1220-1227 Fifth Avenue, the Museum of the City of New York

A graceful Georgian Revival design by Joseph H. Freedlander, the Museum of the City of New York was founded in 1923 by the Scottish-born American historian Henry Collins Brown to preserve the city’s (even then) fast-disappearing history. Along with The New-York Historical Society, located on Central Park West and founded in 1799, the Museum of… Continue reading

1216 Fifth Avenue, The New York Academy of Medicine

A spectacular design by the firm of York & Sawyer, 1216 Fifth Avenue is one of the city’s greatest Neo-Renaissance buildings.  Designed and built in 1925-1926, it houses The New York Academy of Medicine, one of the world’s preeminent medical libraries and research centers.  Open to the public, its collections include original manuscripts by Sigmund… Continue reading

1215 Fifth Avenue, Brisbane House

The northernmost of the truly grand Fifth Avenue apartment buildings, 1215 Fifth Avenue is also known as Brisbane House, after Arthur Brisbane, the Hearst Organization editor whose memorial stands across the street a few blocks down on the Central Park side.  A decidedly eclectic figure, Brisbane also had a role in the development of the… Continue reading

1212 Fifth Avenue

An unusual building designed in 1926 by architectural brothers George and Edward Blum, 1212 Fifth Avenue was renovated as a condominium residence in 2012 by S. Russell Groves.  Replacement windows give the façade an unfortunately blank look.

The Arthur Brisbane Monument

Designed by Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, architects of 500 Fifth Avenue and the Empire State Building, the Arthur Brisbane Monument features a profile of the Hearst Organization editor by artist Richmond Barthe, a well-known sculptor of the period.  Dedicated in 1939, three years after Brisbane’s death, it is located (rather puzzlingly) a block down the… Continue reading