988 Fifth Avenue
Containing only a dozen apartments, 988 Fifth Avenue is another high-quality design by J.E.R. Carpenter. Inspired by Italian Renaissance palazzos, the building was completed in 1926.
Just Off Fifth: 4 East 79th Street, The Nichols-Harriman Mansion
Perhaps the most opulent house on the Cook Block not actually fronting Fifth Avenue, 4 East 79th Street was originally designed by C.P.H. Gilbert in a Beaux Arts style for James E. Nichols that contrasted with the Chateauesque Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion next door. After its purchase in 1916 by the Harriman Family, architect Herbert Lucas was… Continue reading
972 Fifth Avenue, The French Cultural Attaché
The last remaining and arguably the best townhouse design on Fifth Avenue by McKim, Mead & White, the Payne Whitney House at 972 Fifth Avenue was designed by Stanford White as a wedding gift from Colonel Oliver H. Payne for his nephew Payne Whitney as a wedding gift. Built in 1902-1906 on the garden plot… Continue reading
1 East 78th Street, The New York University Institute of Fine Arts
The Duke Mansion at 1 East 78th Street replaced the gloomy chateau of Henry Cook, the original developer of the block between East 78th and East 79th Streets on Fifth Avenue. Designed for the tobacco baron James B. Duke, the house is one of the masterpieces of Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer, who was also the… Continue reading
960 Fifth Avenue
A handsome edifice co-designed by Warren & Wetmore and Rosario Candela, 960 Fifth Avenue was completed in 1927 and replaced the infamous Clark Mansion, easily the city’s most over-the-top private residence. In place of the mansion’s much-ridiculed Baroque frills, 960 Fifth Avenue’s sedate exterior cloaks a series of apartments noted for their grandeur and individuality… Continue reading