Villard Houses
- Architect
- McKim, Mead & White
- Style
- Renaissance Revival
- City
- Manhattan, NY
The Villard Houses are a set of six former residences on Madison Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets, designed by Joseph Morrill Wells of McKim, Mead & White in the Renaissance Revival style and erected in 1884 for Henry Villard, president of the Northern Pacific Railway. Arranged in a U-shaped plan of brownstone facades around a courtyard, the houses have been part of the Lotte New York Palace Hotel since 1980.
the building
U-shaped courtyard plan. Six residences at 29½ 50th Street, 24-26 East 51st Street, and 451-457 Madison Avenue are arranged with wings to the north, east, and south enclosing a courtyard facing the avenue; each house has a raised basement, three stories, and an attic.
Interior artists. The interiors were decorated by leading Gilded Age artists, including art-glass manufacturer John La Farge, sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and painter Maitland Armstrong. The Gold Room, dining room, and south wing reception area survive.
the style
Joseph Morrill Wells of McKim, Mead & White designed the houses in the Renaissance Revival style, giving Henry Villard's 1884 commission a unified brownstone palazzo facade around a shared courtyard.
More on Renaissance Revivalthe architect
McKim, Mead & White, one of the preeminent American architecture firms, designed the Villard Houses, with the project credited to firm architect Joseph Morrill Wells.
significance
The Villard Houses carry three separate New York City Individual Landmark designations (LP-00268, LP-00269, LP-00270), granted September 30, 1968, and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and New York State Register of Historic Places.
nearby
- 451-455 Madison Avenue and 29 1/2 East 50th Street
- 488 Madison Avenue
- Saint Patrick's Cathedral Complex
- Saks Fifth Avenue
- Saint Bartholomew's Church and Community House
- 647 Fifth Avenue Building