The Wilbraham

Add links
Coordinates: 40°44′46″N 73°59′12″W / 40.7462°N 73.9867°W / 40.7462; -73.9867
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Wilbraham
Romanesque revival
NRHP reference No.100002386
NYCL No.2153
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMay 4, 2018
Designated NYCLJune 8, 2004

The Wilbraham is an apartment building at 282–284

New York City designated landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.

The building occupies a rectangular site and has a facade that is divided horizontally into three sections. The lowest two stories are clad in

parlor, with bathroom but no kitchen; the communal dining room
was on the eighth floor.

The building was a

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
took over the Wilbraham in 1934 and renovated it over the next year, adding some units with kitchens. By the 21st century, the building was still mostly residential.

Site

The Wilbraham is at the northwestern corner of 30th Street and Fifth Avenue in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, at the northern edge of the NoMad neighborhood.[1][2] The land lot is rectangular and measures around 5,000 square feet (460 m2), with a frontage of 40 feet (12 m) on Fifth Avenue and 125 feet (38 m) along 30th Street.[1] To the south of the Wilbraham are the Marble Collegiate Church and old Holland House.[1][3] Other nearby buildings include the Gilsey House to the west, the Grand Hotel on the same block to the northwest, the Hotel Wolcott on the same block to the north, the Colony Club building to the east, and the Church of the Transfiguration to the southeast.[1]

During the mid-19th century, the stretch of Fifth Avenue between

blocks of "French flats".[5] When the Wilbraham opened in 1890, the surrounding area contained many Broadway theaters, men's clubs, Madison Square Garden, and Delmonico's restaurant.[6] Even in the 21st century, the area contained a large number of apartment buildings, scattered among the commercial and office structures of the neighborhood.[3]

Architecture

The Wilbraham was designed by brothers

H.H. Richardson.[8] The building also has a penthouse and a basement, though this is not included in the floor count.[9]

Facade

The Wilbraham is clad in Philadelphia brick and

elevation of the facade is divided vertically into two bays, while the 30th Street elevation is divided into seven bays. On both elevations, the facade is divided horizontally into three sections: the base, midsection, and capital.[10]

Lower stories

The entrance to the Wilbraham on 30th Street. There is a green awning above the entrance; the building's name is misspelled on the awning.
The entrance to the Wilbraham

The base is clad in

rock-faced stone, above a water table of gray polished granite. There are three pairs of bays (one on Fifth Avenue and two on 30th Street), which contain storefronts.[11] On both elevations, the ground-story storefronts have been modified from their original design and are topped by canopies and sign boards. Some of the ground-story openings are covered with roller shutters.[12]

On Fifth Avenue, the two bays are separated vertically by a granite-clad pier on the first story, as well as a half-column in the

transom window above, and a display window beside the door.[9] These have since been replaced with plate-glass display windows and metal-framed doors.[10] Above the first story, each bay has a cast-iron spandrel with ribbons and patterned window sills, which is covered by a storefront sign. On the second story, each bay has two wood-framed windows, topped by a cornice made of stone and cast iron.[9]

On the lowest two stories, the two easternmost bays on 30th Street are similar to those on Fifth Avenue, except that the display windows at ground story retain their original iron frames.

colonettes with ornate capitals, which support a round arch with a foliate keystone and ornate spandrels. The name "Wilbraham" is carved in stylized letters above the arch.[14] On the second story, the westernmost bay has a double window.[9]

Upper stories

The third through sixth stories are clad in Philadelphia red brick. On these stories, each bay on Fifth Avenue has three windows per story, while each bay on 30th Street has two windows per story.[15] On 30th Street, there are smaller windows on each story between the third and fourth bays, as well as between the fifth and sixth bays.[16] The third and fourth bays have a fire escape and protrude slightly from the facade.[9] The seventh bay on 30th Street also protrudes slightly from the facade.[14] On the facade's western elevation, the top two stories are visible above the roof of an adjacent structure and are clad in painted brick.[16]

