EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT: Upper West Side Townhouse (24 West 71st Street)

This Upper West Side Townhouse was built in 1888-90 (NB- 1500-1888) by two commonly known architects Lamb and Rich and owned by Elizabeth Milibank. Significantly made with granite and iron spot brick, this Terra-Cotta designed townhouse is on the market for $29 million. The 20 foot wide 5 story home sits mid block between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. In 1892 this townhouse was completed and filed in 1888. Later this town-house received a museum-grade restoration that cost $1 million and then became a grand single-family residence. The townhouse style is Romanesque Revival with Renaissance elements with facades of brick and stone. The windows type/ material is one-over-one double hung/wood, and transoms/wood. This method of construction is masonry bearing walls.

ABOUT THE ARCHITECTS: LAMB RICH
   Hugh Lamb & Charles Alonzo Rich were partners in the NYC firm of Lamb & Rich, established after 1880 and operated until 1899. Both architects were born around 1850. Lamb was a Scottish native. Rich was born in Beverly, Mass and attended Dartmouth. Lamb was the business man and Rich was the designer. Lamb died in 1903 and Rich died in 1943.
Some of their works include Mount Morris Bank Building (East 125th Street and Park Avenue) New York, NY (1883)-mostly demolished, Sagamore Hill (20 Sagamore Hill Rd, Oyster Bay (1884-86)), Astral Apartments (184 Franklin Street, New York, NY (1885)), Main Building Pratt Institute, Brooklyn NY (1886-87) Germania Fire Insurance Co. Building (62 William Street, New York, NY (1891)) and many others. 
      
    This same townhouse sold in 1996 for a then-record $4.3 million. This home now has six bedrooms, six and a half baths, 10 gas fireplaces, an elevator, a Japanese inspired spa and auxiliary kitchens on the garden level (used as a home office and conference room) and on the top floor, a self contained suite mostly used by the owners' parents. the third floor is designated master level, with a front library and den, a bold black marble powder room and rear bedroom with dual baths, one with a sunken tub and two exposures, the other with a shower and a wall of closets.

The current owners, Arrien and Robin Schiltkamp, were enthralled by the distinctive exterior, with its wrought iron ornamentation, terra-cotta scallop shells in the arches of the fifth floor windows, and twin cherubs hoisting the pillars that frame the cornice. 

As said by Dexter Guerrieri, the president of Vandenberg, the Townhouse Experts, "in 25 years of selling townhouses, i can say with confidence that there is not a finer parlor floor. The museum quality details and opulence of this townhouse are unsurpassed.  

~ My name is Shannon Brown and I'm an intern at Landmark West! I will be entering my senior year of high school in September 2015. My experience here has been a great one so far.  Hope to share more research before the summer is out.

Candle Bar Now Closed!

Candle Bar - the Upper West Side’s oldest gay bar - closed permanently earlier this week. According to a West Side Rag article, it had been in its location on Amsterdam Avenue between 74^th and 75^th streets since 1958.

  

The building that Candle Bar occupied was originally part of an eclectic row of speculative houses that turned the 74^th street corner, built with stoops and American basements. The architects were Lamb & Rich, who designed many Upper West Side rowhouses, but perhaps their most notable commission was the Barnard College campus in Morningside Heights, the first buildings of which were completed in 1897. 

As the surrounding neighborhood shifted to more commercial purposes, the row at 74^th and Amsterdam had stoops and embellishments removed, basement light wells filled in, and storefronts installed. But the whole row, which is nonetheless still largely intact, achieved landmark status in 1990 as part of the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District.

 

The row at the northeast corner of Amsterdam and 74th Street, as originally designed by Lamb & Rich

Whoever the new tenants are, we at LandmarkWest! hope their new storefront will be respectful of the Lamb & Rich design, and even restore some of the building’s original features. The sketch we found of the row in its original state may be an aid to restoration work.

The Closing of Candle Bar is a sad way to kick off New York’s Pride Week, but in brighter news, the Landmarks Preservation Commission just yesterday designated Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village as an individual landmark. It is the first building to achieve such designation solely for its relevance to LGBT history, and we owe a debt of gratitude to Andrew Dolkart for writing the designation report and to the many others who helped advance the process. 

Hidden in Plain Sight: Discover the Mechanics' Institute

As reported by graduate intern Kate Gilmore

Left, American Architect and Building News/Office for Metropolitan History;
G. Paul Burnett, via The New York Times

On its exterior, 20 West 44th Street is an imposing, majestic edifice (designed by architects Lamb & Rich) on the National Register of Historic Buildings. Inside is one of New York's best kept secrets!

Inside the library's reading room.  Image via NYC Arts.org.

It is home to the Mechanics' Institute- the city's oldest technical school. Mechanic insitutues were originally created as a place for adult continuing education, and the coursework focused on technical skills. The New York Mechanics' Institute was founded in 1858 with the aim of providing "privately-endowed free evening instruction to respectable young men and women to improve themselves in their daily vocations."

The Mechanics' Institute still offers free continuing education.The Institute provides instruction in a variety of disciplines including electrical technology, facilities management, plumbing design and historic preservation. Courses are open to all, whether you're a curious individual looking to learn a new skill or a professional hoping to enhance your repertoire of knowledge. For more information, visit their website.

FUN FACT: 20 West 44th Street is also home to John M. Mossman Lock Museum, which has one of the largest collections of bank and vault locks.