The Robb House, located at 23

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...

on the corner of East 35th Street in the Murray Hill neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

is a

townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of Terraced house, terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type o ...

built in 1888-92 and designed in the Italian Renaissance revival style by

McKim, Mead & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm based in New York City. The firm came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in ''fin de siècle'' New York. The firm's founding partners, Cha ...

, with

Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect and a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms at the turn of the 20th century. White designed many houses ...

as the partner-in-charge.

History

The townhouse was built as the residence of James Hampden Robb, a retired businessman and former state assemblyman and senator, and his wife Cornelia Van Rensselaer Robb. It was designed in the Italian Renaissance revival style by

, with

as the partner-in-charge; it was one of the earlier townhouses designed by White in that style. On its completion, architectural critic

Russell Sturgis Russell Sturgis (; October 16, 1836 – February 11, 1909) was an American architect and art critic of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He was one of the founders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1870. Sturgis was born in Baltimore Count ...

wrote that it was "the most dignified structure in all the quarter of town, not a palace, but a fit dwelling house for a first-rate citizen."

Subsequent owners

In 1923, the townhouse was bought by the Advertising Club of New York to be its clubhouse. The club was founded in 1896 as the Sphinx Club but by 1915 had changed its name to the current one. The conversion of the residential dwelling into a clubhouse was undertaken by F.T.H. Bacon as consulting engineer, and architect Fred F. French. After a fire in 1946 damaged the top three floors of the building, and the club undertook repaired and renovated, at the same time purchasing the next-door rowhouse at 103 East 35th Street (built in 1853) and joining it to the main building. In 1977, the club began to rent out space in the building to other clubs, and that same year it was sold to a developer who converted it into a cooperative apartment house. What served the club as its library was the living room of the duplex apartment owned by

Kenneth Jay Lane Kenneth Jay Lane (April 22, 1932 – July 20, 2017) was an American costume jewelry designer. Life Born in Detroit, Michigan, Lane was the son of an automotive parts supplier. He is of Jewish descent. Lane attended the University of Michigan a ...

. The building was designated a

New York City landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and c ...

in 1998.

References

External links

Advertising Club official website
1892 establishments in New York City Residential buildings completed in 1892 Residential buildings in Manhattan Renaissance Revival architecture in New York City Park Avenue Organizations based in New York (state) Stanford White buildings New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Murray Hill, Manhattan Gilded Age mansions 1890s architecture in the United States {{Manhattan-struct-stub Defunct gentlemen's clubs in New York City

History

Subsequent owners

See also

References

External links