Landmarks Preservation Commission November 22, 2016, Designation List 490 LP-2581 18 East 41st Street (aka 18-20 East 41st Street), Manhattan Built, 1912-14; architect, George & Edward Blum Landmark Site: Borough of Manhattan Tax Map Block 1275, Lot 61 On September 13, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on the proposed designation of 18 East 41st Street and the proposed designation of the related Landmark Site. The hearing had been duly advertised in accordance of law. Seven people testified in support of designation, including representatives of the owner, Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer, Friends of Terra Cotta, Historic Districts Council, New York Landmarks Conservancy, and the Municipal Art Society of New York. The Real Estate Board of New York submitted written testimony in opposition to designation. State Senator Brad Hoylman submitted testimony in support of designation. Summary 18 East 41st Street is an early skyscraper with a striking white, beige and blue terra-cotta facade. Completed in 1914, it represents the first phase of commercial development in East Midtown, when various high-rise structures were built in the vicinity of Grand Central Terminal. It is an early work by George & Edward Blum, a firm celebrated for designing facades with unique and unusual ornamentation. Twenty-one stories tall, it precedes the 1916 zoning resolution and rises without setbacks. The alternation of thick and thin piers creates a strong vertical emphasis that recalls the pioneering skyscrapers of Louis Sullivan, while the sumptuous terra-cotta embellishment suggests the influence of both late medieval and modern sources, from Gothic cathedrals to contemporary European designs by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Josef Hoffmann. A superb example of an early 20th century office building, it was used in a 1914 article by architectural critic H. W. Frohne to illustrate “a new line of thought in exterior commercial architecture” and as “an artistic advance.” The base has been respectfully modified and the rest of the facade is mostly unchanged, particularly the ornate upper stories, which incorporate sculpted window frames in distinctive grid patterns, pointed arches, and angled projections. The building attracted a varied group of tenants, from private clubs and publishers to doctors and architects who wanted to be close to the new train terminal. A five-room penthouse apartment was originally located on the roof. Designed to recall a bungalow-type residence, it was leased to the Broadway actor Donald Brian and movie director Dudley Murphy, as well as a speakeasy, which was closed by prohibition agents in 1932. A major work by George & Edward Blum, 18 East 41st Street is among East Midtown’s first and finest 20th century skyscrapers.

BUILDING DESCRIPTION 18 East 41st Street is a 21-story office building, between Madison and Fifth Avenues. Fifty feet wide, it is a mostly freestanding structure, with windows facing four directions. The upper floors of the rear facade are partly visible above 13 East 40th Street. Main facade Historic features: White glazed terra-cotta piers, beige spandrels with blue details, grids, foliated details and crests, upper three floors incorporate more elaborate ornamentation. Alterations: Ground floor cladding and infill, signage, lighting fixtures, awning, recessed building entrance, pointed arch windows on the second floor, projecting beige and blue cornice between the second and third floors, double-hung windows, roof pediment and ornamental detail on upper floors have been removed. East facade (visible above 22 East 41st Street) Historic features: Brownish brick, white glazed terra cotta along north edge and framing windows on the 18th floor, gridded details below windows, some original three-over-three steel- framed windows. Alterations: Some double-hung windows, light-colored brick repairs. West facade (visible above 16 East 41st Street) Historic features: white glazed

… (truncated, full text in PDF)