829 Madison Avenue
Building Name
1045 Park Avenue
Architect
Schwartz & Gross
Year(s) Built
1922 - 23
Designation
Upper East Side Historic District
Project Information:
A Colonial Revival style apartment building designed by Schwartz & Gross and built in 1922-23. Application is to modify an existing rooftop addition, modify masonry openings, and install railings and a pergola.
LPC Hearing: 22/11/2022 (Approved with modifications)
FRIENDS' Testimony:
The gradual, yet haphazard, accretion of rooftop structures is a familiar story at the penthouse levels
of large apartment buildings on the Upper East Side. FRIENDS Preservation Committee can appreciate the applicant’s desire to restore some order and regularity where little exists. However, this is already a highly visible penthouse on a prominent corner and would like to see some efforts made to reduce its visual impact.
We do not take issue with the modified masonry openings or modifications to bulk on the roof.
Although we understand the intent to replicate the color of the window frames in the rest of the
building, the bronze window frames call undue attention to themselves against the light-colored
stucco façade of the penthouse.
A more neutral color might blend in more to the stucco and maintain the clear differentiation between the penthouse structure and the rest of the building. Similarly, the dark railing on top of the second floor roof deck as well as the wooden pergola read from a distance as additional bulk. FRIENDS questions whether these elements are truly necessary for this two-story penthouse, and if so, we advise that their appearance be minimized.