Schwartz and Gross
Encyclopedia
Schwartz and Gross was a New York City
architectural
firm active from at least 1901 to 1963, and which designed numerous apartment buildings in the city during the first half of the 20th century. The firm, together with the firm Neville & Bagge and the firm owned by George F. Pelham
, accounted for about half the apartment houses in Manhattan
's Morningside Heights neighborhood.
architect
of Jewish background. The two met as students at the Hebrew Technical Institute, in Manhattan's East Village
neighborhood, in the 1890s. After working for other firms, they founded their own company in 1902. They primarily designed apartment houses on the Upper East Side
and the Upper West Side
, and while the firm continued through at least 1963, stopped personally designing buildings sometime after the Great Depression
. Each died in the 1950s.
that are considered contributing properties to the Central Park West Historic District
, including 55 Central Park West
, colloquially known as the "Ghostbusters
Building" after its prominent appearance in that 1984 movie.
One building, The Majestic
at 215 West 75th Street, was completed in 1924 as a brothel
and de facto men's clubhouse, with hidden stairways and secret doorways. A bordello run by Polly Adler
boasted such patrons as Robert Benchley
, New York City mayor Jimmy Walker
, and mobster Dutch Schultz
.
Schwartz and Gross also designed at least one building on Long Island
: The Wychwood, later converted to co-op, in Great Neck, New York
.
architectural columnist Christopher Gray quoted Albert Mayer, an architect who once worked with Schwartz and Gross, who described the duo as having "excellent floor plan
s, but no talents for facade
s".
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...
architectural
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
firm active from at least 1901 to 1963, and which designed numerous apartment buildings in the city during the first half of the 20th century. The firm, together with the firm Neville & Bagge and the firm owned by George F. Pelham
George F. Pelham
George Frederick Pelham was an American architect. He worked for 43 years during which he designed numerous apartment buildings and office buildings in New York City. His final building was the Central Hanover Bank and Trust Company Building.Mr. Pelham was also the architect of the Chalfonte Hotel...
, accounted for about half the apartment houses 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...
's Morningside Heights neighborhood.
Principals
Simon I. Schwartz and Arthur Gross were each an AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
of Jewish background. The two met as students at the Hebrew Technical Institute, in Manhattan's East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
neighborhood, in the 1890s. After working for other firms, they founded their own company in 1902. They primarily designed apartment houses on the Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
and the Upper West Side
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...
, and while the firm continued through at least 1963, stopped personally designing buildings sometime after the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Each died in the 1950s.
Notable works
The firm was dominant during its height, designing, along with New York firms Neville & Bagge and George F. Pelham's firm, around half of the apartment buildings in Morningside Heights, as well as numerous other buildings throughout New York City. Schwartz and Gross designed eight of the historic buildings along Central Park WestCentral Park West
Central Park West is an avenue that runs north-south in the New York City borough of Manhattan, in the United States....
that are considered contributing properties to the Central Park West Historic District
Central Park West Historic District
The Central Park West Historic District is located in Manhattan, New York City, United States along historic Central Park West, between 61st and 97th Streets. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 9, 1982...
, including 55 Central Park West
55 Central Park West
The building at 55 Central Park West, also known as the Ghostbusters Building, is a 19-floor housing cooperative located in Manhattan, New York City, U.S.A. The building was built in 1929 and designed by the firm Schwartz and Gross. Both the interior and the exterior possess unique architectural...
, colloquially known as the "Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...
Building" after its prominent appearance in that 1984 movie.
One building, The Majestic
The Majestic
The Majestic is a 2001 American drama film, directed by Frank Darabont and starring Jim Carrey and Laurie Holden. Written by Michael Sloane, the film features a supporting cast of Martin Landau, James Whitmore, Bob Balaban, Jeffrey DeMunn, Hal Holbrook, and Bruce Campbell. Filmed in Ferndale,...
at 215 West 75th Street, was completed in 1924 as a brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
and de facto men's clubhouse, with hidden stairways and secret doorways. A bordello run by Polly Adler
Polly Adler
Pearl "Polly" Adler was an American madam and author of Russian-Jewish origin.The oldest of nine children of Gertrude Koval and Morris Adler, Polly Adler emigrated to America from Yanow, Russia, near the Polish border at the age of 14 just before World War I. The war stopped her family from...
boasted such patrons as Robert Benchley
Robert Benchley
Robert Charles Benchley was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor...
, New York City mayor Jimmy Walker
Jimmy Walker
James John Walker, often known as Jimmy Walker and colloquially as Beau James , was the mayor of New York City from 1926 to 1932...
, and mobster Dutch Schultz
Dutch Schultz
Dutch Schultz was a New York City-area Jewish American gangster of the 1920s and 1930s who made his fortune in organized crime-related activities such as bootlegging alcohol and the numbers racket...
.
Schwartz and Gross also designed at least one building on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
: The Wychwood, later converted to co-op, in Great Neck, New York
Great Neck, New York
The term Great Neck is commonly applied to a peninsula on the North Shore of Long Island, which includes the village of Great Neck, the village of Great Neck Estates, the village of Great Neck Plaza, and others, as well as an area south of the peninsula near Lake Success and the border of Queens...
.
Critical assessment
The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
architectural columnist Christopher Gray quoted Albert Mayer, an architect who once worked with Schwartz and Gross, who described the duo as having "excellent floor plan
Floor plan
In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan, or floorplan, is a diagram, usually to scale, showing a view from above of the relationships between rooms, spaces and other physical features at one level of a structure....
s, but no talents for facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
s".