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Cherokee Apartments, 517 East 77th Street - Lenox Hill
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517 East 77th Street

Cherokee Apartments,
517 East 77th Street

Co-op located in Lenox Hill, between York Avenue & Cherokee Place

  • Apartments For Sale (1)
  • For Rent (1)
  • Recent Sales (9)
  • All Units in Building (384)
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Overview of Cherokee Apartments at 517 East 77th Street

The Cherokee is a group of charming, architecturally significant walk-up buildings on the Upper East Side, known for their ornate ironwork balconies, terra-cotta façades, and distinctive green tile roofs. Built in 1911 and originally designed to house families with tuberculosis, the six-story buildings offer unique features such as triple-hung windows, open courtyard stairways, and vaulted passageways.

Residents enjoy the convenience of gas, electricity, heat, and water included in maintenance, along with on-site amenities like a laundry room, bike storage, and additional storage facilities. The Cherokee has been recognized for its exceptional restoration efforts, earning accolades from the Friends of the Upper East Side in 1991. Designated as an official city landmark in 1985, the complex was converted into cooperatives and renamed the Cherokee Apartments the following year.

Year Built
1911
Converted: 1986
Apartments
384
Floors
6
Pets: Allowed
Neighborhood
Min Down
20%
384Apartments
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Sales & Rentals
in Building

Amenities

  • Pre War
  • Walk Up
  • Resident Storage
  • Intercom
  • Pool
  • Washer/Dryer in building
  • Mail Room
  • Laundry Room
  • Bike Room
  • Landmarked

Shh... Many units sell without being publicly listed.

Learn more about off-market listings at Cherokee Apartments!

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Carter’s Review

"This group of four buildings that comprise most of a full block east of York Avenue is one of the city's most distinguished low-rise housing enclaves. Designed by Henry Atterbury Smith, a doctor who had been in charge of the tuberculosis clinic at the Presbyterian Hospital, the six-story buildings have very attractive cast-iron balconies supported by curved brackets and a handsome green tile roof that projects over the façades. The façades combine terra-cotta, tan brick and stone and triple-hung windows into a richly interesting composition. Each building has a large courtyard that is entered through a Gustavino-tiled, barrel-vaulted passageway, open and balconied stairways with built-in seating at each level, and roof gardens with tiled floors and windbreaks. Originally there were 386 units in the complex, but that number has shrunk over the years as alterations have enlarged most of the small units. The project, which is also known as the East River Homes and also as the Shively Sanitary Apartments, was conceived by Dr. Henry Shively, a doctor who got Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt Sr. to finance a housing foundation. "A building on the Upper East Side of Manhattan that offers ornate ironwork balconies, triple-hung windows that extend all the way to the floor, Piranesi-like vaulted entries, and views of the East River across a small park conjures up images of liveried elevator men and well-heeled tenants," wrote Andrew Alpern in his book, "Luxury Apartment Houses of Manhatan, An Illustrated History," (Dover Publications Inc., 1992). "The surprise," he continued, "is that the building is a six-story walk-up tenement of 1910 that was planned for families who were nursing at least one family member with tuberculosis. And doubly surprising, this tubercular tenement was designed to a level of construction and aesthetic quality unheard-of for lower-class housing, and rare even among the luxury apartment houses of its day....Augmenting the private quarters were individual storage lockers for each family in the basement, a mini-hospital on the premises and a recreational roof deck that even provided toilet facilities....During the alteration work of the 1930's, the rooftop pergolas and recreational facilities were removed."It was built in 1911 and sold to the City and Suburban Homes Company, which developed a similar but much less attractive and detailed project on the full block across 78th Street, in 1924. It was designated an official city landmark in 1985 converted the next year to cooperatives and renamed the Cherokee Apartments."
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Pros & Cons

  • Superb architecture
  • Balconied staircases open onto courtyards
  • Very handsome balconies
  • Views of the East River from many units
  • Nearby park
  • No health club
  • No doorman
  • No garage

CityRealty Rating

28
/44
Architecture
+
20
/36
Location
+
13
/39
Features
=
61
CITYREALTY
RATING
  • How is the CityRealty Rating calculated?

    Architecture
    • 30+ remarkable
    • 20-29 distinguished
    • 11-19 average
    • < 11 below average
    Location
    • 27+ remarkable
    • 18-26 distinguished
    • 9-17 average
    • < 9 below average
    Features
    • 22+ remarkable
    • 16-21 distinguished
    • 9-15 average
    • < 9 below average

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