From a publication called The World’s New York Apartment House Album comes this sketch and description of a beautiful turn-of-the-century residential building, the Hendrik Hudson.
Spanning the entire block between Riverside Drive and Broadway at 110th Street, the Hendrik Hudson must have been a striking sight when it was completed in 1907. The facade was modeled after an Italian villa and the roof made from Spanish tile, topped by two imposing towers.
As ambitious as the facade was, the 7- to 9-room apartments were also innovative, explains Andrew Alpern’s Luxury Apartment Houses of Manhattan:
“Walnut paneling, wood-beamed ceilings, mahogany doors with glass knobs, and the latest designs in porcelain bathroom fittings were all used to attract tenants,” writes Alpern. “Also offered was a billiard parlor, a cafe, a barber shop, and a ladies hairdressing salon—all for the exclusive use of the building’s occupants and guests. Rents ranged from $1500 t0 $3000 per year.”
As Morningside Heights became kind of sketchy in the post World War II years, so did the Hendrik Hudson; at some point, one of its towers disappeared. The building went co-op in 1970. It looks like an terrific place to live today.
Tags: Andrew Alpern, apartment houses of the Upper West Side, Cathedral Parkway, Hendrik Hudson apartments, Luxury Apartment Houses of Manhattan, Morningside Heights, pre-war buildings in New York City, Riverside Drive
Ephemeral New York 
March 8, 2010 at 2:29 am |
I just found out that my grandparents were engaged in 1909 when my grandmother was spending the winter with her sister and brother-in-law, Mark and Rosalie Rafalsky, in this still brand-new building. They were apparently married there in November. It’s fascinating to think they may have had a date in the cafe, and she might have had her hair done in the beauty salon before the wedding.
February 17, 2012 at 2:38 pm |
[…] to this building as “The Headache and Toothache” building. Its official name is the Hendrik Hudson which is not nearly as descriptive, in my humble […]
September 13, 2012 at 12:10 pm |
I was raised in this magnificent apartment building from 1945 until 1960. Our family lived in one of the Pent House apartments on the roof, right below one of it’s two towers which still remained. I have wonder memories as a child growing up in this old beautiful building.
May 27, 2013 at 5:13 pm |
[…] Colosseum (now owned by Columbia), The Mansion House whose exterior belies its long history, and the Hendrick Hudson which isn’t sure if it’s Spanish or Italian. I really need to take the time to come […]
September 21, 2013 at 5:42 pm |
[…] Colosseum (now owned by Columbia), The Mansion House whose exterior belies its long history, and the Hendrick Hudson which isn’t sure if it’s Spanish or Italian. I really need to take the time to come explore […]