47 West 68th Street (New York City, New York)

 apartment building  Add category

5-story Renaissance-revival residential building completed in 1897, just a couple years after the similar townhouses to the east. Designed by John C. Burne for Frederick Aldhous, it shares several design characteristics with the adjoining buildings to the east. The facade is clad in brownstone painted a cream color.

The ground floor has an entrance a few steps below the sidewalk level, at the west end, with modern glass-and-metal double-doors and transom; the molding around the entry is classically patterned. To the right are two windows with iron grilles, fronted by a low iron fence. The 2nd floor is underlined by a frieze with elaborate carvings, including faces, shells, and foliate ornament. There are three large single-windows with rope moldings. A large, elaborate bracket between the eastern two bays supports a rounded, projecting 3-window bay at the 3rd-4th floors, with cornices above each floor. The single-windows at the left have stone surrounds with cornice carried on slender brackets on the 3rd, 4th, & 5th floors. The are three such windows at the 5th floor. The facade is crowned by a black metal roof cornice with modillions, a frieze with garlands, and two rows of dentils.