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1909 Barnard Court 15 Claremont Avenue
Located in the Morningside Heights Historic District designated 21 February 2017
Michael E. Paterno Realty Co. per Apartment Houses of the Metropolis (scroll down to see illustration)
1909
253
$200,000.00
CLAREMONT AV, w s, 120 n 116th st 10-sty brick apartment house, 119.10˙48.10
OWNER / OWNER ADDRESS
(o) Paterno Realty Co / (o) 15 Claremont av COMMENTS
ARCHITECT / ARCHITECT ADDRESS
(a) Schwartz & Gross / (a) 347 5th [Fifth] av (source)
15 Claremont Avenue ( Barnard Court )
Borough of Manhattan Tax Map Block 1990, Lot 5
Date(s): 1909 (NB 253-1909)
Architect(s) / Builder(s): Schwartz & Gross
Owner(s) / Developer(s): Paterno Realty Co.
Type: Apartment building
Style(s): Renaissance Revival
Stories: 10
Material(s): White brick; limestone
Status: Contributing
History, Significance and Notable Characteristics
Barnard Court is ten-story U-shaped white brick and limestone apartment building designed by the firm of Schwartz & Gross and built in 1909 for the Paterno Brothers[ CORRECTION: PATERNO REALTY COMPANY] , prolific apartment house builders in Morningside Heights between 1898 and 1924.
The building features a two-story rusticated limestone base, with main entrance located in a recessed light court facing Claremont Avenue containing a historic metal-and-glass vestibule, above the base the buff brick facade includes transitional molded stone bands, elaborate wrought-iron balconettes, and splayed stone lintels with embellished keystones. A monumental attic story with arched windows and sculpted keystones, ornate spandrel panels, bracketed windows, and elaborately detailed bracketed cornice terminates the facade. Guyon L. Earle, a Queens real-estate developer resided there in 1910. Owen Gould Davis (1874-1956), Pulitzer prize winning dramatist for his 1923 play Icebound, resided at 15 Claremont at the time of the 1920 Census.
Alterations
Claremont Avenue Facade: Non-historic metal security grilles at first-story windows;
facades of light court repointed in places; windows replaced
Site
Flanking planting beds enclosed by stone curb
Sidewalk / Curb Materials
Concrete sidewalk and metal curb
References
“Owen Davis Dies at 82; Pulitzer Prize Dramatist,” New York Times, October 15, 1956, A5; U.S. Census Records, 1910-1920.
(source)
Living It Up (published 1984) page 57: BARNARD COURT, 15 Claremont Avenue: A 9-story turn-of-the-century white-brick building with open court entrance. It takes its name from the college across the street.
New York Times (1857-1922); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 30 July 1909: 11.
