23 East 20th Street (New York City, New York)

 apartment building, 1901_construction

8-story Renaissance-revival residential building completed in 1901. Designed by Ervin G. Gollner as a store-and-loft building, it is faced in limestone and brick, and only 20 feet wide. The limestone base, decorated with a continuous floral pattern, has a modern metal storefront at the ground floor; a foliate spandrel sets off a projecting 3-sided bay framed in black wood with the windows surmounted by transoms at the 2nd floor. The 4-story midsection has coursed brick pilasters with limestone capitals framing bands of four windows which alternate with fluted black pilasters. Spandrels have carved stone insets. A modillioned cornice supports the upper two stories composed of brick pilasters (with bases and capitals) flanking windows - rectangular on the 7th floor and round-arched on the 8th floor. A black metal fire escape runs the length of the facade.

The eastern elevation is clad in brown brick with several simple windows. Early tenants of the building included jewelry, clothing, and lace merchants, a publisher, and an upholsterer. It was converted to apartments sometime in the late 1900s.