Apple Bank Condominium (New York City, New York)

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6-story Italian Renaissance Palazzo-style mixed-use building originally completed in 1928. Designed by York & Sawyer, it sits on an oddly-shaped plot that is essentially a trapezoidal island formed by Broadway's diagonal slash through the otherwise regimented north-and-south layout of streets and avenues. The facades are clad in heavily rusticated limestone, lending an air of solidity. Inside, the soaring banking hall rises the height of four regular stories; its cathedral-like proportions, polychromatic marble floor, massive chandeliers, and honey-combed barrel-vaulted ceiling are both dramatic and visually impactful. The design took its inspiration from the Palazzo Medici in Florence.

The main bank entrance is in the south facade on 73rd Street, the narrowest of the four elevations. It has a recessed vestibule with a revolving door; the entry is lined with a rope molding, and the surround is carved with the name of the bank; it is surmounted by a dentiled cornice on which rests a carved, winged hourglass below a clock face, flanked by griffins which was modeled by Ricci & Zari and carved by John Donnelly Co. of New York. This all extends up over the base of the large double-height arch that dominates this elevation. There is also a small metal service door to the right of the main entrance. Above the arch is a shield-shaped cartouche serving as the base for a projecting flagpole. Above and to the sides are four bays of small, punched windows. A band course caps this level, and the next two floors have four bays of double-height tripartite windows, with marble spandrels between the two floors. Smooth pilasters separated the bays, paired at the ends. The top floor is set off by a projecting, modillioned stone cornice, and has double-windows in each bay.

The angled west facade along Broadway has three large arches at the center, with another entrance below the middle arch. It has a rope molding, cornice and carved name panel like the south entrance. Below the other two arches are three small punched windows at the ground floor level, with iron grilles. South of the arches are two bays, with smaller opening filled by metal louvers above larger windows. There are two more of the small, square, punched windows at the ground level below the southernmost bay. North of the arches are two more bays, with the southern one having an entrance to the upper floors (which are now residential) at the ground level, and the north end bay having a recessed window at the ground level. Above the center arch is a carved stone panel reading "CENTRAL SAVINGS BANK 1859 1928", flanked by a pair of shields with garlands.

The 2-story section above the rustication is handled like a loggia with windows separated by pilasters set against rusticated piers. These vertically paired windows are separated by marble spandrel panels and have balustrades at their bases. Crowning the loggia is a continuation of the modillioned cornice from the south facade, above which rises the classical attic floor with paired windows set above those of the loggia. The northwest corner is chamfered, with its only openings being a secondary entrance at the ground floor, and a very small window above the entry.

The north facade on 74th Street has another arch and bank entrance offset to the left. There is a small ground-floor window on either side of the entrance, and the right side of the facade has four windows, three of which are grouped together. At the ground floor there is a small storefront consisting of a central glass door and a plate-glass window to either side. Another carved stone panel flanked by shields and garlands is centered over the middle arch. The upper floors are like those on the other facades.

The long east facade along Amsterdam Avenue has five arches at the center, and an end bay at each side with a larger window topped by a small one. Each of the seven bays has paired, small, square windows at the ground level, with iron light fixtures between the bays. The upper floors are also designed in the same manner as those on the other facades. Crowning the attic floor on all sides is a gently-sloped red Spanish tile roof.

The Central Savings Bank has its roots as the German Savings Bank, founded by Jacob Windmuller in 1859. It headquarters first headquarters was built five years later at 14th Street and Fourth Avenue (now Park Avenue South). During World War I, with anti-German sentiments an issue, the bank changed its name, becoming the Central Savings Bank. Then, in 1926, the directors made the dramatic decision to move its headquarters near to the Upper West Side location. In 1981 the Central Savings Bank was absorbed by the Apple Bank for Savings. Today the historic banking hall houses the Apple Bank, while the upper four levels have been converted from offices to condominiums, with 29 units.

The only part of the ground floor not occupied by the bank or the residential lobby is the storefront at the northwest corner, occupied by The Baseball Center NYC.

www.applebankcondo.com/
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