30-32 East 21st Street (New York City, New York)

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9-story Renaissance-revival cooperative-apartment building completed in 1898. Designed by Ralph Samuel Townsend as a store-and-loft building, its brick and limestone facade is distinguished by a prominent cornice and double-height, cast-iron storefront. The facade is divided into three zones. The 3-story base is articulated in deeply-coursed stone. Its four pilasters with carved capitals extend the height of the first two floors; the pilasters frame, in the end bays, a pedimented entrance with modern metal doors, a linteled entrance with a wood and glass service door, and a rectangular window. In the center bay, they frame a 2-story, cast-iron storefront, which has (on its 1st floor) two large show windows capped by transoms and flanked by doors, one with a modern ventilation grille, and (on the 2nd floor) decorative pilasters dividing four windows capped by transoms and divided by a row of rosettes. Above, a prominent cornice supports the row of round-arched windows at the 3rd floor; these alternate with decorative consoles beneath a protruding balustraded balcony.

In the 3-story middle zone, two central bays are organized by the balcony and double-height arcades which group the windows and carved spandrels into two pairs separated by a broad pilaster. The end bays are emphasized by windows with elaborately banded and pedimented surrounds.

In the 2-story top zone, Ionic pilasters separate the end bays with one window per floor from the paired windows of the central bays, which are also flanked by pilasters. A deep black metal dentiled roof cornice caps the entire facade. A grey metal fire escape, attached to the eastern edge, runs between the top and 2nd floors. The eastern elevation is brick, partially parged, with just a few windows.

Among the building's tenants, who were characteristic of the district, were: the Tonnele Company, advertising photographers and publishers; Heins and LaFarge, architects; Harwell-Evans, art publisher; and several tailors and lace curtain manufacturers. It was converted to residential in 1981.