Creative Cakes 400 East 74th Street New York NY
NOW
Bill Schutz, owner of Creative Cakes, never realized that he would make a living baking cakes. Back in high school, he would create cakes for girls’ birthdays in his youth group. “I was doing it for the fun of it out of mom’s kitchen,” he explained, and he was proud to share that throughout the years, he had never received any professional training as a baker. “It came naturally.” His hobby stuck with him, even after he earned a degree in biology. In 1979, he began working at a cake shop. The Creative Cakes company became Bill’s in 1985, and he has been astonishing people with his edible creations ever since.
THEN
The exuberant building at the southeast corner of East 74th Street and First Avenue was built in 1899, designed by architect George M. Walgrove, and commissioned by John W. Love. Despite not being as prolific as other architects from the same time, Walgrove went above and beyond to leave his mark in Yorkville. The highly detailed water tables, ornamented lintels, column-like brickwork, and large cornice are trivial when compared to the grandiose stone entrance at East 74th Street. All these elements contributed to the building being listed in the Real Estate Record as flats, and not tenements. Walgrove went on to become the Park Commissioner in the Bronx in 1906.
