2056 Fifth Avenue, The former Fifth Avenue Hall
An attractive if unusual confection, 2056 Fifth Avenue consists of a highly-detailed Beaux Arts Building and a penthouse floor addition in a seeming Viennese Expressionist style. Constructed as Fifth Avenue Hall in 1917, the original building served as a center for New York’s Finnish community, which settled extensively in Harlem during the 1910s and 1920s. … Continue reading
2049 Fifth Avenue
Like its neighbor to the south, 2049 Fifth Avenue was built in 1921 – but, despite being the less interesting design, appears to have held on to its original facade a bit better overall.
2041 Fifth Avenue
Built in 1921, 2041 Fifth Avenue is a late example of the Beaux Arts style – well-proportioned, but sadly shorn of its upper cornices and some other detailing.
9-11 West 124th Street, The New York Public Library, Harlem Branch
Standing at 9-11 West 124th Street, the Harlem Branch of the New York Public Library is one of the numerous handsome branch libraries erected by the organization in the years during the construction of its main building at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue. An elegant design by McKim, Mead & White, it balances austere detail… Continue reading
1469 Fifth Avenue
A rather battered Beaux Arts survivor, 1469 Fifth Avenue has been shorn of its cornice and studded with cell phone equipment but remains a solid example of a middle-class apartment building of its era.