NYC Facades

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.

Quoins, hood molding

Capstone, ornament and molding

I am very fond of this type of architecture. The ornamented, rustified quoins (the horizontal bricks at corners, here around the windows) just really get me; the consistency of style between the window horizontals and verticals (on the right) and the scaling on the left that matches that on the right.

Top cornice on the building

This is a little pipsqueak of a building flanked by much larger ones on 57 street with some great details (and apparently it dates to the 1890s). It makes me wonder – in particular on major thoroughfares, such as 57 street – why squat little buildings exist when much larger ones surround them. I am told it is partly a function of the way in which leasing works in New York; someone might lease the land for 100 years, which means improvements made at the end of the lease probably will not benefit the leaseholder, who is also the person who will build the building.

Panorama facing west. Click for a much bigger version.

Steinman Hall from the eastern, St. Nicholas Terrace

Detail of the doorway to east entrance to Steinman Hall

The flagship campus of City University of New York is City College, at 137th Street and Convent avenue. Top is a panorama of the campus, with the North Academic Center at left, and Wingate, Harris, Compton & Goethals, and Baskerville Halls are the gothic buildings left to right from there. This picture is taken from in front of Steinman Hall; the bottom to pictures are from the east side of the campus on St. Nicholas Campus, and are of the other side of Steinman Hall.

The entire old campus has great curb appeal, and I found it a very inspiring setting.

Here is a map of City College I used; match it up to the Google map (you may need to zoom in).