The third through fifth stories have wood-framed sash windows with brownstone quoins on either side.[15] The windows in each bay are separated by stone half-columns and flanked by colonnettes and keyed frames. There are stone spandrels with foliate decorations between each story.[17] The third- and fifth-story windows have flat transoms, while the fourth-story windows have round arches.[18] There are segmental-arched windows on the sixth story, with rubbed-brick piers on either side of each window.[18] Stone cornices run above the fifth and sixth stories.[15] The cornice above the fifth story contains keystones, dentils, and voussoirs, while the cornice above the sixth story has corbels and voussoirs. In the westernmost bay, there is a pediment above the window on the sixth story.[16]

On the seventh and eighth stories, the windows are wood-framed sash windows.[18] On the seventh story, each bay on Fifth Avenue has three windows, while each bay on 30th Street has one window.[11] That story is clad in rock-faced ashlar with a band course above it. The eighth story is a mansard roof with paired dormer windows.[18] The lower sections of each dormer are clad with rock facing, while the upper sections have egg-and-dart moldings.[16] The mansard roof was originally made of slate with copper cresting, but it was later re-clad in standing seam copper.[16] There are four brick chimneys above the roof, as well as a metal railing that runs around a roof garden.[16] At the western end of the building is a penthouse that is set back from the street.[18] The original masonry penthouse contained servants' rooms and was not counted as a full story; it was later replaced with a metal-and-masonry penthouse.[11]

Interior

The Wilbraham retains much of its original layout, which is composed of storefronts and a lobby on the lowest two floors, as well as apartments on the third through eighth floors. The lobby is at the western side of the ground floor, while the storefronts occupy the eastern side of the ground floor and most of the second floor.

encaustic tiles.[19]

The Wilbraham was intended to be fireproof.[21] The building was originally supposed to have a cast-iron frame. The builders requested that the cast iron be substituted for steel in November 1888, after construction had begun.[20] Despite receiving permission to add steel beams, the Wilbraham still used iron beams, although the party wall next to the building was reinforced.[22] The Wilbraham also had its own power generator in the basement.[21] The building's mechanical systems, such as plumbing, ventilation, electric and gas lighting, and heating systems, were advanced for their day.[20][23] In addition, each tenant had housekeeping service, similar to in a short-term hotel, as well as an intercom that allowed them to talk to the building's superintendent.[20]

Lobby and retail

The main entrance on 30th Street, described by an 1890 Real Estate Record and Guide article as "wide and spacious",

wainscoting, and decorative ceilings. A stained-glass window decorated the northern end of the lobby.[13][24] The original tile floor and the stained-glass window have been removed, but the other decorations are intact. At the southeast corner of the lobby, just to the right of the main entrance, was a superintendent's room, which was subsequently converted into a mail room.[13] Over the years, the mahogany and oak woodwork were painted over, but the original wooden decorations were being restored by 2017.[25] There is also an Orientalist mural above the wainscoting in the lobby, which dates from no later than 1935.[19]

The retail spaces occupy the eastern two-thirds of the first story and the majority of the second story.[13] There is a showroom on the eastern side of the first story, which has plaster details, as well as cast-iron columns supporting a high ceiling. A second storefront exists along the center of the 30th Street frontage. There is additional commercial space on the second story, extending from Fifth Avenue westward to the elevator and staircase in the rear. The second-floor commercial space also has some decorative details such as plaster ornamentation and cast-iron columns.[19]

Apartments

There were initially 42 apartments on the third through seventh floors, as well as five servants' quarters (three on the eighth floor and two in the penthouse). Each story had six apartments along the southern and eastern walls.[26] Between 1934 and 1935, six apartments with kitchens were built across the third through seventh floors.[27][28] In addition, two apartments were built within the penthouse, and an office was created by carving up the second floor.[28] The units were arranged so they could be combined.[29] By 2018, the spaces had been combined into 38 apartments.[26]

