Villard Houses
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Villard Houses | |
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Exterior of the Villard Houses | |
| Location | 29½ 50th Street, 24--26 East 51st Street, and 451, 453, 455, and 457 Madison Avevenue, New York, New York |
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| Coordinates | 40°45′29.22″N 73°58′30.91″W / 40.7581167°N 73.9752528°WCoordinates: 40°45′29.22″N 73°58′30.91″W / 40.7581167°N 73.9752528°W |
| Built | 1882 |
| Architect | McKim, Mead & White |
| Architectural style | Renaissance, Other |
| Governing body | Private |
| NRHP Reference # | 75001210 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | September 02, 1975 |
The Villard Houses are located at 455 Madison Avenue in the Manhattan Borough of New York City between 50th and 51st Street.
History
The building was constructed in 1884, designed by the architecture firm McKim, Mead and White three years after they started their company. It is considered to be a Roman design with specific Renaissance touch points.[2] The houses were commissioned by Henry Villard, then president of the Northern Pacific Railway, shortly before his railroad empire began to crumble. Ownership of the building changed through many hands throughout the century, including the Archdiocese of New York.[3]
In 1968, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the complex an historical landmark. Restoration and construction for a new hotel complex was proposed by real estate developer Harry B. Helmsley who constructed the 51-story New York Palace Hotel tower directly behind the original building.[4] The project was designed by architects Emery Roth & Sons and Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer in 1977 and completed in 1980.[1][5]
The original building was restored in 2003 and office space was furnished for city preservation group The Municipal Art Society, as part of an agreement to save the building from demolition.[4] Exterior shots were used on the TV series Gossip Girl as the hotel where the van der Woodsen family lives. As a part of the renovation of the hotel, part of what is now known as the Villard Mansion is available as an event rental.[3]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23.
- ↑ Craven, Wayne (2009). Gilded Mansions: Grand Architecture and High Society. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 243. ISBN 0393067548.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Historic New York City Hotel". New York Palace. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Gray, Christopher (2003-12-21). "Streetscapes/Madison Avenue Between 50th and 51st Street; A Landmark 6-Home Complex in Dark Brownstone". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
- ↑ "From the Vault: New York Palace Hotel, 455 Madison Avenue". The Commercial Observer. 2014-01-13. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
Further reading
- Kathrens, Michael C. (2005). Great Houses of New York, 1880–1930. New York: Acanthus Press. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-926494-34-3.
External links
Media related to Villard Houses at Wikimedia Commons
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