outlining each projection. There are also small cartouches above the end windows.

Above the 4th floor the building is faced with tan brick and extends straight up with identical floors from the 4th through the 18th floors without a setback. The windows on the end bays of the 5th floor are topped by pediments carried on flat stone pilasters, while the rest of the windows have plain, squared openings. The end bays of this section project out slightly from the center section. The 18th floor is double-height and sits on a pronounced terra-cotta string course. The windows of the two end bays are elaborately ornamented by a cartouche, and enframed by a double-height, broken pediment supported on brick piers. Between these two ends bays, the squared windows share a continuous lintel. Three rectangular vents set in terra-cotta frames are located in the upper portion of this central section. Above these vents is another cornice capped by a balustrade. Stone bases are located above the brick piers and each is topped by a truncated stone obelisk.

Above the 18th floor the building sets back on all four sides. The next section is two stories high, (comprising the 19th & 20th floors) with six plain window openings across the width of the Park A venue facade. The windows of the 19th floor have a continuous lintel while those of the 20th floor have individual, projecting sills. Another cornice topped by a balustrade concludes this section, marked again by a single stone obelisk at each corner.

The building then sets back again on all four sides. The next section, running between the 21st & 24th floors, is five bays wide. At this section, several of the window openings have air conditioner grills cut through the wall below them. A string course with a flat stone band separates the top floor of this section, which is then crowned by another cornice and a balustrade. Above the 24th floor the building sets back again. The next section of the building runs from the 25th-32nd floor, and part of the terrace at the 25th floor has been enclosed. The windows are paired horizontally, with two windows in each of the three bays.

Above the 32nd floor is another broad string course topped by a balustrade. The 33rd & 34th floors have three bays with paired windows, each bay flanked by pilasters and slightly recessed spandrels between the floors. Another string course crowns this section, which also has a balustrade and an ornate central pediment. The three bays of paired windows at the 35th floor are linked by a continuous lintel. A narrow string course marks the 36th floor where plain, paired window openings rise from it. At the 37th floor, the northernmost pair of windows have been joined into one opening. Another string course and railing distinguish the 38th level which also has three bays. The center bay is surrounded by elaborate terra-cotta ornament. Above this level a hipped roof recedes toward an even more narrow tower. A single bay with a double, arched window opening surrounded by terra-cotta is centered in each facade. Each corner of this part of the tower appears to be rounded. A string course sets off another story, with three small openings. The comers are capped by four large finials. A final, standing seam copper hipped roof rises above the walls, receding to a point at the top of the building which is emphasized by a large obelisk at the highest point.

On 57th Street, the 3-story limestone base is eight bays wide. It also has three, double-height, round-arched windows, with five smaller, squared windows spaced between them. There is an entrance to the ground-floor retail space in the western bay that is identical to that on the Park A venue facade, with its ornamented frieze and full entablature. In the eastern bay is a service entrance, while the next bay in from the east was originally a secondary entrance, serving the building's restaurant and has a flat metal awning, but it has been converted to another service entry. At the 3rd floor there are plain, rectangular windows with flat stone panels between them. Centered above each large arched window is an ornate cartouche, similar to those on the Park Avenue facade. A cornice and a broad stone band mark the 4th-floor level. Above this, the facing changes to tan brick and the twelve plain rectangular windows are flanked by stone quoins with flattened stone disks above each window. The end bays project slightly, with stone quoins marking each edge, and ornament above.

The rest of the building is similar to that on Park Avenue, except that it is wider, beginning with twelve bays at the lower stories. Air conditioner vents are cut in the wall beneath numerous windows. The center section of the facade from the 24th-32nd floor has three pairs of plain rectangular windows with a recessed bay holding a single window on each side. In general, the band courses, window patterns, setbacks and ornament is the same on both main facades. The only exception is the 37th floor where the three pairs of double window openings have been reconfigured to three large window openings.

The northern facade of the Ritz Tower is visible above the 15-story building to the north. Its configuration follows that of the 57th Street facade, beginning with twelve bays and gradually setting back to three in the upper stories. At the 37th floor, each of the three bays has a single large window opening, as on 57th Street. The eastern facade is visible above the 6-story building section to the east. It is similar to the Park A venue facade with the following exceptions: it is nine bays wide at the lower stories, before it steps back at the same levels as the other facades. At the double-height 18th floor, the upper section has five openings rather than the three on Park A venue. The 19th and 20th floors have eight bays and the 22nd floor has three large, multi-paned window openings. At the 37th floor are three bays, each with a single, large window opening.

The building contains 142 apartments. The ground floor is occupied by Harry's of London, Richard James menswear, and T.Anthony menswear.

www.theritztower.com/

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