St. James Court (New York City, New York)

USA / New Jersey / West New York / New York City, New York / West 92nd Street, 214
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7-story Beaux-Arts residential building completed in 1920. Designed by Neville & Bagge, it is clad in buff-colored brick and limestone above a 2-story limestone base. The west facade on Broadway is divided into three wings by deep light wells above the ground floor, which is lined with metal-and-glass storefronts between banded limestone piers. On the north facade on 92nd Street, an east wing is split off from the rest of the facade by another narrow light well that extends all the way down to the basement level.

The main entrance is in the wider, west section of the north facade, with black wood-and-glass double-doors and a transom flanked by paired granite pilasters that are fronted by paired granite Ionic columns resting on paneled bases. They support a projecting entablature over the doorway, with "ST. JAMES COURT" in lettering at the center, and the ends adorned with rather distraught-looking youthful faces flanked by leafy sprays. An egg-and-dart molding and cornice top the entablature, surmounted by a balustrade at the 2nd floor. Within the entry space, a ribboned molding frames the doors, with an escutcheon at the top. On either side of the entrance is an arched, paired window bay, with a scrolled keystone. The piers framing these bays are banded. At the 2nd floor a single-window tops the entrance bay. Farther to the west there are two storefront bays at the ground floor, with a single-window and a paired-window bay at the 2nd floor, the latter also framed by banded piers. A band course sets off the upper floors, with short balustrades below each of the paired windows, as well as the west single-window bay. There are also smaller bathroom windows paired with the two single-windows at the upper floors. Beige stone quoins frame the two end bays on the 3rd-6th floors, and the 3rd floor has stone surrounds at all but the small bathroom windows; they have scrolled keystones at the single-windows and escutcheons at the paired windows. Projecting stone balconies with balusters front the paired windows at the 4th floor. The windows have splayed stone lintels at the 4th-5th floors, with scrolled keystones at the paired windows, and flatter keystones at the 6th floor, which is capped by a stone cornice. The 7th floor is banded and has arched windows, except for the small bathroom ones. The mullions separating the paired windows are ornamented, and topped by escutcheons flanked by acanthus leaves. The facade is crowned by a grey metal roof cornice with modillions and dentils.

The east wing of the north facade has two bays of paired windows, matching the design elements of the wider west wing. At the ground floor the east bay has the western half of the paired window replaced by a commercial entrance with a red wooden door and a red canvas canopy. A 2-step, grey stone landing bridges over the basement areaway moat that extends all the way over to the main entrance. Some of the basement windows have been filled-in. There is a balustrade topping the basement level at the base of the light well, and an arched span across the opening at the top of the 2nd floor, with a scrolled keystone and another balustrade. The sidewalls of the light well are brick, with single-windows; those at the front have splayed stone lintels, and the cornices at the top extend onto this front bay as well, with a stone surround at the arched 7th-floor windows. The quoins at the edge also wrap around the corners. A black metal fire escape runs down the bay above the main entrance, beginning at the 5th floor.

The west facade on Broadway has two bays of paired windows at each of its three wings, with the same trim and ornament as the north facade, and three individual roof cornices. The two light wells also have arches bridging the openings at the top of the 2nd floor, with balustrades. There are more fire escapes on the side walls of the light wells.

The east elevation is faced in beige stucco, and has another fire escape. It has a bay of single-windows at the front, and several more farther back. The ground floor at the east wing is occupied by Strachman Blinds, Glass, Mirror & Shower Door Company, and the ground floor along Broadway is occupied by Dramatics NYC beauty salon, Smoke Favorite & Convenient smoke shop, The UPS Store, Belleclaire Dry Cleaners, and Little Italy Pizza.
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Coordinates:   40°47'30"N   73°58'24"W
This article was last modified 1 year ago