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June 03, 2005
Renovate Me: Deco on Lex
New Category Alert: Renovate Me. Vast swaths of New York's once gutted rowhomes, crumbling tenements, and dried manufacturing shells have been rehabbed and retooled in the recent real estate upshot, some have returned to their spectacular former glory, while others have been given functional updates. But there remains a hellva lot of beauties sitting in disrepair, overlooked by the clamoring real estate whordes, perhaps even slated for demo to make room for a substandard 'lux condo' drawn up in a half a day, thrown up in half a year. Filling in New York's stately smile with cheap dentures. Here's to cleaning the plaque, applying the bridge, and bringing some of New York's finest gems back from the brink.
Our first installment is a stellar Deco tenement building across the street from the 69th Reg Armory on Lexington Ave in the 20's. Still listed as a rooming housing, with 6 apartments on each floor... This elderly and under cared for Betty has beautiful curving windows, a sleek Deco entrance, elegant ironwork (both on the window irons and on the fire escapes) and best of all, absolutely brilliant scale. The Deco touches and gentle curves speak sophisticatedly, in an understated tone, as one of the few Art Deco buildings with only a rowhouse footprint. Bring the beauty back from the brink. Certificate of Occupancy and Photos below.
73 Lexington Ave
Completed June 3, 1941
24'8" Front / 5 stories / 52'00" Tall
Posted by jmarston at June 3, 2005 09:47 AM