River House, the white-glove Art Deco co-op built in 1931 at the eastern end of 52nd Street, has a lot going for it.
There’s the appealing prewar design, rare privacy behind an iron fence and long driveway, and airy apartments with many rooms.
And of course, the biggest selling point might be the extraordinary views of the East River and beyond for the wealthy and famous who live there.
But you don’t have to be a shareholder to be enchanted by the co-op, built on the site of a former cigar factory.
That’s because anyone can walk down 52nd Street past First Avenue and see the whimsical sea motifs built across the facade on along doorways.
Seahorses are abundant on the building (and have actually been found in New York’s waters, amazingly). Two gilded seahorses decorate the entrance to what might have been the River Club, the co-op’s exclusive club overlooking the water.
Anchors decorate the facade too. They’re the perfect symbols for this luxury dwelling, which once boasted that residents could dock their yachts behind the building, so they had easy access to depart the city via the East River.
The creation of the FDR Drive a decade later unfortunately put an end to this perk.
Even this fountain built into the side of the building along the driveway appears to be designed like a shell. And is that Neptune or Poseidon, gods of the sea, guarding it?
[Top photo: MCNY 1931, 88.1.1.2083]
Tags: Art Deco New York, Fancy Co-Ops New York City, New York 1930s, River Club New York City, River House 52nd Street, seahorses New York City
August 20, 2018 at 5:21 am |
I am so delighted to see this beautiful apartment building show up on my favorite blog about NYC!
We live in Santa Barbara, California…..and we love to visit NYC. We have friends who belong to the River Club, which is in the building the River House. It was formed when the building was built. It has tennis courts, a swimming pool…..beautiful dining rooms, a charming bar, and a few guest rooms. It has the most amazing garden on the East River. It is an oasis!
We stay there whenever we can; sponsored by our friends who are members. There are postcards that have photographs of boats parked in front of the building to take the inhabitants to Wall Street! Even a gondola! It is a charming vestige of old NYC. Thank you for a wonderful post!
August 20, 2018 at 5:28 am |
So glad you know it! I’ve never seen the club but have heard that it’s lovely and so private.
August 20, 2018 at 8:06 am |
It is private in a nice way……and I will try to find those postcards……if I do I will scan and send! I love your blog!!!
August 20, 2018 at 7:51 am |
[…] [Top photo: MCNY 1931, 88.1.1.2083] Source link […]
August 20, 2018 at 11:03 am |
There was once a street fare running the length of 52 St from river to river, in the 1970s. Don’t know what the occasion was. I walked the length of it a few times, bought a hat and had a few beers along the way, Hic!
August 20, 2018 at 1:54 pm |
I love this!!
August 21, 2018 at 5:24 pm |
Nice details! Just so you know, Neptune and Poseidon are the same god. Neptune was the Roman equivalent of the Greek Poseidon.
August 21, 2018 at 6:39 pm |
Thanks! That’s what I was trying to say, but I guess it didn’t come across clearly.
August 21, 2018 at 6:48 pm |
No problem, your posts are always interesting, and enjoyable, revealing little known aspects of the world’s most documented city!
August 22, 2018 at 2:58 am |
thank you!
August 21, 2018 at 6:49 pm |
Funny thing, suddenly I’m getting error messages trying to post through Google+, so, switched to Facebook!
August 22, 2018 at 12:33 pm |
We walked around that area down to the UN. I wanted to see where ‘Dead End’ was located. Of course it is completely different now. This area is so much different than any other part of NYC. Quiet and peaceful. No noise, traffic or people. I think it is a better location than on Central Park.
August 22, 2018 at 2:27 pm |
It’s a secret pocket of loveliness…that’s why I recently moved there.
August 23, 2018 at 9:31 am
Good to hear. You deserve it.
August 25, 2018 at 6:42 pm |
An apartment building with its own yacht dock. Very cool, but very pretentious…
August 25, 2018 at 7:27 pm |
Not really pretentious. Men took their boats down to work on Wall Street. I like that kind of commuting. I don’t think the boats were really yachts!
July 29, 2019 at 6:46 am |
Delighted to read you moved to that “secret pocket of loveliness”! Wonderful description!