136 West 28th Street (New York City, New York)

 apartment building, 1901_construction, Beaux-Arts (architecture)

5-story Beaux-Arts residential building completed in 1901. The facade is clad in brown brick above a ground floor with white brick and metal-and-glass storefronts. The middle of the ground floor is divided into three bays. The middle bay has a trio of wood-paneled windows with a panel of polished marble below. The narrower bay on either side has a doorway; the east bay has the main entrance, with a recessed black metal door and transom; and the west bay has an entrance into the restaurant space in the west half of the ground floor, with a wood-framed glass door. The wider end bays have storefronts - wood-and-glass French doors in the west bay, and metal-and-glass show-windows in the east. The brick piers are banded, with white stone bases. The two doorways are topped by cartouches on elaborate brackets, now partially obscured by signage. Above the center bay is a stone escutcheon with scrolls and foliage sprays. A cornice caps the ground floor.

The upper floors have three windows in the middle bay, and two windows in the end bays, which are framed by brick quoins. The 2nd-floor windows have brown stone lintels and pinecone-base brackets that carry projecting stone sills for the 3rd floor. The windows have stone surrounds at the 3rd floor, with curved tops that have scrolled keystones. The 4th-floor windows are the same but shorter, and a stone cornice with paired modillions underlines the top floor; below the cornice are stone escutcheons at each quoined pier. The top floor has smaller windows with splayed brick lintels and keystones. A smaller, dentiled cornice sets off a short roof parapet of grey brick. A pair of black iron fire escapes runs down the facade, with basket-style landings; the east fire escape is wider.

The exposed fronts of the side elevations are plain, white stuccoed walls with no openings. The ground floor is occupied by Ajisen Ramen restaurant.