On each of the third through eighth stories, the elevator opens onto a landing with encaustic floor tiles. A corridor, with acoustic carpets and paneled wood wainscoting, runs from each elevator landing to the eastern end of the building; each corridor has two sash windows overlooking a light court.[19] Originally, the corridors were described as having mosaic tiles, polished-oak wainscoting, blue-painted walls above the wainscot, and hand-painted frescoes on the ceilings.[19][30] There was also a communal dining room on the eighth floor, as the apartments originally did not have kitchens.[31][29] The Real Estate Record described the dining room as having "separate tables and a handsome oak sideboard, with plate and crockery, the latter being artistic and evidently of Chinese or Japanese manufacture".[24] The kitchen was placed on the top floor to minimize odors in each apartment.[21] There was also a rooftop terrace; when the building opened, residents could see as far west as the North River (Hudson River) and as far east as Long Island.[32]

The rooms measure as much as 33 by 18 feet (10.1 by 5.5 m) across and have thick walls and 13-foot (4.0 m) ceilings.

parlor, as well as a bathroom.[31][24][26] The parlors had mahogany fireplace mantels, tiled fireplaces with brass decorations, and ornate chandeliers. The floors in each apartment were made of timber with inlaid hardwood borders, and the spaces also had wallpaper and ceiling frescoes.[24][26] A wide segmental arch led from the parlor to the bedroom in each apartment, and there were doors to adjacent units.[26] There were electric lamps next to each bed.[24][26] The bathrooms each faced either 30th Street or Fifth Avenue;[24] they contained porcelain tubs and exposed metal pipes, which at the time were considered novel features.[24][34] Residents decorated their apartments to their liking, so no two units were exactly the same.[21][35] For instance, one of the earliest residents is described as having a fireplace with blue enamel tiles.[34][35] Some of the apartments received kitchens as part of a renovation in the 1930s, but the original decorations were largely left alone.[36]

History

The Wilbraham was built as a bachelor flat (or bachelor apartment house), a type of multifamily residence that gained popularity in the late 19th century.[37] This type of housing had become popular in New York City during the late 19th century, as the number of unmarried men in the city had grown significantly due to the city's industrialization and expansion. By 1890, forty-five percent of men older than 15 were unmarried, compared to thirteen percent just two decades prior.[8] Although apartments in bachelor flats were meant for permanent residents, there were no kitchens in any of the apartments, making the bachelor flat akin to an apartment hotel.[37][38][39] The bachelor flats only accepted men, hence their name, and the apartments were leased out to residents for year at a time.[40] When the Wilbraham was built in 1890, comparatively few bachelor flats existed in the city;[24][6] a New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission survey found only four bachelor flats that predated the Wilbraham.[6][41]

Development

The building's Fifth Avenue facade

The building was commissioned as a

speculative development by William Moir, a Scottish-American jeweler who was well known in the surrounding neighborhood in the late 19th century.[42] Moir acquired a row house at the northwest corner of 30th Street and Fifth Avenue in early 1888.[42][43][a] The four-story stone house had cost $235,000 to acquire and had previously belonged to John Watson.[43] That July, the Real Estate Record reported that D. and J. Jardine had been hired to erect a "six-story and basement fire-proof structure" with stores on the first floor and bachelor apartments above.[44] The Jardine brothers filed plans for a six-story bachelor flat in October; the structure would have a brick-and-brownstone facade with a fireproof frame of iron and cast iron. Work began shortly thereafter, and the cast iron beams in the frame were substituted with steel the next month.[20] At the end of December 1888, William H. Moir is recorded as having transferred the plot at 30th Street and Fifth Avenue to his wife Emily H. Moir.[45][46]

Building magazine published a sketch of a six-story building on the site in January 1889; the structure was depicted with a

balustrade on a parapet. That June, Moir applied for a permit to construct two additional stories, including a mansard roof, because he wished to maximize the amount of rentable space that the city's building codes allowed.[20] The additional stories were allowed because the Wilbraham and other bachelor flats were exempt from a city building code that prohibited most residential buildings from rising above 85 feet (26 m).[20][47] The penthouse, which contained a kitchen and three servants' apartments, was added to the plans the next month. The building opened in May 1890.[20] The china and glass purveyors Davis Collamore & Co. leased the basement, ground-floor storefront, and second story when the Wilbraham opened.[48][49] The Jardine brothers filed plans in October 1890 to build two rooms for servants within the penthouse, after Moir wrote to the New York City Department of Buildings that the rooms "are a positive necessity".[20] The additional servants' rooms were finished in 1891.[20][33]

