907 Fifth Avenue
Encyclopedia
907 Fifth Avenue is a luxury residential housing cooperative
in Manhattan
, New York City
.
The twelve-story, limestone-faced building is located at Fifth Avenue and 72nd Street on a site once occupied by the 1893 residence of James A. Burden, which had been designed by R. H. Robertson
. The apartment block, built in 1916, was the first apartment building to replace a private mansion on Fifth Avenue above 59th Street
. It was converted to a cooperative in 1955. J. E. R. Carpenter was the architect; he would be called upon to design many of the luxury apartment buildings that gave a new scale to Fifth Avenue in the 'teens and twenties of the 20th century. The building won him the 1916 gold medal of the American Institute of Architects
.
The building has the aspect of an Italian Renaissance
palazzo
, built around a central court. Its first four floors are lightly rusticated
; deep quoin
s carry the rusticated feature up the corners to the boldly projecting top cornice. A strong secondary cornice above the fourth floor once made a conciliatory nod to the cornice lines of the private houses that flanked it, whose owners had fought its construction in court. When it opened, there were two twelve-room apartments on most floors. The largest apartment in the building occupied the entire top floor, with 25 rooms; it was taken by Herbert L. Pratt
, a Standard Oil Company vice-president, at a rent of $30,000 a year.
Housing cooperative
A housing cooperative is a legal entity—usually a corporation—that owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, sometimes subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease. ...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
The twelve-story, limestone-faced building is located at Fifth Avenue and 72nd Street on a site once occupied by the 1893 residence of James A. Burden, which had been designed by R. H. Robertson
Robert Henderson Robertson
Robert Henderson Robertson was an American architect who designed numerous houses, institutional buildings and churches.-Life and career:...
. The apartment block, built in 1916, was the first apartment building to replace a private mansion on Fifth Avenue above 59th Street
59th Street (Manhattan)
59th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan runs east-west, from York Avenue to the West Side Highway, with a discontinuity between Ninth Avenue/Columbus Avenue and Eighth Avenue/Central Park West for the Time Warner Center. Although it is bi-directional for most of its length, the...
. It was converted to a cooperative in 1955. J. E. R. Carpenter was the architect; he would be called upon to design many of the luxury apartment buildings that gave a new scale to Fifth Avenue in the 'teens and twenties of the 20th century. The building won him the 1916 gold medal of the American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
.
The building has the aspect of an Italian Renaissance
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
palazzo
Palazzo
Palazzo, an Italian word meaning a large building , may refer to:-Buildings:*Palazzo, an Italian type of building**Palazzo style architecture, imitative of Italian palazzi...
, built around a central court. Its first four floors are lightly rusticated
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
; deep quoin
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
s carry the rusticated feature up the corners to the boldly projecting top cornice. A strong secondary cornice above the fourth floor once made a conciliatory nod to the cornice lines of the private houses that flanked it, whose owners had fought its construction in court. When it opened, there were two twelve-room apartments on most floors. The largest apartment in the building occupied the entire top floor, with 25 rooms; it was taken by Herbert L. Pratt
Herbert L. Pratt
Herbert Lee Pratt was an American businessman and a leading figure in the United States oil industry.- Early life :...
, a Standard Oil Company vice-president, at a rent of $30,000 a year.