Carnegie Hill
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Carnegie Hill is a neighborhood within the
Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...
, in the
borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...
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 ...
in
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 ...
. Its boundaries are 86th Street on the south,
Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...
(
Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
) on the west, with a northern boundary at 98th Street that continues just past
Lexington Avenue Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated as "Lex", is an avenue on the East Side (Manhattan), East Side of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street (Manhattan), 131st Street to Gra ...
and turns south to 96th Street and proceeds east up to, but not including, Third Avenue.Mendelsohn, Joyce. "Carnegie Hill" in , p.205. "Neighborhood on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, bounded to the north by 98th Street, to the east to, but not including, Third Avenue, to the south by 86th Street, and to the west by 5th Avenue." The neighborhood is part of Manhattan Community District 8. In the 2000s, the perceived northern boundary on Park Avenue has edged over 96th Street into what was traditionally Spanish Harlem, leading to that area sometimes being called Upper Carnegie Hill, especially by real-estate brokers. According to the official Carnegie Hill Neighbors website, the Carnegie Hill neighborhood extends from 86th to 98th Streets, from Fifth Avenue up to, but not including, Third Avenue.


History

The neighborhood is named after the mansion that
Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...
built in 1901 at Fifth Avenue and 91st Street. Today the mansion is the home of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, a branch of the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
. Facing it across 91st Street is the Italian palazzo-style Otto H. Kahn House, currently the home of the Convent of the Sacred Heart, a Roman Catholic girls' school. Several townhouses in the area have been converted to schools, including the William Goadby Loew House on 93rd Street (formerly the Smithers Alcoholism Center), currently occupied by the Spence School, and next door, the Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt House, converted to a school by the Lycée Français, but sold in 2005 to a private owner. The architecture of the neighborhood includes
apartment An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...
buildings along Park Avenue and
Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...
, brownstones (with stoops) and
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 ...
s on the side streets, condos,
co-ops A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...
and a handful of mansions, of which some are now used by the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, The Jewish Museum, the National Academy of Design, the
Dalton School The Dalton School, originally the Children's University School, is a private, coeducational college preparatory school in New York City and a member of both the Ivy Preparatory School League and the New York Interschool. The school is located in ...
and other organizations. From the 1950s to 1971, the
National Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such orga ...
was housed in the Willard Straight House, a red brick
Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...
townhouse at 1130 Fifth Avenue. When it moved to
NoHo NoHo, short for "North of Houston Street, Houston Street" (as contrasted with SoHo), is a primarily residential neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded by Mercer Street (Manhattan), Mercer Street to the west, the Bowery ...
, the International Center of Photography moved in but later consolidated its operations in Midtown near
Bryant Park Bryant Park is a , privately managed public park in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. It is located between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue) and between 40th Street (Manhattan), 40th and 42 ...
. In 2001, it again became a private residence. In 1989, the Jewish Museum demolished its 1963
modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
addition and courtyard, replacing it with a new extension opened in 1993 that mimics the French Gothic details of the Warburg Mansion, the museum's home since 1947. The limestone was crafted in
Morningside Heights Morningside Heights is a neighborhood on the West Side of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Morningside Drive to the east, 125th Street to the north, 110th Street to the south, and Riverside Drive to the west. Morningsi ...
at the Cathedral Stoneworks. Frank Lloyd Wright's originally maligned and now celebrated Guggenheim Museum opened on Fifth Avenue in 1959. The New York Road Runners occupies a townhouse around the corner at 9 East 89th Street, a block informally known as Fred Lebow Place. Similar to the official lines of the historic district, the borders of the neighborhood form an irregular rectangle and the northern boundary, which traditionally was 96th Street, has on Park Avenue edged into what was traditionally Spanish Harlem. The northern section neighborhood was once seen as a less fashionable end of the East Side, but is now prized for its aesthetic sensibility, museums, schools, restaurants and neighborhood feel. Besides, Andrew Carnegie, Marjorie Merriweather Post, Margaret Rockefeller Strong and
John Hay Whitney John Hay Whitney (August 17, 1904 – February 8, 1982) was an American venture capitalist, sportsman, philanthropist, newspaper publisher, film producer and diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the '' New ...
all made their homes north of 90th Street.


Preservation

The Carnegie Hill Historic District, designated as such by the Landmarks Preservation Commission on July 23, 1974, and then expanded on December 21, 1993, runs from 86th Street in the south to just north of 98th Street in the north. Its western boundary is
Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
, and its eastern boundary varies from
Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stree ...
in some parts to
Lexington Avenue Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated as "Lex", is an avenue on the East Side (Manhattan), East Side of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street (Manhattan), 131st Street to Gra ...
farther east in others. There are efforts to expand this district to protect structures not designated as landmarks, including 179 East 93rd Street, where the
Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act known for their anarchic humor, rapid-fire wordplay, and visual gags. They achieved success in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures. The core group consisted of brothers Chi ...
were raised. Proponents include the 93rd Street Beautification Association and Carnegie Hill Neighbors,Carnegie Hill Neighbors
organizations which, seeking to preserve the village-like environment, spurred the creation of the historic district and actively monitor its well being. In its more than thirty years of operation, its well-publicized battles have included advocating against an adult education center near the 92nd Street Y, plans for more high rise apartments and additions to existing brownstones.


Prominent locations

* 92nd Street Y is a cultural and community center.


Education

Hunter College High School, a highly selective nationally ranked high school, is located at the corner of 94th Street and Park Avenue. The New York City Department of Education operates public schools such as Lower Lab, one of three gifted and talented programs in NYC. The main campus of the La Scuola d'Italia Guglielmo Marconi Italian international school is in Carnegie Hill at 12 East 96th Street.


See also

* Hardenbergh/Rhinelander Historic District * Museum Mile, New York City * Yorkville


References

Bibliography * Alpern, Andrew. '' The New York Apartment Houses of Rosario Candela and James Carpenter''. (New York: Acanthus Press) 2002. Notes


External links

*
Carnegie Hill Neighbors
{{coord, 40.784726, -73.956070, type:adm3rd_globe:earth_region:US-NY, display=title Neighborhoods in Manhattan Andrew Carnegie Upper East Side