Use as residential structure

John J, Gibbons, the leader of Davis Collamore & Co., bought the structure from Emily H. Moir at the beginning of January 1908 for $1 million.[50][51][52] At the time, Gibbons believed that the building would continue to attract "high-class retail trade" because of its location on Fifth Avenue, which was easily accessible by public transportation.[50] The Real Estate Record wrote that the sale "shows the growing necessity of tenants on the avenue owning their own property".[52] Gibbons retained the upper stories as bachelor apartments.[51] Davis Collamore & Co. moved out of the Wilbraham around 1920, when a new store was built at 15 East 56th Street.[53] The Gibbons estate sold the building in 1927, at which point the building was valued at $850,000.[48][49] The buyer was identified as the 1 West 30 St. Corporation.[53] Simultaneously, the store and basement on 30th Street were leased to Emerald Chocolates Inc. for $670,000.[48][49] The Wilbraham was one of several buildings in the neighborhood to be sold during that time, amid increases in the area's real-estate values.[54][55]

Although the building continued to be classified as a "bachelor apartment", a 1929 directory had listings for 15 women and 10 men who lived there.[53] Among the Wilbraham's residents were Wilton Lackaye, who died there in 1932.[56] The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company took over the building in 1934 after the previous owner failed to pay taxes.[53] Metropolitan Life filed alteration plans for the Wilbraham at a projected cost of $50,000. Several units with kitchens were added, making the Wilbraham likely the first apartment building on the midtown section of Fifth Avenue with gas stoves.[57] Many of the building's existing residents were forced to relocate.[27] By then, many of the nearby residential structures, such as the Holland House, the Knickerbocker, and the Cambridge, had either been converted to offices or demolished.[57][27] D. Everett Waid and Emery Roth designed the renovation of the building.[53] The alterations were completed in August 1935 by the firm of Bing & Bing, who divided the nine residential floors into apartments with one or two rooms.[27]

Maxwell Handelsman acquired the building in June 1944 from Metropolitan Life;[58][59] the buyer paid cash and took a mortgage of $242,500.[59] Over the years, the building was sold several more times.[9] By 1968, The New York Times described the Wilbraham as "a friendly building with overtones of the publishing world, genteel old ladies and young career women".[33] There were rumors that Lillian Russell and Diamond Jim Brady lived at the Wilbraham, although these rumors could not be proven.[33][60] At the time, a management firm and a carpet store occupied the lower stories.[33] The structure was known as the Tiffany by 1984.[9] The Wilbraham was designated a New York City Landmark in 2004.[61] By that decade, the building operated as a housing cooperative.[62] The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.[63]

Critical reception

The Real Estate Record and Guide in 1890 called the Wilbraham "certainly the 'crack' apartment house of its kind in New York City...quite an imposing piece of architecture".[8][24] According to the magazine, it was "the most elegantly appointed among the bachelor apartment houses in New York City".[23][64] The Times wrote in 1968 that the building was one of "Manhattan's most romantic and most improbable apartment houses".[33] In designating the building as a landmark in 2004, the LPC wrote that "the Wilbraham is extraordinarily well-detailed and reflects the influence of the Romanesque Revival style in the rock-faced stonework and excellent, intricately carved stone detail".[61] In 2020, The New York Times characterized the Wilbraham and the nearby Holland House building as "providing texture to the historic fabric" along the southern end of Fifth Avenue.[65]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ The Real Estate Record recorded the sale in March 1888. Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, p. 5, gives a conflicting date of April 1888.

