Location: 180 West 58th Street at Seventh
Avenue, New York, New York
Architect: Harde & Short
Date Completed: 1909
By the turn of the century, the apartment house had begun to lose some of the stigmas
attached to it. As the age of the great Manhattan mansion ended, the age of the
great apartment house began.
One early example of this trend is the Alwyn Court Apartments. Billed as "City Homes
for Those with Country Houses," the facade of Alwyn Court was literally encrusted
with terra cotta ornament: flowers, urns, salamanders breathing fire and more.
The interiors were equally grand... house-like. The Alwyn, still careful to try to
overcome the upper class fear of multiple dwelling buildings, called itself "A House
of Select Residences." Any examination of any of the floor plans of the nine to
twelve room luxury apartment houses of the time would still show the old skeleton of a
house inside.
The majestic entryways, carriage turnabouts and gilded lobbies set the tone. The
apartments contained parquet floors, marble or carved fireplaces, painted beams, plaster
friezes and elaborate lighting fixtures, all designed to make these individual
"homes" artistic in nature. The architecture of the rooms became the decoration.
Alwyn
Court Apartments
