The Alwyn Court has one of the most ornate exteriors in the entire city. Whether you consider it to be majestic or gaudy, it is one of the most interesting pieces of New York architectural history that the city has to offer.
The Alwyn Court is a 12-story apartment building located at 180 West 58th Street on the corner of Seventh Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, one block south of Central Park. It was built between 1907 and 1909, and was designed by Harde & Short in French Renaissance style, with elaborate terra-cotta ornamentation in the Francis I style covering the entire facade.The interior courtyard has a painted architectural facade by artist Richard Haas.
The building was constructed at a time when wealthy New Yorkers, some living in the city part time, began to shift from mansions to apartment living. Seventh Avenue was a hub of new luxury buildings. The Alwyn targeted this market, with perhaps the most lavish structure yet. Glazed terra cotta was a new material, and the facade dripped with ornate detail in that medium. Typical apartments had 14 rooms with 5 bathrooms, renting up to $10,000 per year; there was even one 24-room duplex, at $22,000. Many of the apartments had enormous rooms of about 18 by 30 feet. The twelfth floor contained 34 rooms for servants quarters.
The building predated fire codes. There were no fire escapes, and there was a single staircase, which, open to the entire building, created a potential fire chimney. In 1910, with building still mostly unrented, a fire broke out in an empty apartment on the tenth floor, and flames jumped along the exterior to set the apartments above it ablaze. According to the Tribune, 10,000 people gathered to watch the fire. Casualties were few and minor, and the damage was quickly repaired.
By the 1930s, the city’s architectural and social landscape had changed, and the Alwyn was no longer in a desirable part of town. Only about a quarter of the apartments were occupied, and the owners were unable to pay the mortgage. The building was foreclosed, gutted, and subdivided during the Depression. Although the interior has changed over time, the exterior, with its intricate terra-cotta decoration, has largely remained unchanged.
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The 74 apartments at The Alwyn Court still retain the original charm that they had when they were designed by famed architects Harde & Short. Oversized windows provide ample light which shines down on the apartments’ beautiful hardwood floors. The kitchens in many of the apartments have been fully customized with high-end appliances from Gaggenau, Sub-Zero, and GE as well as quartz countertops. King-sized master suites have a spacious walk-in closet.
The Alwyn Court was designated a New York landmark in 1966 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The facade was cleaned and restored in 1980-81 by Beyer Blinder Belle, but was still in poor shape, endangering passersby in the late 1990s, necessitating shedding.