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.

1 West 126th Street

The first building in Harlem to go co-op, 1 West 126th Street is built out of bright orange-red brick.  Home to numerous African-American celebrities, including singer and actress Eartha Kitt, bandleader Billy Eckstine and famed gospel singer Della Reese, 1 West 126th Street was built in 1940, and is a typical example of late Art… Continue reading

2032-2040 Fifth Avenue

2032-2038 Fifth Avenue consists of a row of handsome and largely intact brownstone houses once typical of the greater length of Fifth Avenue; 2040 Fifth Avenue exists as a post-war stub at the end, currently housing a small bodega.