Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 85, no. 2203: June 4, 1910

Text version:

CONSTRUCTION NEW PALACES ON FIFTH AVENUE The Changes at Col. John Jacob Aster's Pictured—Houses for Edwin Gould, J. B. and B. N. Duke, and j. B. Clews—Excavating for an Apartment House. FIFTH AVENUE has seen more new houses under con¬ struction in the past two years than for a long previous period of years. Mr. James B. Clews' limestone house at the north corner of Soth st is in the hands of the decorators. A large use is being made of Caen slone in the principal rooms, and, the exterior being all limestone, the dwelling has a very substantial appearance. The plans are by Horace Trumbauer, of Philadelphia, and are being worked out by the John T. Brady Company as the builder. At the south corner of 89th st the stone house for Mr. B, N. Duke is now in the plasterers' hands. C. P. H. Gilbert is the architect and the flrm of D. C. Weeks & Son is the builder. Excavating has commenced by Canavan Bros, for the third really high class apartment house lo be erected on the avenue. The site is the north corner of- Slst st, with dimensions of 102.2x125. The corner to be improved was formerly owned by August Belmont. He purchased it eight years ago, intending al that time to erect his city home there. The corner is one of the two or three pieces on upper 5th av that are not cov¬ ered by restrictions, and after long negotiations Charles R, Fleischmann and James T. Lee, who comprise the Century Holding Co.. succeeded in getting Mr. Belmont's consent to At the north corner of 78th st. adjoining the residence of Harry Payne Whitney, a white marble mansion is being erected from plans by Horace Trumbauer by the John T. Brady Co. for Mr. James B. Duke. This house will have a frontage of 72 ft. and a depth of 140. The masons are now laying the walls of the first story. The Edwin Gould house at the south corner of 7oth st is enclosed. It is a limestone building, from plans by Carrere Sc Plastings, with the J, W. Bishop Co. as builder. The old brownstone residence at 835 5th av, ad¬ joining the home of Mr. Isador Wormser, and recently pur¬ chased by Mr. John W, Herbert, of 31 Nassau st, from the estate of Charles A. Gardiner, is being torn down, and the John T. Brady Co. will erect from plans of Harry Allen Jacobs a new residence for Mr. Herbert's occupancy. THE RESIDENCE OF COL, JOHN JACOB ASTOR. ALWAYS an object of interest, the Astor residence, as a met¬ ropolitan house of the most expensive class, has had a new splendor added by the recent alterations. Some glimpses within the portals are given in the accompanying illustrations. Both the plan and design of this original building, the architect of which was the late Richard Morris Hunt, was dominated by Stb .Avenue at 6olh Street. RECEPTION -ROOM—RESIDENCE sell. At the same time that the company took title It secured a building loan of $1,350,000. to run until 1920 McKim, Mead & White are the architects. The house will be twelve stories high and will contain but eighteen apartments. No apartment will have less than seventeen rooms and there may be one of twenty-eight rooms. The rentals will range from $10000 to $26,000. making them the highest renting apartments in the city. Six will he on the duplex plan. All the rooms will be of large dimensions and w^ill be decorated as elaborately as the most sumptuous private homes. The exterior of the building will be in Italian Renaissance, the facade being of Hmestone, with a highly decorated entrance, and the Slst st side will be ornamented with bay windows, OF COL. JOHN JACOB ASTOR. The lale Richard M. Hunt, Architect, a huge monumental staircase, which directly faced the entrance hall, and which occupied a great deal of space. This staircase belonged, like the art gallery, to the house as a whole, rather than to the two separate sets of apartments into which the use of the house was divided. When Mrs, Astor died. Col, Astor naturally wished to have its plan adapted to the occupancy of one rather than two families; and the task of making the change was confined to Messrs, Carrere & Hastings. They were not commissioned, however, to do away entirely with the old plan. On the contrary, the idea was that only such changes should be made as were indispensable to the adaptation of the house to its new function, including, of course, such changes in the design as necessarily accompanied the changes in the plan. The