2 East 129th Street

2 East 129th Street is a solidly constructed but rather surprisingly plodding block of drab brick that lacks even the residual glamour of a Fifth Avenue address.  Planting ivy might help – and might in fact have been the builder’s original idea.

2081-2087 Fifth Avenue

2081-2087 Fifth Avenue are a quartet of brownstones developed, like the houses across the street at 2080-2084 as a unified row. The first of the row has been sadly mutilated but the northern three are intact and display excellent Neo-Grec/Italianate detailing.

2080-2084 Fifth Avenue

2080-2084 Fifth Avenue are a trio of brownstones developed as a single row.  They presumably would have included the now-demolished Collyer House at the corner, and whatever stood at what is at present a vacant lot at 2086 Fifth Avenue.  At some point 2080 and 2084 gained mansard roofs; 2084 also gained a rather unfortunate… Continue reading

Just Off Fifth: 15 and 17 East 128th Street

15 and 17 East 128th Street are a charming pair of neighbors, with the former’s Italianate detailing a catalogue of Neo-Grec effects and the latter surviving as one of New York’s earliest surviving houses in the French Second Empire style.

2077 Fifth Avenue, The St. Claire

2077 Fifth Avenue, also known as the St. Claire, is a recently constructed condominium residence.  As such, it is an non-committal addition to the streetscape.