Carter's Review

This very elegant and attractive apartment building at 50 Morningside Drive was erected in 1927 and was designed by Schwartz & Gross, one of the most prolific architectural firms specializing in pre-war apartment buildings on the Upper West Side.

The 6-story building, which is known as La Touraine, has 24 co-operative apartments and a sister building at 54 Morningside Drive, the Mont Cenis.

Bottom Line

One of the most distinguished looking buildings in an around the Columbia University campus.

Description

The building has a two-story rusticated base, a large cornice, a moat and some arched windows on the fifth floor.

Apartments

Apartment 53 is a three-bedroom unit with a long entrance hall that leads to a 15-foot-long living room, a 15-foot-long dining room and a 9-foot-long kitchen with an angled wall with a window.

Apartment 43 is a two-bedroom unit that has a very long entry hall that leads to a 22-foot-wide living room and a 10-foot-wide office next to a 9-foot-wide enclosed kitchen with an angled, window wall.

Apartment 42 is a two-bedroom unit with a very long entrance hall that leads to an 11-foot-long den, a 15-foot-long enclosed dining room and a 13-foot-long living room.  It has an enclosed, 12-foot-long kitchen with an angled wall with a window.

Apartment 62 is a two-bedroom unit with a long entrance hall that leads to a 16-foot-long living room, a 16-foot-long dining room, a 10-foot-long maid’s room and a 12-foot-long kitchen with an angled wall with a window.

Apartment 64 is a two-bedroom unit with a long entry hall that leads to a 32-foot-long living/dining room next to a 13-foot-long enclosed kitchen and a 13-foot-long maid’s room.

History

A January 2, 1953 article in The New York Times noted that “President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower spent a quiet New Year’s day at his residence at 50 Morningside Drive with Mrs. Eisenhower and other members of his family,” adding that General Eisenhower did not leave the house.”