Carter's Review

With a very boldly designed cornice and rope quoins, 941 Park Avenue on the northeast corner  of 81^st Street is one of the more interesting looking apartment buildings on the avenue in this area despite its exposed rooftop watertank on a handsome octagonal pedestal.

This building was erected in 1927 and converted to a cooperative in 1955.

The 16-story building has only 34 apartments.

It was designed by Schwartz & Gross, whose other buildings on the avenue include 470, 525, 885, 888, 910, 911, 930, 970, 983, 1045, 1070, 1095, 1125 and 1165.

It was erected by the Tishman Realty & Construction Company.

Bottom Line

An impressive pre-war building with large apartments and well-known residents.

Description

The red-brick building has a canopied entrance with a two-story arched surround and sidewalk landscaping. 

It has a two-story limestone base and window surrounds on the third floor beneath a scalloped bandcourse.

The building has quoins and a cornice and its avenue frontage is highlighted by three two-story window surrounds that are balanced by two-story pilasters on the top two floors.  Notably, the window surrounds and the pilasters are ragged.

The building has consistent new fenestration and protruding air-conditioners.

Amenities

The building has a doorman, a gym, a children’s playroom and recreation facilities.  It is also pet friendly.

Apartments

Penthouse 15/16A has  a entry foyer that  leads to a 12-foot-long, skylit gallery and staircase that opens onto a 27-foot-long living room with fireplace that  connects to a 20-foot-long enclosed dining room next  to a 15-foot-long pantry that leads to a 15-foot-long eat-in kitchen, a laundry, a service  hall and two  staff rooms and a 15-foot-long windowed office on the lower level that also has an 18-foot-long library.  The 16^th floor has four bedrooms and a large wraparound terrace and the top floor has a 22-foot-wide, octagonal “tower” room and a 38-foot-long terrace.

Apartment 14/15A has a 26-foot-long entrance gallery with staircase that leads to a 27-foot-long living room with a fireplace that connects to an 18-foot-long music room, a 19-foot-long library and a 20-foot-long dining room that is next to a 19-foot-long pantry that leads to a 19-foot-long kitchen, a 17-foot-long breakfast area, and a wine cellar, a laundry and a 11-foot-long staff room on the lower level and four bedrooms on the upper level.

Apartment 14/15C is a three-bedroom duplex  with a 28-foot-long entrance  gallery with staircase  that connects to a 27-foot-long living room with fireplace, a 16-foot-long library and a 21-foot-long dining room that leads to a 15-foot-long pantry, a 15-foot-long kitchen and a 13-foot-long  breakfast room and office on the lower level that  also has a maid’s room and a double maid’s/office.  The bedrooms are on the upper floor.

Apartment 11A is a five-bedroom unit that has a 27-foot-long entrance gallery with staircase that  opens onto a 28-foot-wide  living room with fireplace,  an 18-foot-long  library, and a 21-foot-long dining room that leads to a 12-foot-long pantry, a 16-foot-long kitchen with a step-up 16-foot-long breakfast room on the  lower  level that also has a 14-foot-long library and two maid’s rooms.  The bedrooms are on the upper level.

History

One of the building’s former residents was Edna Ferber, the novelist, and another was Lloyd C. Blankfein, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs.

Other residents include Cathleen P. Black, who served briefly as the city’s schools chancellor, and Tom Brokaw, the television personality. 

Location

The building is close to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue and many boutiques and art galleries along Madison. Cross-town buses run on 79th Street and one of the city s best schools, PS 6, is nearby on at Madison Avenue.