Will do, just to see that amazing window. The beauty & craftsmanship is stunning. I also get a kick out of the fact that the guy who designed the ‘yacht club’ is named “WETMORE”… 
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I’ll bet that you’ve walked by it before. It’s on 44th between 5th and 6th and sits amongst some magnificent buildings like the Harvard Club, the Algonquin, the NYC Bar
Building, the Penn Club, the Iroquois, etc.
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In the 70’s I used to work at 5th and 50th st and lived on the Upper West Side. I used to walk out of my way to marvel at this building and the others on the block. A NYC long ago where opulence in architecture prevailed and gave us some wonderful buildings to enjoy today.
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The brick sections and spandrels seemed so narrow from the outside, I’m surprised these apartments don’t have floor to ceiling windows. it seems the windows actually start a solid couple feet up. Floorplates must be thin…
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I used to work at 500 5th ave and we’d have lunch meetings in the Strip House on 44th. Point is, I loved walking past all the buildings on this block. I’d like to get inside and look around them one of these days.
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Some of the other apartments have floor-to-ceiling windows: here a couple you can see from outside.
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From 9.5.20:
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This is a bad fashion show.
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And then when you add XI it becomes a freak show.
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Wouldn’t this be the natural expectation when you put boutique or starchitechs together and there is no master planning or coordination?
It’s a clash of egos where no one cares about context to each other. But then again, I guess if you approach it through the lens of “art gallery” it makes sense. However a good gallery gives each exhibit space to breathe on its own. That doesn’t happen here.
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Well said.
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I, for one, enjoy the clashing cacophony of contemporary architecture by the high line. It’s all so chaotic and futuristic that it somehow becomes exhilarating.
But I’ve always liked pluralism and diversity in architecture and urbanism. I see it as a sign of vitality when there are radically different styles of architecture in close proximity. I actually got depressed wandering Haussmann’s boulevards in Paris (which many consider to be the most beautiful streets in the world) because every building looked the same.
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Yes, I find they are all a visual feast for the eye: they can be observed as individuals objects, or viewed in context with neighboring buildings - or just focus on one particular section of each building.
This photo set demonstrates that idea quite well - NEW YORK | 501 + 515 West 18th St (Lantern House) | 250 FT | 21 FLOORS - #215 by streetscaper
I like viewing the individual ‘lantern windows’ while walking by this building; I enjoy any work of architecture that goes way beyond ‘building standard’ and into the category one can call a “work-of-art”.
We will not be seeing much “Artful” architecture going forward as this building cycle winds down; many moving out of NYC, over supply, covid19, economic conditions changing for both local and international buyers.
It is amazing to me that we have had so many ‘artful’ and innovative works of architecture happening in the last decade; this type of ‘fancy’ building is astronomically more expensive to build than ‘building standard’ - going forward, it will not make economic sense to build these architectural gems in the near future.
Enjoy them while the are here folks - the “age of Ramses” is officially over for the time being.
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I feel like 50-75 years from now, this area will be a cool art gallery for “turn of the century modernism” or whatever we want to call it. Sort of like the towers downtown built between the 1910s - 1930s.
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City officials should consider elevating the high line, restoring it back to it’s former glory
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Wow never considered how it would look from street level looking up. The effect is quite nice.
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It came from Outer Space!
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Chelsea by Jonathan Hawkins, on Flickr
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