Carnegie House Apartments

 cooperative, apartment building

197-foot, 21-story modernist cooperative-apartment building completed in 1962. Designed by Schuman & Lichtenstein, it is clad in three slightly-varying shades of light grey brick. Although the address is 100 West 57th, the main entrance is actually at the middle of the east facade, on Sixth Avenue. It has two sets of glass double-doors below a suspended metal box marquee. Around the entrance are panels of white marble, bordered by dark-grey granite. There is a solid marble panel to the north of the doors, while to the south the marble is broken up by two recessed bays of windows, fronted by planter boxes. On either side are metal-and-glass storefronts. The storefronts are topped by a band of black polished granite, lined by thin steel bands at the top and bottom. Storefronts continue onto the east end of the ground floor on 56th Street, with brick to the west that is interspersed with several metal vents, two metal service doors, and four bays of entrances and exits to the underground parking garage at the recessed west end. The far west end bay is a 1-story extension spanning the alleyway between the building and the hotel next door. The storefronts also continue onto the north facade on 57th Street, except for at the west end, where there is a small section of white marble and a narrow 1-story extension with a metal service door.

The upper floors have a symmetrical window bay arrangement on the long east facade, although the setbacks at the top floors are asymmetrical. There are four middle bays of triple-windows, followed on either side by a single-window, another triple-window, two single-windows, another triple-window, and two more single-windows at the ends, all with white metal framing. Discreet, slit air-conditioning vents are located below the triple-windows bays and two of the single-window bays. The first setback is at the five bays to the south of the northern three, above the 14th floor, with another above the 15th. There are angled side walls framing all of the setbacks, and metal railings around the terraces created by most of them. Also at the 14th floor, the northeast corner cuts off to a chamfer, with a single-window facing northeast at the 15th & 16th floors. The full north half of the facade sets back above the 16th floor, and the middle bays of the south half have a shallow setback above the 17th. Above the 18th, there is a setback on the south half that recesses back to different depths, creating three small, projecting "turrets" with angled corners. Each of these has another small setback above the 20th floor, as well as the northern of the two spaces between the turrets. On the north half of the facade, there is a setback toward the middle above the 16th floor, and one at the north end above the 18th, with small, shallow setbacks at various locations across the top two floors. A mechanical penthouse rises up from the roof, with a taller water tower enclosure just north of center.

The north facade on 57th Street has seven bays - six tripartite windows with a central single-window bay. The middle three bays (along with the cut-off chamfered corners) set back above the 14th floor. Angled sides create two "turrets" that set back above the 16th floor, with additional shallow setbacks at the top floors.

The wider south facade on 56th Street has nine bays on the main, east section (three tripartite windows at the east end, then alternating single- and tripartite windows. There is a slightly shorter, recessed section at the west (above the parking garage entrances) that has three bays of tripartite windows, terminating at the 13th floor. On the main, east section the west bay ends at the 13th floor, and the single-window bay next to it shifts over to the left beginning at the 14th floor. The three bays to the right set back above the 17th floor, and there is a full-floor setback above the 18th, creating three asymmetrical angled turrets above, each with a final shallow setback above the 20th floor.

The building was converted from rentals to a cooperative in 1978, with 323 apartments. The ground floor is occupied by Fresh & Co. restaurant, City Souvenirs, Zibetto Espresso Bar, Coterie European Ladies Boutique, Onni Nails, Bike Rental Central Park, Charleston Shoe Company, Carnegie Cleaners, and a Duane-Reade pharmacy.