River House (New York City)
- Year
- 1931
- Style
- Art Deco
- City
- Manhattan, NY
River House is a 26-story cooperative apartment tower completed in 1931 and designed by William Lawrence Bottomley in the Art Deco style, built on the site of a former cigar factory. It originally offered 78 grand apartments of 12 rooms, 6 baths, and two fireplaces each, aimed at a wealthy clientele who could dock their own yachts at a private pier before the FDR Drive's construction eliminated it.
the building
The lost yacht pier. River House once included a private pier where residents could dock yachts directly behind the building, an amenity that vanished when the FDR Drive was built along the East River.
Gated courtyard. A cobblestone courtyard with a fountain sits behind gates, giving the building a private entrance sequence apart from the street.
the style
Bottomley's Art Deco design gave the building its distinctive massing and ornament, suited to a co-op built for the wealthy in the years just before the Depression upended its finances.
More on Art Decosignificance
During the Great Depression, residents defaulted on mortgage payments and the building was sold in a 1941 foreclosure. In 1948, new owner Tishman Realty & Construction tried to split the large suites into 170 smaller apartments, a plan tenants fought off through legal action. The co-op board later became notorious for its strict, exclusionary admission standards.
nearby
- Beekman Tower
- Smallpox Hospital
- Rockefeller Guest House
- United Nations General Assembly Building
- William Lescaze House and Office
- Mount Vernon Hotel Museum