601 West End Avenue

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601 West End Avenue
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601 West End Avenue
General information
Type Cooperative apartments
Architectural style Neoclassical
Location Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Address601 West End Avenue, New York, NY 10024
Coordinates 40°47′28″N73°58′36″W / 40.791029°N 73.976580°W / 40.791029; -73.976580
Completed1915
Owner601 West End Avenue, Inc.
Technical details
MaterialStructural Steel and Concrete Slabs
Floor count13
Design and construction
Architect(s) Emery Roth
DeveloperAlfred Saxe

601 West End Avenue is a luxury apartment building on West End Avenue on the northwest corner of West 89th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The thirteen-story building was designed by noted architect Emery Roth and built in 1915. In a review by the architectural critic Carter B. Horsley, the building was praised as "one of the city's most elegant and distinguished apartment buildings." [1]

Contents

Architecture

In his book Mansions in the Sky, Steven Ruttenbaum observes that 601 West End Avenue "exhibits an eclectic mixture of neo-classicism and the Vienna Secession" and is "notable for its discipline and sobriety." The building, he wrote, originally had only one apartment per floor. [2]

The architecture critic Carter B. Horsley wrote "The building's façade is nicely modeled to accent its verticality, but is punctuated by a very large wrought-iron entrance marquee and large balconies on the fourth, fifth and twelfth floors. The 13th floor has arched windows below the building's simple cornice." [1]

History

Development, 1915 to 1940s

In 1915, the developer Alfred Saxe purchased the two row houses on the corner of 89th street. [3] Emery Roth's plans filed in May that year, placed construction costs at $260,000. [2]

Originally the building residents were affluent and would have maintained a domestic staff in their large 3,000-square-foot (280 m2) apartments. In a 1930 article detailing a burglary, The New York Times details the staff: "In 1930 Joseph Baumann, who ran a furniture business, and his wife occupied the sixth floor apartment. Living with them were four servants, a butler, maid, nurse (who had charge of an infant), and a cook. On June 12 that year, Mrs. Baumann entered a hospital for a minor operation. When she returned home four days later, she discovered $100,000 in jewels missing from her bedroom." [4]

Sometime during or after the Great Depression the building was converted into a Single Room Occupancy hotel with 117 rooms. [5]

Nursing home, 1944 to 1975

In 1943 [5] the building was bought and converted into a nursing home. In 1957, it was remodeled as the Mayflower Nursing Home. The home was operated by Bernard Bergman. [6] However, the nursing home faced closure in 1975 due to reported deficiencies in care and safety violations. [6]

Cooperative conversion, 1977 to present

In 1977, 601 West End Avenue was sold out of foreclosure for $500,000, with a subsequent $1 million construction bond to facilitate its conversion into a cooperative. [6] The Recycling for Housing Partnership of Austin Laber and Jerome Kretchmer was the group behind the conversion. [7] The remodel setup the building with two apartments per floor with a penthouse on the roof.

The building continues to be run as a cooperative. Apartments now sell for over $2 million. [8]

References

  1. 1 2 "601 West End Avenue: Review and Ratings". www.cityrealty.com. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Miller, Tom (December 6, 2022). "Daytonian in Manhattan: Emery Roth's 1916 601 West End Avenue". Daytonian in Manhattan. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  3. ↑ "» 601–603 West End Avenue". www.landmarkwest.org. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  4. ↑ "WEST END AV. HOME LOOTED OF JEWELS; Mrs. Joseph Baumann Returns From Hospital to Find Her Gems Missing. APARTMENT WAS OCCUPIED Family and Servants of Victim Were in Residence Throughout Her Absence, She Tells Police". The New York Times. June 17, 1930. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  5. 1 2 "BIG HOUSE TRADED ON WEST END AVE.; Five Other Apartment Buildings Go to New Owners in Manhattan Deals". The New York Times. November 18, 1943. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 Jr, Donald G. McNeil (July 17, 1977). "Nursing Homes In Conversion". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  7. ↑ Oser, Alan S. (April 28, 1978). "About Real Estate". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  8. ↑ "601 West End Ave. in Upper West Side". streeteasy.com. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
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