NYC Facades

Ornate water tower

The water tower and parapet are among the most decorated parts of this building. However, that is partly the result of lazy repair work done to remove the cornice (clearly visible at the bottom of the picture by the thick light brick line). One has to wonder whether anything other than style motivated the decoration so far removed from the street.

Full view of the west side

Lower story statues

Roof tinwork

Comparatively mild north side

South entranceway

This is one of the gems of the Upper West Side; incredibly ornate, yet under the radar. I defer to The Upper West Side Book for additional pictures and copy.

Pitched roof, rounded windows

This building has some very interesting featurse. Of course, the pitched roof and dormer windows are quite unusual. I also find the shape of the arch on the top floor middle window to be quite unique; normally the arches I see are extremely vertical or rounded, but not so oblong.

Note the paneled cornice

Many of the features on this building are unusual: the cornice on most buildings is a frieze, whereas this one is decidedly not; it has quions, which are unusual for the Upper West Side, it has decorative brickerwork (in the middle windows, as well as long horizontal sections beneath that); pilasters and archways; a deep red color.

Entranceway

West face

Corner column decoration

The two features that caught my eye on this building were the entranceway on 77th street, and the tiny pillars in the windows of the top floor. Also shown is the detail on the 1st story pillars.

Upper stories

Decorative archway

First, don’t be confused by the consistency across the buildings; they are not connected.  Obviously, they are not maintained together, since the window frames are different, and the right one is much dirtier than the left. Second, the brickwork is different; look at the corbels.

Look at the quality of the brickwork;  fairground arches beneath the cornice; the lazy chimney corbel; the varied arches and patterning; the horse shoe arches ovre the windows.

Something about this doorway caught my eye, but all I see now, reviewing it, is how the modernization of the building to the right truncated the spandrel artwork.

Clearly removed cornice

I like the fan-like lintels as well as the heavy arches on the top windows; the heavy relief (or what appears to be relief in this light) gives a great character. I venture so far as to say the missing cornice enhances the effect.

Insignia with stained glass

Year under the chimney (?)

This is an unassuming building with some great detail, shown here. Note the lion and human faces in the corbels; what do they represent?