226 East 53rd Street (New York City, New York)

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6-story residential building completed in 1903. Designed by George F. Pelham as a tenement, it is clad in red brick above a rusticated limestone ground floor. The central entrance is atop a low stoop. The sidewalls of the stoop are topped by pedestals for polished rose granite columns with Ionic capitals supporting an entablature with a foliate carved frieze. The glass door and transom are framed by an egg-and-dart molding.

To either side of the entrance are two windows topped by scrolled keystones. The eastern pair extend lower and have red canvas awnings. Below these are two basement storefronts, both with narrow areaways accessed by stairs at the ends, and enclosed by metal railings.

The upper floors have six bays of windows; the outer windows are wider, and the middle two are grouped together; the end bays also project slightly forward. At the 2nd floor they all have full limestone surrounds with scrolled keystones, and the end bays have limestone banding that overlaps the surrounds.

A stone band course with an egg-and-dart molding at the bottom sets off the 3rd floor. The end bays at the 3rd-6th floors all have thicker limestone banding, and splayed stone lintels with scrolled keystones. The projecting sills are underscored by ornately carved foliate stone panels. The middle bays also have splayed lintels but with flat keystones (except for the 6th floor, which has scrolled keystones); they also have simple stone sills, and the 6th floor has a joined sill at the four middle bays. A black iron fire escape with decorative railings at the landings runs down the middle two bays of the facade, which is crowned by a black metal roof cornice with brackets, modillions, dentils, and panels.

The side elevations are clad in plain red brick. The building contains 17 apartment units. The ground floor is occupied by La Gioconda restaurant, and Cello wine bar, and the basement storefronts are occupied by Sammy Dry Clean & Tailors, and InKetoBle low-carb treats.