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CVS Pharmacy (New York City, New York)

USA / New Jersey / West New York / New York City, New York / Amsterdam Avenue, 743
 pharmacy, interesting place, commercial building

47-foot, 3-story Neo-Classical commercial building originally completed in 1927 as a bank. Designed by Walker & Gillette, it was built for the East River Savings Bank. Just five years later, a seamless addition to the north doubled the size of the bank, fully completed in 1931. While Art Deco was shaping the look of Midtown buildings; the new branch would echo the classic temple design to which customers had become accustomed.

The East River Savings Bank was originally founded in 1848 by attorney John Leveridge at 145 Cherry Street near the East River. The bank soon expanded and moved several times, buying the land at this site in 1923 for a new branch. The bank is noteworthy for discovering a marked bill that was revealed as part of the ransom money in the Lindbergh kidnapping. In the late 1970s, the bank was sold and renamed River Bank of America. In 1995, the River Bank branches were sold to Marine Midland Bank. Then, three years later, the building was converted into a CVS pharmacy. In 2000, the Montclare Children's School also moved into the building, sharing space with the CVS located on the ground floor.

The two main facades are clad in limestone. The main facade, facing Amsterdam Avenue, features an Ionic colonnade consisting of five freestanding, fluted columns. Behind the colonnade, the recessed facade is divided into six bays: four major bays at the center and two minor bays to each side. Each bay contains vertical fenestration with historic steel-framed, multi-pane window sash. Two projecting pedimented pavilions occupy the two centermost bays at street level. Each entry has double outer doors with bronze frames and transoms; behind them are decorative iron gates with an acanthus motif. Secondary, street-level entrances are located in the outer main bays. The slender minor bays contain decorative iron grilles at street level. Historic wrought-iron fencing encloses the space between the columns. The paneled end wall sections have crown moldings with rosettes and anthema, and contain historic, bronze light fixtures. The north end of the Amsterdam A venue facade contains a narrow, recessed section with a vertical steel-framed window and an entrance to the Montclare Children's School.

The entire facade is crowned by an entablature and parapet. The frieze contains the name of the bank (now covered with fabric), flanked by "1948" and "1926". A copper shield containing eagles and a medallion with "East River Savings Bank 1848" sits at the center of the parapet. It is flanked by quotes by Thomas Jefferson: "Save and teach all you are interested to save: Thus pave the way for moral and material success" and Abraham Lincoln: "Teach economy. That is one of the first and highest virtues. It begins with saving money."

The West 96th Street facade is divided into three bays by four engaged columns that match the Ionic order of the Amsterdam Avenue portico. Each bay contains vertical fenestration with historic steel-framed, multi-pane window sash and molded surrounds. Rectangular panels sit above each window. The detailing of the end wall sections and the entablature match that on the main facade. The parapet features a quote by Theodore Roosevelt: "The habit of saving money while it stiffens the will also brightens the energies. If you would be sure that you are beginning right begin to save."

The walls of the penthouse and the elevator shaft housing, which are partly visible from sidewalk level, are crowned by a copper molding featuring acanthus and anthema. Two flagpoles project from the Amsterdam Avenue side of the penthouse. The side wall at the north has a stepped parapet. The front section of this brick wall is covered with stucco.

The branch provided the first major clue in the Lindbergh baby kidnapping case when detectives discovered a marked bill from the $50,000 ransom money deposited here. “On April 4, 1932, the police got their hands on the first of the ransom notes,” reported The Times. “It was a $5 red-seal note that had been put through the East River Savings Bank at Amsterdam Avenue and Ninety-sixth Street.” Detectives traced the bill to the depositor, got a description, and the groundwork was laid for the kidnappers’ capture three years later.

It was renovated to become a CVS Pharmacy in 1999 and has been adaptively reused as that pharmacy since.

daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2012/03/1927-east-river-...
s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1980.pdf
hdl.handle.net/2027/pst.000065812389?urlappend=%3Bseq=2...
usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1928-06-1.PDF
webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/images/item.htm?id=http://purl...
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Coordinates:   40°47'39"N   73°58'11"W
This article was last modified 1 month ago