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

800 Fifth Avenue

800 Fifth Avenue is a dreary slab. A heavy-handed rear garden may provide some pleasure to the inhabitants but contributes nothing at the street level; the Central Park façade is worse.

Strand Books Central Park Kiosk, East 60th Street and Central Park

A booth rather than a building but no less an essential part of the Plaza District, the Strand Books Kiosk is a unique satellite location of the famed used and new bookstore at 13th Street and Broadway just south of Union Square.  Open daily from 10 AM to dusk (weather permitting), it’s a great place… Continue reading

2 East 61st Street, The Pierre Hotel

Another tour-de-force fantasy from Schultz & Weaver, architects of the Sherry-Netherland a block to the south, The Pierre Hotel of 1929 is French rather than Flemish, Classical rather than Gothic and limestone rather than brick, but the results are equally charming at the street level and memorable upon the skyline. The somewhat labyrinthine interiors include… Continue reading

1 East 60th Street, The Metropolitan Club

A spectacular 1893 extravaganza by McKim, Mead & White, the Metropolitan Club is chiefly the work of the firm’s leading partner Stanford White and may be his most flamboyant New York City design, especially when compared to Charles McKim’s University Club at 54th and Fifth.  McKim’s building is a highly ornate but sober monument to… Continue reading