331 West 21st Street (New York City, New York)

 apartment building  Add category

5-story Renaissance-revival residential building completed in 1891, nearly identical to the nearby 327 West 21st building. The facade is clad in brownstone painted a taupe color, with some rough-faced areas on the piers. The entrance has a short stoop with impressive iron newel posts at the base of the handrails, and the wood-and-glass double-doors are framed by white stone pilasters carved with foliate ornament and topped by brackets supporting an entablature forming the bases of a black iron fire escape. Above the paneled wood-and-glass double-doors is a keystone with a female face. Above the wide single-windows on either side are keystones with bearded faces. Below them are two basement windows with iron grilles.

Above a projecting white stone cornice, the upper floors are faced in painted rough stucco, with some partial rough-faced banding on the piers, and with ornamental white stone hooded lintels above the four single-windows on each floor. Through-wall air-conditioning units have been cut below the outer bays. A black iron fire escape runs down the middle two bays of the facade, which is crowned by a black metal roof cornice, bracketed at the ends, and stepped up in the center with half-circle fan designs carved below.