910 Fifth Avenue

Once a 12 story Beaux-Arts building similar is style to 907 Fifth Avenue directly across 72nd Street, 910 Fifth Avenue was stripped to its steel skeleton in 1959 and rebuilt as a 16-story white brick apartment house in the then generic “white brick” style. Writing of 910 Fifth Avenue, historian Andrew Alpern opined that “its… Continue reading

900 Fifth Avenue

Designed by Sylvan and Robert Bien in 1960, 900 Fifth Avenue sports a pair of highly unusual double bays finished with gray-metal spandrels. Their presence and the building’s adjacency to the Frick Collection give the apartments excellent views.

857 Fifth Avenue

Designed in 1963 by Robert L. Bien and Fifth Avenue’s sole example of Jetsons Moderne, 857 Fifth Avenue is as eye-catching in its way as any Victorian pile. The building was criticized by historian Andrew Alpern as “a gauche assemblage,” although he praised its sophisticated interiors.  As a piece of mid-century kitsch it is nearly… Continue reading

812 Fifth Avenue

An 18-story 30-apartment building erected in 1963, 812 Fifth Avenue is an excellent essay in the subtle contextualism that characterized the Mid-20th Century along this stretch of Fifth.  Designed by Robert L. Bien, the building features setbacks, terraces and cornice lines that harmonize with 810 Fifth Avenue to the south and suggest the more flamboyant… Continue reading