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d "284 5 Avenue, 10001". New York City Department of City Planning. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8129-3107-5
    .
  3. ^ a b c d National Park Service 2018, p. 4.
  4. ^ a b Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, p. 2; National Park Service 2018, pp. 12–13.
  5. ^ a b Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, p. 2.
  6. ^ a b c National Park Service 2018, p. 15.
  7. ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, p. 3; National Park Service 2018, p. 13.
  8. ^ a b c Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, p. 4.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, p. 7.
  10. ^ a b c d Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, p. 7; National Park Service 2018, p. 5.
  11. ^ a b c National Park Service 2018, p. 5.
  12. ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, p. 7; National Park Service 2018, pp. 5–6.
  13. ^ a b c d e f National Park Service 2018, p. 6.
  14. ^ a b Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, p. 7; National Park Service 2018, p. 6.
  15. ^ a b c Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, pp. 7–8; National Park Service 2018, p. 5.
  16. ^ a b c d e f Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, p. 8.
  17. ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, pp. 7–8.
  18. ^ a b c d e Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, p. 8; National Park Service 2018, p. 5.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g National Park Service 2018, p. 7.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, p. 3.
  21. ^ a b c d Real Estate Record 1890, p. 306.
  22. ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, p. 10.
  23. ^ a b "The Wilbraham". The Real Estate Record: Real estate record and builders' guide. Vol. 46, no. 1174. September 13, 1890. p. 335. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023 – via columbia.edu.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Real Estate Record 1890, p. 305.
  25. ^ National Park Service 2018, pp. 6–7.
  26. ^ a b c d e f National Park Service 2018, p. 8.
  27. ^
    ProQuest 101374217
    .
  28. ^ a b Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, pp. 6–7.
  29. ^ a b Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, p. 3; National Park Service 2018, p. 8.
  30. ^ Tewksbury 1892, p. 140.
  31. ^
    ISBN 978-0-470-28963-1
    .
  32. ^ Real Estate Record 1890, pp. 305–306.
  33. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on May 17, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  34. ^ a b Tewksbury 1892, p. 142.
  35. ^ a b National Park Service 2018, p. 9.
  36. ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, pp. 6–7; National Park Service 2018, p. 8.
  37. ^ a b Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, p. 4; National Park Service 2018, p. 14.
  38. ISBN 978-0-520-06876-6
    .
  39. ^ "Bachelor Apartment Houses". The Real Estate Record: Real estate record and builders' guide. Vol. 75, no. 1923. January 21, 1905. pp. 131–132. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023 – via columbia.edu.
  40. ^ "Bachelor Apartment Houses". The Real Estate Record: Real estate record and builders' guide. Vol. 75, no. 1923. January 21, 1905. pp. 131–132. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023 – via columbia.edu.
  41. ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, p. 5.
  42. ^ a b Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, p. 3.
  43. ^ a b "Real Estate Department". The Real Estate Record: Real estate record and builders' guide. Vol. 41, no. 1045. March 24, 1888. p. 362. Archived from the original on May 15, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023 – via columbia.edu.
  44. ^ "Out Among the Builders". The Real Estate Record: Real estate record and builders' guide. Vol. 42, no. 1063. July 28, 1888. p. 948. Archived from the original on May 15, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023 – via columbia.edu.
  45. ^ "Brief and Newsy". Yonkers Statesman. December 19, 1888. p. 2. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  46. ^ "Conveyances". The Real Estate Record: Real estate record and builders' guide. Vol. 42, no. 1084. December 22, 1888. p. 1521 – via columbia.edu.
  47. OCLC 32819286
    .
  48. ^
    ProQuest 104150508
    .
  49. ^
    ProQuest 1113740276
    .
  50. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on May 12, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  51. ^
    ProQuest 572012588
    .
  52. ^ a b "Million Dollar Sale on Fifth Avenue". The Real Estate Record: Real estate record and builders' guide. Vol. 81, no. 2077. January 4, 1908. p. 52 – via columbia.edu.
  53. ^ a b c d e Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, p. 6.
  54. ProQuest 104127965
    .
  55. ProQuest 1132719094
    .
  56. ProQuest 1114540242
    .
  57. ^
    ProQuest 1329266343
    .
  58. ProQuest 1282897156
    .
  59. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  60. ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, p. 12.
  61. ^ a b Landmarks Preservation Commission 2004, p. 1.
  62. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  63. U.S. National Park Service. May 4, 2018. Archived
    from the original on May 8, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  64. ^ National Park Service 2018, p. 14.
  65. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on November 25, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2023.

Sources

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Wilbraham&oldid=1218096900"