The Lyric (New York City, New York) | apartment building, 1904_construction

 apartment building, 1904_construction

6-story residential building completed in 1904. Designed by George F. Pelham, it was originally called the Lansdown. It is clad in brick on the middle sections, with a rusticated limestone ground floor and top floors. There is a central entrance portico with four Ionic columns on tall bases shared by each pair. The columns support an ornate frieze with the words "THE LYRIC" in the center, surmounted by a balustraded balcony at the 2nd floor. On either side of the portico are wrought-iron fences surrounding the basement areaways. The entrance is flanked by two single-windows and an end bay with paired windows, all with scrolled keystones on the splayed lintels.

The 2nd floor is grey brick, with three horizontal stone bands. The end bays have paired windows in full stone surrounds, divided by a vertical stone pilaster with intricate carvings, and topped by a rounded pediment. The seven single-windows in the center (the middle three grouped closer together) also have stone surrounds, with splayed keystones.

The 3rd-5th floors are framed by string courses at the top and bottom, and clad in a browner shade of brick. The single-windows have splayed lintels with scrolled keystones, and those on the 5th floor are segmental-arched. Two rusticated vertical bands of brick separate the middle three windows from the rest. The end bays have paired windows with stone surrounds, each divided by a stone pilaster with carving near the top. The top group is segmental-arched, and the 4th-floor groups have triangular pediments. Both the 3rd & 5th-floor end bays have scrolled keystones.

The top floor has simpler windows, without surrounds, although the paired windows in the end bays are still divided by carved pilasters. A black iron fire escape with ornamental landings runs down the western two of the three middle bays. The facade is crowned by a green copper roof cornice with console brackets, ornamented panels, modillions, and dentils. The building contains 30 apartment units.