1109 Fifth Avenue, the Jewish Museum

The oldest still extant Jewish museum, the first one established in the Unites States and the largest collection of art by Jewish artists and artifacts pertaining to Jewish culture outside of Israel, the Jewish Museum is housed in the magnificent Warburg Mansion, another Chateauesque tour-de-force from C.P.H. Gilbert, whose Ukrainian Institute is houses in a… Continue reading

1107 Fifth Avenue

1107 Fifth Avenue replaced the enormous Hutton Mansion – and did so only after Mrs. E. F. Hutton ensured that her house would be virtually replicated as the building’s triplex penthouse.  The uppermost floors of this building echo the original structure, with the Palladian window visible at the upper part of the photo taking the… Continue reading

The William T. Stead Memorial, Central Park at 91st Street

The William T. Stead Memorial, dedicated to the British journalist William T. Stead, is a replica of the London original by British artist George James Frampton, which was set into a wall of the Embankment Promenade facing the Thames.  Stead, a well-known writer who founded the Review of Reviews in 1890, perished aboard the Titanic… Continue reading

Just Off Fifth: 9 East 91st Street, the John H. Hammond House

The third of the three remarkable large-scale freestanding houses to line the north-side block of East 91st Street between Fifth and Madison, 9 East 91st Street was designed in 1903 by Carrere & Hastings for banker John H. Hammond, whose sister-in-law was Mrs. Burden, owner of the house next door at 5 East 91st.  Called… Continue reading

Just Off Fifth: 5 East 91st Street, the James Burden Mansion

A worthy neighbor to the larger Kahn Mansion at 1 East 91st Street, the James Burden Mansion at 5 East 91st Street has been called “the finest Beaux Arts townhouse in the city” by the New York Landmarks Commission.  A sumptuous yet stately 1902-1905 design by Warren & Wetmore, 5 East 91st Street is also… Continue reading