Vol. LXXXVIII





SEPTEMBER i6, igii





No, 2270





A   TYPICAL   APARTMENT   HOUSE   DISTRICT

Morningside Heights Furnishes Examples of All Styles ol Multi-Family Houses, From New-Law Tene¬
ments to Palatial Apartments—A  Development that Has Taken  Place  Entirely Within  Eight Years.





lyi ORNIXGSIDE HEIGHTS, which
iVl comprises the hlocks between 110th
and 125th streets, from Morningside Park
to the Hudson River, has heen in the last
eight years the seat of a most remark¬
able building acti\'ity. W^th the exception
of the buildings ol Columbia University
and St. Luke's Hospital there were no
nicdern structures on the I-Ieights eight
years ago. To-day there is very little
vacant properly, and the small amount
remaining  is  rapidly   being   ab.sorbed.

The section is ideal from a residential
standpoint and offers unusual natural ad¬
vantages to the homeseeker. No other
portion of Manhattan Island of equal area
is so bountifully supplied with parks
Morningside Park, forming the eastern
bo-undary,    is   a   beautiful   bit     of     nat-





nue and Broadway, It was expected that
the settling there of so large and famous
an institution would have an immediate
effect m the upbuilding of the territory,
but the inaccessibility proved too strong
an obstacle. The nearest elevated station
was at 110th street and Eighth avenue,
and the only other means of travel was
afforded by the Amsterdam avenue and
Broadway surface cars. The advent of
the subway removed this objection en¬
tirely and the effect was immediately
felt. Long before the completion of the
road, land values took a"decided "jump
and this territory furnished one of the
most striking illustrations which the city
affords, of increase in values due to sub¬
way construction.             1
The most valuable property in Morning-





wifh small suites and these have proved
fiuite profitable. In fact, one of the best
paying houses on 116th street contains
only suites of three to five rooms. This
house was sold sometime ago on a 17 per
cent, net income basis,

Morningside Drive, which runs along
the crest of the hill overlooking Morning¬
side Park, is next in value Irom a resi¬
dence standpoint, but the fact that it is
more remote from the subway has tended
to lessen the land values there. Con¬
siderable vacant property exists north of
llOth street, but "this "is being gradually
taken up. The houses now there are'
mainly of the six-atory elevator non-fire¬
proof type, and the rents are somewhat-
less than on the streets before mentioned.
From ten to twelve dollars a room is the





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116TH  STREET.  LOOKING WEST  PROM BROADWAY.







COLUMlil-\  COLLEGE GROUNDS AT IIOTH STREET.





ui:al woodland, which looks as if it might
have been transplanted from the suburbs.
The boundary toward the west is River¬
side Drive, which at this point attains a
considerable elevation and affords a splen¬
did view of the Hudson River. The Colum¬
bia University and Barnard College
grounds arc in the center of the district
and are very well kept and sightly. A
large part of the Columbia campus is
open to the public and is laid out with
shaded walks, . provided with benches,
where one may sit and read in comfort.
Besides the numerous breathing spaces,
the altitude of the entire section is suffi¬
cient to make it very healthful. Mor-'
nmgside Drive at 117th street is 1.52 feet
above tide level audi at Amsterdam ave¬
nue and 110th street, the elevation is 138
leet, the highest point on the Island- south
of Washington Heights......-

The improvements are neaiiy aU apart¬
ment houses and this in spite of the fact
that a strong effort was made to prevent
this form of building. A large part of ths
Heights, west of Amsterdam avenue, was
long owned by the New York Hospital,-
and when it began to sell its holdings
the land was restricted for twenty years
against tenement house building. In this
re;itrictRd district, a few fine residences
■p.-ere put up and one or two rows of
dwellings were erected by speculative
builders, but outside of these, the land
was held vacant until the restrictions ex¬
pired  a  few  years ago.

Another great drawback to tbe early
development .of the section was the lack
of ^decjuate,transit.. The university was
moved to the.Heights about 1S90 and its
holdings at thaLtiJpe.' 'd'ere; bounded -by
114th. 'and 12QtH.Vstrfets, Ji-----'-■•■-......^





Am sterda^-,,^vle-





side Heights is on Bros^dyvay from llOth
to 110th street, and tlie greatest increase
in value has fallen place along this thor¬
oughfare. The huildings are nearly all
tweive-story apartments of the best class
and very few vacant sites are to be
found. The last plot of any size was
recently sold to a builder and he has had
plans drawn for a sixteen-story struc¬
ture, lo cover the entire bloclt front be¬
tween 115th and 116th streets. If this
project is carried through, the Heights
will be able to boast of possessing the
tallest apartment house in the city. The
ground floors of most of the buildings
contain stores which are generally well
renj;"ed. The rents range from ,'i;i,5UU to
$2,500 and for some of the large corner
stores as much as !p3,500 is obtained.
One store at the corner of 110th street,
near the subway entrance is rented for
-HOOO.

Tile next most desirable streets, are
Riverside Drive, Claremont avenue and
116'th street, west of Broadway. The
Drive is almost entirely built up with
twelve-story houses, and land is esti¬
mated to be worth from .foO.OOO to $5.").-
000 for single inside lots, while corners
are worth nearly double these figures.
Claremont avenue starts at 116th street,
and as far up as UOth street is con¬
sidered very choice. Inside lots here are
worth from $40,000 to $45,000 each. About
the same values also hold on 116th street,
from Broadway to Riverside Drive. There
are no stores on any of these streets.
Most of the buildings contain apartments
of eight or nine rooms and the rents
range from .fl,500 to. $2,500. On Broad-
ri^aw, a few-§uites bring as high as $?.,-
■■■mO.-   Here  and' the're one  finds a'house





average price for six, seven and eight-
room apartments and the houses are well
rented. Were it not for its remoteness
from the subway land would be much
more valuable than it is, as the outlook
here is extremely good. From the street
one has an unobstructed view of all Har¬
lem, and the Sound can be seen from
several places. The Cathedral of St. John
the Divine and St. Luke's Hospital take
up a number of blocks at the lower end
and until recently much of the remaining
property was held in large ownerships.
The largest recent sale involved the entire
block between 119th and 120th streets,
from Morningside Drive to Amsterdam
avenue. This was a part of the Pinkney
estate holdings and was acquired by a
firm of operators at the auction sale of
the estate's holdings last spring. This
block has since been parceled off and
will all no doubt be improved before long.
Lots on the Drive, near llOlh street, are
worth ahout $S00 a front foot on the in¬
side. On the side streets in this neigh¬
borhood, lots are held at about $15,000
each. An effort has been made recently
to have another sub-n'ay station estab¬
lished al 122d street, and if this should be
accomplished it would make the north
end of the Drive much more accessible.

The poorest avenue on the Heights is
Amsterdam. This is fairly well built up,
but the class of improvements is not
nearly so good as on the other streets.
The houses are mainly of the five-story
walkup type, many of them being little
more than new law tenements, A few six-
story elevator houses are to be found,
but some of these were Tiot modernly
planned or extremely well constructed,
'ran'd'on'this account have not proved very