934 Fifth Avenue, the French Consulate General

A lavish Italian Renaissance Revival mansion, 934 Fifth Avenue was built in 1926 to designs by Walker & Gillette, a firm better known for their Art Deco skyscrapers.  Completed for Charles and Elizabeth Mitchell, the house was famed for recitals given by Mrs. Mitchell’s many musical friends, who included George Gershwin and Ignay Padrewski. Acquired… Continue reading

930 Fifth Avenue

Built in 1940 and designed by Emery Roth, 930 Fifth Avenue presents a more cautious take on the Baroque flamboyance of the architect’s Central Park West buildings.  Here delicate Spanish Renaissance terra cotta frames upper stories rather in the manner of Roth’s 24 Fifth Avenue; a central tower conceals the water tank.  The marble Art… Continue reading

927 Fifth Avenue

A finely proportioned and detailed building by Warren & Wetmore, 927 Fifth Avenue was designed by Warren & Wetmore in 1917.  Containing only twelve apartments, 927 Fifth Avenue has long had a reputation for exclusivity. Dolphins and storks are among the carved limestone elements and the building’s bestiary was long augmented by the presence of… Continue reading

925 & 926 Fifth Avenue

A pair of handsome survivors designed by C.P.H. Gilbert in the 1890s, 925 & 926 Fifth Avenue remind us that not every house on the avenue was either a folly or a masterpiece – some, like this pair, were sensible and relatively restrained dwellings in keeping with educated middle-class taste. Considering that the houses were… Continue reading

923 Fifth Avenue

Designed by Sylvan Bien in 1951, 923 Fifth Avenue is a classic white brick apartment house featuring an attractive sunken lobby and corner balconies, many of which have been filled in. Bronze elevator doors provide a note of pre-war glamour.