The skinniest building in Midtown Manhattan

Dark and grimy Midtown blocks are loaded with hidden treasures. Take this slender walkup at 19 West 46th Street, for example.

It dates back to 1865, when West 46th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues was a quaint residential block close to the Croton Reservoir rather than a corridor of small businesses in the shadow of Rockefeller Center and Grand Central Terminal.

I didn’t measure the building, but I wish I had.

Number 19 is so skinny, there’s only room for one window per floor, not including the ground-floor restaurant space.

Diminishing it even further are the two loft buildings (one with gorgeous Art Deco designs) that sit just in front of it.

These two relative newcomers to the block crowd out their skinny neighbor, so it gets even less light and love from passersby.

And that slate mansard roof! It’s hard not to romanticize this 19th century holdout, even though it isn’t in the best shape.

I can’t help but think of it as a testament to what a developer will build with a fraction of the size of a regular building lot, as well as how little space New Yorkers need.

And of course, it’s proof that some of the most interesting buildings in the city are on the streets where you least expect them.

Tags: 19 West 46th Street, skinny brownstone New York City, skinny house Midtown Manhattan, skinny townhouse New York City, West 46th Street