253 West 55th Street

 apartment building, commercial building

5-story residential building originally completed in 1867 as a townhouse. The projecting, 2-story commercial base was added sometime around 1900, with the upper floors converted to apartments. The ground floor is red-painted stone with two small windows in the center, a wood-and-glass commercial door at the left, and a recessed black metal door at the right. A sloped, black canvas awnings covers the ground floor. The 2nd floor is faced in tan smooth-stucco with a square center window and smaller, narrower windows in the end bays.

The set-back upper floors are faced in brownstone. There are three bays of single-windows with full surrounds, including bracketed sills and cornices, at the 3rd & 4th floors. The top floor has a steep-sloped slate mansard with two dormer windows, each topped by an arched pediment. The ground floor is occupied by Donburiya restaurant, with Tohbay restaurant on the 2nd floor.