corbel

175 West 81st Street

Insignia with stained glass

Insignia with stained glass

Year under the chimney (?)

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?

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Added: March 15, 2009

Chelsea Mews

Upper detail

Upper detail

Lower detail

Lower detail

As many of the buildings on 23rd street near 7th avenue demonstrate, one need not go out of their way to find interesting buildings. (See also: Amsterdam Avenue).

Address: Midtown; 148 West 23rd Street
Style: gothic
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Added: March 1, 2009

9-11 West 26 Street

26th street from Madison Square

26th street from Madison Square

Upper story detail

Upper story detail

11 East detail

11 East detail

These are a great example of buildings with more to offer well above street level; the ground floors are devoted to storefronts with little detail. However the left one, #9, has lovely pillar decorations and a mansard with quatrefoil and peaked window caps.

The right building is suggestive of a factory, with its large window framing on the top three floors; however, I doubt it was a factory, given its location and size. I also included the statues midway up, which are called Atlas’s (as in, Atlas is holding up the building).

Address: Midtown; 9 East 26th Street
Use: office
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Added: February 26, 2009

224 West 57 Street

The top of the corner.

The top of the corner.

2nd floor corner

2nd floor corner

West face column

West face column

The watertower, from the West.

The watertower, from the West.

The water tower, from the easet.

The water tower, from the easet.

I was blown away by this building. It was understated, yet highly ornamented. Even the column in the gap between windows had a decorative framing. It also offered a number of strange features, such as:

  • What is “corporation” on the water tower?
  • Why is the water tower a different style altogether? (Yes, I made sure they’re the same building!)
  • Why is the facade different on the Broadway  side versus the 57th street side? That is, in the first picture, why are there two angular tops on Broadway, and only 1 on 57th street?

Is that even a water tower at all? Why would there be an air conditioner coming from the window, then?

Address: Midtown; 1760 Broadway, and 224 West 57th Street
Use: office
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Added: February 15, 2009