34 East 39th Street

 office building  Add category

5-story Italianate office building originally completed in 1866 as a 4-story rowhouse. Clad in brownstone, it retains its cornice but has lost its stoop and most of the ornamental detail. There is now a ground-level entrance, two steps down from the sidewalk. The black wood-and-glass door is framed by thick black-painted, paneled pilasters with a triangular pediment on top. There is a wide window to the left, fronted by a low stone wall with plantings and an iron railing. The 2nd floor has an oversized window at the left, and a much smaller window to the right. The three upper floors have paired windows with simple stone sills, shorter on the top floor. The facade is crowned by a black iron roof cornice with modillions, dentils and end brackets. The east elevation is clad in brown brick with no openings.

From at least 1874 till his death in 1897, the house was home to Dr. Lewis Hallock, at the time "the oldest practicing physician in this city, and probably in America." Gherardi Davis, a New York State Assembly member, lived here after 1897 until his death in 1941. Following Davis's death, the building was converted from a single-family residence to a multiple dwelling, at which time the stoop was removed. In 1961 the apartments were converted to offices. The ground floor is occupied by Photo Mission Studios.