The Percy R. Pyne House (also known as the Percy Rivington Pyne House and Percy & Maud H. Pyne House) is a neo- Federal

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 ...

at 680 Park Avenue, located at the northwest corner of

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 ...

and 68th Street in

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 ...

. Currently, the

Americas Society The Americas Society is an organization dedicated to education, debate, and dialogue on the Americas. It is located at Percy R. Pyne House, 680 Park Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and was established by David Rockefeller in 1965. ...

uses the building as its

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 ...

headquarters.

History

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 ...

for

Percy Rivington Pyne II Percy Rivington Pyne II (May 5, 1857 – August 22, 1929) was a banker, financier, and philanthropist. Early life Pyne was born on May 5, 1857 in New York City, the son of Percy Rivington Pyne I (1820-1895) and Albertina Shelton (née Tayl ...

, grandson of the noted financier

Moses Taylor Moses Taylor (January 11, 1806 – May 23, 1882) was a 19th-century New York merchant and banker and one of the wealthiest men of that century. At his death, his estate was reported to be worth $70 million, or about $ billion in today's dollars. ...

, it was built from 1909 to 1911. Its materials and scale established a character that was followed by the architects of all the subsequent houses on this Park Avenue blockfront. The building was occupied by the Soviet Mission to the United Nations from 1948 to 1964.https://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0704.pdf The generous actions of the Margaret Rockefeller Strong de Larraín, Marquesa de Cuevas, in acquiring the property in 1965 and presenting it to the Americas Society, saved the building from destruction. Together with the buildings of the neighboring Oliver D. Filley House (now the

Queen Sofía Spanish Institute The Queen Sofía Spanish Institute is an organization in New York City, founded with the aim of promoting the culture of Spanish speaking countries and to foster their relations with the United States. It is located at the Oliver D. Filley House ...

) at 684 Park Avenue and the Henry P. Davison House (now the Italian Consulate General) at 690 Park Avenue, it forms one of the last intact architectural ensembles on Park Avenue. The building was designated as a New York City landmark by the New York City Landmark Preservation Commission on November 10, 1970. A landmark plaque was provided by

The New York Community Trust The New York Community Trust (The Trust) is a community foundation that serves New York City's five boroughs, Long Island, and Westchester County. The Trust administers more than 2,200 charitable funds. Established in 1924, The Trust is one of the ...

in 1971.

References

External links

{{Upper East Side, state=collapsed New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Park Avenue Upper East Side Houses completed in 1911 Federal architecture in New York City Houses in Manhattan Pyne family (banking) Rivington family Historic district contributing properties in Manhattan McKim, Mead & White buildings