Claret Commons Condominium

 condominium, Queen Anne style (architecture)

6-story Queen Anne-style residential building originally completed in 1888 as a 5-story as an artists' studio building. Designed for Professor John Ward Stimson, who resigned his position as Director of Art Education at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that year to devote himself to “artisan” arts. Believing that America paled in the artistic nature of its manufactured arts—like wallpaper, book covers, stained glass windows, and such—he set off to establish the Artisan-Artist Institute. By 1890 the Institute had 250 enrolled pupils for the fall term. They were offered a staggering field of instruction: painting, sculpture, architecture, illustration, etching, “stain glass,” ceramics, carving, metal working jewelry, interior decoration and plastic modeling.

The school continued in the 23rd Street building into the first years of the 20th century, when esteemed artists like William Merritt Chase were teaching here. But by the end of World War I the studio building had been converted to loft spaces and offices. Apparel-related firms moved in during the next few years. In 1990 the building was converted to residential use. A 6th floor and mezzanine was added; the architect closely matching the original red brick color and adding a terra-cotta medallion in a valiant attempt to tie in the 19th century detailing below.

The facade is five bays wide, with a modernized storefront at the ground floor, between the original red brick outer piers with terra-cotta capitals. The storefront has grey and silver metal and glass, with dark-grey rounded columns between the bays. At the 2nd floor the outer piers are banded with white limestone, and engaged red Corinthian columns separate the bays. Each has a tripartite window with transoms, and vents below the center pane. Between the 2nd & 3rd floors is a dentiled and ornamented frieze and a cornice with larger dentils.

The 3rd floor has raised brick courses on the piers, with carved terra-cotta flowers at the top and flat capitals with three rosettes on each one. The windows on all the upper floors are similar to those on the 2nd. The 4th & 5th floors both have raised brick sections on the piers with two vertical grooves, and the same carved floral pattern near the tops. There are ornamented bracket-like forms at the piers between the floors, and terra-cotta spandrels with dentils and foliate panels. Horizontal limestone bands below the windows and at the piers add emphasis. Above the 5th-floor windows is an ornamental terra-cotta frieze with a dentiled cornice.

The newer, red brick top floor has metal-framed tripartite windows in the outer bays; in the center are two bays of large, square, multi-pane windows flanked by smaller double-windows. A triangular gable rises above the center bays, with an inscribed circle. The building contains 20 condominium units; it was converted in 1987.