The last in a pretty row of East Side brownstones

A single brownstone surrounded by tall modern towers is not an unusual sight in New York City. But something about 143 East 47th Street makes this house seem especially forlorn.

Of course it has a lonely air about it—it’s missing its neighbors.

This house was one in a row of single-family brownstones, built in the late 19th century as Turtle Bay became an attractive area for residences. It was also built amid the brownstone fever that had developers building row after row of these iconic New York City houses.

Here’s number 143 in 1940, courtesy of the New York City Department of Records and Information Services tax photo collection.

I’m not sure which house it is; probably the third from right. It’s been remodeled over the years—note the different front windows. But the cornice is the same, and the bones of this old house are still there behind the construction fencing, as it awaits its fate: new modern neighbors or perhaps the bulldozer.

Tags: 143 East 47th Street, Brownstone East 47th Street, East 47th Street old brownstone, East 47th Street then and now