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88 & 90 Lex Condominium (New York City, New York)

USA / New Jersey / West New York / New York City, New York / Lexington Avenue, 88-90
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253-foot, 18-story Art-Deco residential building completed in 1927, now joined with the neighboring 174-foot, 14-story building completed in 1959, both originally built as office buildings, and both originally housing offices of Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The northern, shorter building was redesigned and re-clad with a modern facade during the residential conversion and joining, which was carried out by the architectural firm Workshop/APD in 2014-2017.

88 Lexington was designed by Necarsulmer & Lehlbach, and is clad in light-tan limestone. The 2-story base has five double-height round-arches along the east facade, and six along the south facade, each with grey granite plinths at the bases in between them, and topped with scrolled keystones. On Lexington Avenue the north bay contains the main entrance for both buildings, with glass double-doors in a glass surround, covered by a small metal canopy. Classic wall sconces are mounted on either side. The other bays have grids of windows at both levels, except for the two western bays on 26th Street, which have a small metal service door and a garage door at the ground floor.

The 3rd floor is framed by a rounded string course with small dentils at the bottom, and a projecting band course with larger dentils at the top. The upper floors have a bay of paired windows at each end, with six single-windows in the middle at the east facade, and eight single-windows in the middle at the south facade. At the 3rd floor there are subtle incised panels at the piers between bays, and a winged torch carved at each end. The 13th floor has elaborate carvings on the piers, an egg-and-dart molding along the base, and is topped by a stone cornice with multiple moldings. The 14th floor is set back above, with another setback to the top floors. The 18th floor is a mechanical level, largely shielded behind sloped copper roofs. An elevator bulkhead rises from the north side of the roof.

A recessed groove marks the connection to the north building at 90 Lexington, originally designed by Carson & Lundin. Its new facade is clad in white limestone and green-tinted glass. The east facade on the avenue is organized into four large bays at the base, the southern three each divided into two smaller bays on the upper floors.The bays are arranged in 2-story units, with the thin black metal framing of the windows projecting out slightly from the limestone. The southern two bays at the upper floors are open, creating recessed balconies with short glass railings.

The north facade on 27th Street has five large bays at the base, with the upper floors broken down into smaller window bays. The west end bay and the bay third from the west also have open, recessed balconies. There is a setback above the 10th floor, and the top floors are clad in a glass curtain wall.

88and90lex.com/
streeteasy.com/complex/88-lexington-avenue
hdl.handle.net/2027/pst.000065812389?urlappend=%3Bseq=3...
usmodernist.org/PA/PP-1930-10.pdf
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Coordinates:   40°44'30"N   73°59'0"W
This article was last modified 2 months ago