152 East 38th Street

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3-story Neo-Federal townhouse originally completed in 1858 for Patrick McCafferty. The building was unique compared to others in the neighborhood as it was situated at the rear of the lot, leaving almost 60 feet between the front of the house and the street. McCafferty resided in the house into the 1860s and then the property was sold several times until it was acquired in 1888 by Mary L. Van Buren, the widow of James Van Buren, who had died in 1878.

In 1934, engineer and antiques collector Russell Pettengill leased the house at 152 East 38th Street along with the adjacent building at No. 150 and hired architect Robertson Ward to renovate the two structures into his residence and office, respectively. he front yard of No. 152 was divided with a one-story wall, separating the forecourt that provides access to both buildings and screening the rear house and its front garden from the street. A glassed-in sitting room was added as an extension on the first floor of No. 152 that extends into a corner of the rear garden of No. 150. Other changes made to No. 152 included adding a rear wing with servants' rooms, deepening the cellar to provide additional storage space, and painting of the brick façade in an off-white color with gray details.

The renovations made by Robertson Ward from 1934 to 1935 converted both structures from an Italianate design to the Regency Revival style and also architecturally harmonized the two buildings. Ward added a loggia with columns and wall details including blind arches and paired pilasters supporting a frieze, cornice and pediment to the forecourt, which was separated from the street by a unique iron fence decorated with anchors and drafting tools that extended in front of No. 150. Lanterns on the sides of the front gate to the forecourt depict "150" and "152" to represent the house numbers of the complex.

The front doorway to No. 152 is raised four steps from the ground and has glass side lights with delicate pilasters supporting a molded entablature and a transom; iron trellises were used in lieu of columns to support a scalloped bronze canopy covering the stoop. The front façade of the house has double-hung sash windows with black shutters and includes a frieze decorated with rosettes and a cornice crowned by a brick parapet.