Just Off Fifth: The Barbey Building at 15 West 38th Street

An astonishing tour-de-force of red terra cotta, the Barbey Building at 15 West 38th Street was built in 1909 to designs by Delano & Aldrich, a firm better known for subdued Colonial Revival work.  Here they produced a startling early skyscraper design that terminates with a vast Baroque cartouche. Despite the austere clarity of much… Continue reading

1130 Fifth Avenue

Possibly the finest Colonial Revival house in New York, Delano & Aldrich’s Willard Straight Mansion at 1130 Fifth Avenue was completed in 1913 and shows the firm at its very best in terms of mixing a classical vocabulary with a fresh sense of scale and juxtaposition.  The porthole windows along the uppermost floor are especially… Continue reading

807 Fifth Avenue, The Knickerbocker Club

A block north of the Metropolitan Club, the Knickerbocker Club is worlds away in terms of design, aesthetics and reputation.  One of the city’s most exclusive clubs, the Knickerbocker is housed in an austere yet roomy Delano & Aldrich Colonial Revival design of 1913. Simple, gracious interiors are visible through tall Federal-style windows.  A small… Continue reading