19-47 West 85th Street (New York City, New York)

 rowhouse, apartment building, 1907_construction, Beaux-Arts (architecture)

A row of 15 5-story Beaux-Arts residential buildings completed together in 1907. Designed by Lafayette A. Goldstone, they arranged in an A-B-C-B-C-B-D-B-C-B-D-B-C-B-D pattern. The 3-bay facades are clad in limestone (some painted), a small amount of red brick, and ironwork.

All of the buildings have curved, shallow-projecting fronts extending up to the 3rd or 4th floor in alternating fashion, except for No. 19 at the east end. Its whole facade is projecting forward, with a rounded west bay. Painted beige, it has an altered entrance. All of the houses were built with central entrances atop low, wide stoops that flared out at the bases. At No. 19 the original doorway has been replaced by a wrought-iron-and-glass set of French doors opening onto a small, stone terrace enclosed by an iron fence. A stone molding frames this opening, with an elaborate cartouche at the top that is flanked by fruit and surmounted by scrolls and a torch, with console brackets at either side. The ground floor is banded and capped by a cornice. To the right is a small window with a wrought-iron grille that bows out toward the bottom. At the curved west bay is the current entrance, with a wrought-iron-and-glass door and transom. There are stone surrounds at each of the windows on the upper floors, which are divided by cornices. The 2nd floor has transoms above the main windows, and the surrounds are crowned by carved panels overlaid by emblems featuring fleur-de-lis. There is a shallow rounded pediment above the center bay, and swags over the other two. The 3rd floor has metal railings across the bases of the windows, and a triangular pediment over the center window, with fruit-carved panels above the outer two. The 5th floor has keystones over the windows, and the facade is crowned by a projecting, black metal roof cornice with console brackets, modillions, and panels.

No. 21, painted light-grey has the typical central entrance with a low stoop with iron handrails, curving outward at the base. The glass-and-wrought-iron double-doors are slightly recessed and framed by fluted Corinthian columns supporting an entablature with a scrolled pediment, a wreath-wrapped escutcheon flanked by leaves, and a crowning seashell. The windows on either side of the ground floor have iron grilles, and the eastern one extends lower. The projecting, curved facade extends up through the 3rd floor. The 2nd floor-windows have black metal framing dividing them into 2-over-3 panes, with each window topped by an emblem over a field of scales, with small cornices on top. The center bay also has triangular pediment on top, while the outer bays have panels with garlands. There is a shallow triangular pediment above the center-window's surround at the 4th floor, with cornices over the other two. The top floor has keystones on the surrounds, and the facade is crowned by a white metal roof cornice with console brackets, modillions, and ornamented panels, with a small cartouche at the center panel.

No. 23 is painted off-white. The ground floor is banded, and the iron grilles on the windows bow out at the bottoms. The ornament over the entrance is similar to No. 21's, but with a cartouche within the scrolled pediment. The western ground-floor window extends lower than the eastern one. The projecting, curved section extends up through the 4th floor. The same ornament is seen above the 2nd-floor windows, but with a rounded pediment at the center bay; these windows have transoms. The 3rd floor has a triangular pediment above the center bay, with panels carved with swags at the outer bays. Like all of the other buildings, the top floor has keystones at the surrounds. The facade is crowned by a white metal roof cornice that matches the others.

No. 25 is painted beige, and repeats the "B" design of No. 21, but with a black roof cornice.

No. 27 is painted white, and repeats the "C" design of No. 23, with a dark-grey cornice. At the ground floor, the original central entrance has been has been replaced by wrought-iron-and-glass French doors opening onto a small, raised terrace. To the right is a small, red-tile set of steps to a newer entrance in the east bay, with a black wood-and-glass door.

No. 29 is painted beige and repeats the "B" design of Nos. 21 & 25, with a black roof cornice.

No. 31 has grey-painted stone and red brick. The stone ground floor is banded, with the entrance very similar to No. 27's, but with a different cartouche design flanked by fruit and flowers, and with a rounded band of petals below it. The western ground-floor window extends lower than the eastern one, both with iron grilles bowing out at the bottoms. There are stone quoins lining the edges of the upper floors, and banded stone surrounds at the windows on the 2nd-4th floors, which are curved and projecting. The 2nd-floor windows have transoms and are subdivided into many small panes with white wooden framing; they are topped by splayed lintels broken into three parts, and topped by cornices, with a rounded pediment surmounting the center bay and stone panels above the other two. The 3rd floor has similar but shorter stone lintels with cornices at the outer bays, and an escutcheon and triangular pediment at the center bay. Similar lintels top the 4th-floor windows, and the 5th-floor windows have single keystones. The facade is crowned by a black metal roof cornice of the same design as the others.

No. 33 repeats the "B" design, painted beige on the ground floor and top two floors, and white on the 2nd & 3rd floors. It has its original center entrance replaced by wrought-iron-and-glass French doors opening onto a small, raised terrace, and the eastern bay replaced by an entrance with a black wood-and-glass door atop a narrow set of steps. The roof cornice is black.

No. 35 repeats the "C" design, painted white. The roof cornice is white.

No. 37 repeated the "B" design, and is painted a weathered beige. The 2nd-floor windows have stained-glass in a geometric pattern. The roof cornice is white.

No. 39 repeats the "D" design of No. 31, with red brick and beige stone. The cartouche above the doorway is flanked by acanthus leaves. The roof cornice is white.

No. 41 repeats the "B" design, but with the entrance relocated to the west bay, approached by a small, red-tiled terrace and small set of metal-and-tile steps. There are scrolled framing the cartouche above the French doors at the center bay, with a band of garlands below. The weathered facade is painted white, and the roof cornice is dark-grey, probably faded from an earlier coat of black paint. A mesh metal railing tops the projecting facade section at the base of the 4th floor.

No. 43 repeats the "C" design, painted beige. Its entrance is relocated to the east bay, with metal-and-tile steps and a small landing like those directly next door. There is a metal railing at the base of the 5th floor, topping the projecting section, and the facade is crowned by a black metal roof cornice.

No. 45 is also beige, and repeats the "B" design.

No. 47 at the east end repeats the "D" design, with red brick and white-painted stone trim. The roof cornice is black. All of the houses have been converted to apartments.