The Lex 54 Condominium (New York City, New York)

 condominiums, commercial building

177-foot, 16-story modernist residential building completed in 1951. Designed by Rosario Candela and Paul Resnick, it is clad in buff-colored brick. The 2-story base is clad in tan stone, with a variety of storefronts at the ground floor, in metal, glass, brick, and wood. The main entrance is at the center of the south facade on 54th Street, with glass doors and a peaked, green canvas canopy extending out over the sidewalk. The 2nd floor is also commercial, with a long band of windows along the avenue and at the east part of the south facade.

The upper floors on the east facade have seven bays: a double-window bay at the north end, then two tripartite windows, another double-window, two more tripartite windows, and a double-window at the south, set a bit farther apart from the others. The windows have simple stone sills and brown metal mullions, and there are a number of protruding air-conditioning units dotting the facade. The three middle bays and the north end bay set back above the 10th floor, where metal railings front terraces. The north five bays set back above the 12th floor, and again above the 14th & 15th floors, also with metal railings. The 2nd bay from the south extends all the way up to the 15th floor, while the south bay has a setback only at its southern half above the 13th floor, with the rest setting back above the 14th, where there is a single-window. The upper most setbacks have small chamfered corners.

The south facade on 54th Street has five bays at the east section (with double-windows in the center and at the ends, and single-windows in between). The west end of this section sets back above the 11th floor with a chamfered corner, and the rest of the west bay sets back above the 12th, with an angled bay. The other four bays set back above the 13th floor. A 3-sided angled bay connects the east section to the recessed middle section of this facade. The middle section has four bays, with single-windows at the left, then a tripartite windows, and two bays of double-windows at the right. The westernmost of these bays sets back above the 13th floor, while the other set back above the 15th. At the 14th floor the tripartite bay changes to double-windows, and both the middle bays change to single-windows at the 15th floor. The west section consists of a projecting bay with tripartite windows at the front and single-windows at the angled sides, followed by an end bay of double-windows. These set back above the 12th floor. A penthouse level at the top is recessed back from all sides, with a brick-clad water tower enclosure on the roof.

The north facade has four bays of single-windows at the east section. The middle section is recessed and has a bay of triparite windows, followed by a bay of double-windows next to three single-window bays; an angled corner with single-windows recesses slightly farther to another single-window bay and angled corner with single-windows, and finally to the west end, which has two bays of single-windows. There is a final end bay of tripartite windows set far back. The west elevation has two bays of single-windows at the front (south) end, with double-windows farther back.

The rooftop watertank enclosure is highlighted by five thin steel bands. The building was originally built as apartment, but was converted to a condominium in 1985, and contains 145 condominium units. The ground floor is occupied by Bobby Van's Steakhouse, Dos Toros Taqueria, Dunkin' Donuts, Mama Ganoush restaurant, Jean Paul Hair Salon, Anka Grill, Sweetcatch Poke restaurant, and Mulberry & Vine health food. The 2nd floor contains a nail salon, Manhattan Wellness Group, and Phyllis Lucas Gallery.