223-225 East 48th Street (New York City, New York)

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A pair of joined, 4-story Italianate townhouses completed together in 1867. They were built to matching designs, but have had some differing alterations over the years. The east house, No. 225 has a larger stoop extending farther out to the sidewalk, with fancier iron handrails and newel posts. The raised-basement window to the left of each stoop is segmental-arched, wider at No 225. Both facades are faced in brownstone, rusticated at the parlor-floor level of No. 225.

Each facade has two bays, with a round-arched entrance and round-arched window to its left at the parlor floor. The entrance to No. 223 is deeply recessed behind an iron gate, and its window is shorter, with a recessed panel below. The grander entrance at No. 225 retains the original paneled pilasters framing the wooden double-doors, topped by console brackets supporting a rounded pediment; a cornice continues across the top of the west side of the floor as well.

The upper floors on both facades have square-headed windows, with simple flat sills at No. 223, and projecting, bracketed sills and cornices at No. 225. The top floor has shorter windows, set in black iron framing, including black console brackets at the piers, supporting a unifying, black metal roof cornice. The top-floor windows at No. 223 have triple panes, while No. 225 has paired 2-over-2 squares. A steep-sloped metal mansard caps the roof line at No. 225, enclosing a rooftop penthouse level.