John Henry Hammond House

Coordinates: 40°47′04.3″N 73°57′25.3″W / 40.784528°N 73.957028°W / 40.784528; -73.957028
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

John Henry Hammond House

The John Henry Hammond House is a

Consulate-General of Russia in New York City
has been located there.

Site

The purchase of land fronting on

Cooper-Hewitt Museum), saw Carnegie buy neighboring building lots in order to protect his investment. The entire north side of 91st Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues was purchased by Carnegie.[1] Carnegie sold off lots to individuals who agreed to build substantial dwellings, and in 1903, a home was built at 9 East 91st Street by John H. Hammond, a New York City banker. The land, and possibly the house, was a wedding gift to Hammond and his wife (Emily Vanderbilt Sloane) from her father, William Douglas Sloane of the firm W. & J. Sloane.[1]

Architecture

The five-story

palazzo
details.

The ground floor has pronounced banded

quoining at each corner of the building. The second floor piano nobile is evident by its large casement windows proportionately taller than those below or above. On the principal facade these aedicular windows have segmental pediments supported on the flanking Ionic columns; they are given extra prominence by the small wrought iron balconies supported by limestone corbels. The windows of the third floor clearly denote it as containing secondary accommodation, while the windows of the third and top floor are smaller still, clearly indicating a lower status than those below. The fourth floor contains masonry panels and is intended to complement the enriched entablature, frieze and boldly projecting cornice immediately above it.[4]

Interior photos from the early 20th century display a "rich series of

squash court on the fifth floor, which two generations of Hammond children found ideal for roller skating.[5]

The Hammonds lived in the house with their five children and 16 staff. Rachel Hammond Breck noted that her mother's parties never went for long, mainly due to her not serving alcohol.

John Hammond, Jr. playing violin or viola. Over the 44 years that the Hammonds lived in the house, many greats of jazz played in the house, including Benny Goodman, who would later marry one of the Hammond daughters, Alice.[5][6]

History

The Hammonds sold the house in May 1946

The

closed-circuit cameras to watch over the street in front of the building. A total of US$500,000 was spent on renovations before the Soviets were ordered to leave in 1980.[10]

After the

Russian Federation returned to New York City in 1992 to find the building in an advanced state of disrepair. In co-operation with Random House, the Russians, including 16 artisans from Moscow, went to work on renovating the building and fixing the many problems which existed; water had seeped from the roof, floorboards squeaked and the plumbing, furnace, and elevators no longer worked. The consulate opened in 1994.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Gray, Christopher (March 18, 1990). "STREETSCAPES: 9 East 91st Street; A Soviet Palazzo Off Fifth Ave". The New York Times. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
  2. ^ "THE NEW PUBLIC LIBRARY; Carrere & Hastings's Design for a Great Building Adopted by the Trustees". The New York Times. November 12, 1897. p. 12. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c Reif, Rita (July 22, 1975). "Soviet Seeks to Purchase Mansion for a Consulate". The New York Times. p. 31. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
  4. ^ a b "Expanded Carnegie Hill Historic District" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. December 21, 1993. pp. 165–166. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
  5. ^ a b "History". Consulate-General of the Russian Federation in New York City. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
  6. ^ a b c Moonan, Wendy (October 13, 1994). "After the Revolution, A Russian Restoration". The New York Times. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
  7. ^ a b "Purchase complete". The New York Times. August 10, 1975. p. 207. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
  8. ProQuest 1284524283
    .
  9. ^ Ennis, Thomas W. (October 9, 1966). "City Takes Action to Preserve Its Historic Districts". The New York Times. p. R1. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
  10. ^ a b Maitland, Leslie (January 9, 1980). "Neighbors on E. 91st Street Sorry To See Soviet Consular Aides Go". The New York Times. p. A6. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
  • Kathrens, Michael C. (2005). Great Houses of New York, 1880-1930. New York: Acanthus Press. p. 183. .

External links

Architectural essay on Hammond House. Media related to John Henry Hammond House at Wikimedia Commons

40°47′04.3″N 73°57′25.3″W / 40.784528°N 73.957028°W / 40.784528; -73.957028