NYU Virginia & Muriel Pless Building (New York City, New York)

 university, historic remains

6-story NYU residence hall completed in 1879. Designed by McKim, Mead & Bigelow as an apartment house for bachelors known as “The Benedick”, which had 33 apartments and 4 artist studios. Known as an artists’ residence, in the 1880s it was home to Winslow Homer, John LaFarge, and architect William R. Mead. It was acquired by NYU in 1925 for dormitories.

The building features a red brick facade with limestone ornament. Two c. 1880 terra cotta reliefs entitled "Muse of Art" and "Muse of Music" were salvaged by Ivan Karp of the Anonymous Arts Recovery Society. A stone balcony with metal railing extends from the cornice running across the base of the 3rd floor. The center section is recessed, with single windows on the 3rd-5th floors. The outer sections have triple windows set in grey-painted stone. The top floor windows are round-arched, three to each bay, with the center opening bricked-in at each one. A corbelled and dentiled brick cornice caps the building.

Some past notable residents include George P. Battle, William Gedney Bruce, Wyatt Eaton, George W. Maynard, Louis St. Gaudens, E. Sutton, John H. Twatchman, Charles Ulrich, Olin Warner, J. Alden Weirand Robert Blum. It was later known as Tuckerman Building under NYU's tenure. It is now used as an annex to Pless Hall.

www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/collections/exhibits/bobst/wa...
archive.org/details/isbn_9780810944411/page/67/mode/1up
1940s.nyc/map/photo/nynyma_rec0040_1_00546_0003a#16.86/...