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1924 425 Riverside Drive; completed in 1925
Featured in Andrew Alpern’s book The New York Apartment Houses of Rosario Candela and James Carpenter page 300
NB 298-1924
Riverside Drive, 425
16-sty bk apt, slag rf, 125×184
Cost:
$2,000,000
Owner:
425 Riverside Dr. Corp., Joseph Paterno, pres, 601 W 115
Architect:
Rosario Candela, 200 W 72
Address in Real Estate Record:
RIVERSIDE DR, 425
Located in the Morningside Heights Historic District designated 21 February 2017
Architect Rosario Candela; Builder 425 Riverside Corporation Joseph Paterno President; Michael A. Campagna Treasurer – Southeast corner 115th Street (Alpern Acanthus page 300)
Following completion of these buildings, the Paterno family did little in Morningside Heights until the 1920s. Their last buildings, the 14-story, Renaissance Revival style 375 Riverside Drive (Gaetan Ajello, 1921-22) and 16-story, Georgian Revival style 425 Riverside Drive (Rosario Candela, 1924) both display the cleaner lines and refined ornamentation that was becoming popular at the time. (source)
425 Riverside Drive (aka 421-425 Riverside Drive; 622-630 West 115th Street)
Borough of Manhattan Tax Map Block 1896, Lot 43
Date(s): 1924 (NB 298-1924)
Architect(s) / Builder(s): Rosario Candela
Owner(s) / Developer(s): Riverside Drive Corp., Joseph Paterno, Pres.
Type: Apartment building
Style(s): Georgian Revival
Stories: 16
Material(s): Red brick; limestone
Status: Contributing
History, Significance and Notable Characteristics
425 Riverside Drive was the largest building constructed by the Paterno brothers in 1924. This 16-story red brick and stone Georgian Revival style apartment building has all the hallmarks of the style, such as a central entrance with denticulated cornice and broken scrolled pediment, fluted Corinthian pilasters, arched tympanum, Flemish-bond brickwork, wide terra-cotta cornice, balconettes, terra-cotta lintel courses, arched window enframements with terra-cotta Colonial Revival style details at spandrel panels, terra-cotta frieze and denticulated modillioned terra-cotta cornice. The red brick West 115th Street facade has a recessed courtyard entry with stone balustrade and lion sculptures, segmental-arched multi-light double-leaf door with side-lights and fanlight. Each of the setbacks at the upper stories has a terra-cotta frieze and denticulated modillioned terra-cotta cornice. The paired and single windows have brick lintels and stone sills. There is also a recessed secondary entrance with stone steps and cheek walls. 425 Riverside Drive was the home for 27 years of Abraham Herschel, Rabbi and theologian, who in 1964 risked criticism for meeting with Pope Paul VI. In 1965 he marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Alabama. He also spoke out repeatedly against racism and the Vietnam War.
Alterations
Riverside Drive Facade: Facade repointed in multiple places at upper stories; first-story facade and part of second-story window surrounds painted; windows replaced throughout; non-historic security grilles at first-story windows; metal gooseneck pipes at first-story attached to facade; security cameras on the corners at fourth-story; non-historic metal security gate
West 115th Street Facade: Facade repointed in multiple places at upper stories; windows replaced throughout; first-story facade painted; handicap ramp with non-historic metal railing; nonhistoric light fixtures and security cameras at courtyard; siamese pipe attached to facade at firststory; multiple electrical conduit piping attached to facade at first through third stories
Site
Gooseneck pipes on Riverside Drive
Sidewalk / Curb Materials
Concrete sidewalk and metal curb
References http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-marla-robbins/martin-luther-king-abrahamheschel_b_8929718.html; Kenneth T. Jackson, ed. The Encyclopedia of New York City, 2nd ed. (New York: Yale University Press, 2010), 593-594. (source)
“Upon arrival in NYC on 30 September 1926 at the age of 17, I stayed with my brother John and his first wife Gladys at 425 Riverside Drive. As a young greenhorn I attended the Berlitz School on 34th Street, where I began receiving English language instructions.” Michael J. Paterno book page 23
“Mother [Minnie Rose Breden Paterno] visited the US for the first time in 1934 and remained in Manhattan for several months and made her headquarters with our brother Charles and his wife Annette at 425 Riverside Drive.” Michael J. Paterno book page 24
New York Herald Tribune (1926-1962); Feb 8, 1927; pg. 37
