The West 67th Street Artists' Colony is a group of structures in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, New York, US. Developed as an art colony starting in 1901, it consists of apartment buildings with artists' studios, located on a single city block of 67th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. The buildings were mostly developed by artists' cooperatives and are generally made of stone and brick. Most of the buildings in the colony are located on the north side of the street, with large north-facing windows in the rear to take advantage of sunlight. Seven apartment buildings and one institutional building are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as a historic district, the West 67th Street Artists' Colony Historic District.
The colony was developed amid a shortage of suitable housing for artists in New York City, at a time when the adjacent portion of the Upper West Side was relatively sparsely developed. The first building in the colony was the 67th Street Studios at 27 West 67th Street, a cooperative developed between 1901 and 1903. The success of the 67th Street Studios led to the development of three more co-op apartment buildings between 1903 and 1907; the Swiss House, a clubhouse, was also built during that period. Two additional buildings, including the Hotel des Artistes, were built in the mid-1910s, followed by two more in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The buildings had become conventional, upper-class co-ops by the late 20th century.
Description The West 67th Street Artists' Colony is on 67th Street, between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue, in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, New York, US. Built as an art colony, it includes nine structures in total: six apartment buildings and an institutional building on the north sidewalk at 1–39 West 67th Street, along with two apartment buildings on the south sidewalk at 40–50 West 67th Street. Eight of the structures (six to the north and two to the south) are contributing properties to the West 67th Street Artists' Colony Historic District, which is on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The entire block is also within the boundaries of the Upper West Side–Central Park West Historic District, a larger city district designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC). The LPC designation encompasses a ninth building in the colony at 17 West 67th Street, but this building is styled differently from the others and is not a contributing property to the NRHP district. 70 Central Park West ( 2 West 67th Street), at the southwest corner of 67th Street and Central Park West, is in the neighboring Central Park West Historic District (also listed on the NRHP) but is sometimes grouped with the other studio buildings. The western end of the block is in close proximity to the Lincoln Center performing arts complex.
The buildings were mostly developed by artists' cooperatives and are generally made of stone and brick. They were designed by a variety of architects including Pollard & Steinam and B. Hustace Simonson. The buildings were all given names that were described by The New York Times writer Richard F. Shepard as "redolent of the arts". Although the National Park Service describes the Colonial Studios at 39 West 67th Street as the colony's only non–Gothic-style building, the LPC characterizes the buildings as being designed in a variety of styles, including the neo-Renaissance and Art Nouveau. Christopher Gray of The New York Times wrote that the buildings' designs were "exhilarating" compared with older co-ops, and Paul Goldberger of the same paper wrote that the building was "a self-contained village as much as it is a New York City block".
To take advantage of sunlight from the north, the five apartment buildings on the northern sidewalk have double-height studio windows at their northern (rear) elevations, facing 68th Street. The buildings include apartments with high-ceilinged studios; though originally intended for artists, these units became popular among non-artists as well. Some units are split across two or three stories. The south side of the street was generally unsuitable for studio development, since northward views from these buildings would be obstructed by the buildings on the northern sidewalk. As such, the two structures on the south side of 67th Street were developed as regular apartment buildings. They have similar window arrangements to the buildings across the street, though neither has double-story studio windows on their northern (front) elevations. The interior plans of these buildings were replicated in subsequent art studio developments elsewhere in New York City, such as 131 East 66th Street.
+Developers and architectsAddressNameLocationCompletedDeveloperArchitect50 West 67th StreetSouth side of 67th Street191750 West 67th Street, Inc.Shape & Bready40 West 67th StreetSouth side of 67th Street192940 West 67 Street Corp.Rosario Candela39 West 67th StreetColonial StudiosNorth side of 67th Street1907Robert W. VonnohPollard & Steinam37 West 67th StreetSwiss HouseNorth side of 67th Street1905Swiss Benevolent SocietyJohn E. Scharsmith33 West 67th StreetAtelier BuildingNorth side of 67th Street1905William J. TaylorSimonson, Pollard & Steinam27 West 67th Street67th Street StudiosNorth side of 67th Street1903William J. TaylorSturgis & Simonson17 West 67th StreetNorth side of 67th Street1931Fair Deal Realty Co.Cronenberg & Leuchtag15 West 67th StreetCentral Park StudiosNorth side of 67th Street1905William J. TaylorSimonson, Pollard & Steinam1 West 67th StreetHotel des ArtistesNorth side of 67th Street1918Hotel des Artistes, Inc.George Mort Pollard
North side Apartments
The westernmost building on the north sidewalk is the Colonial Studios at 39 West 67th Street, a 14-story, neo-Renaissance structure. It was designed by Pollard & Steinam. The Colonial Studios is a steel-frame building with a brick, limestone, and copper facade interspersed with double hung windows. The main (southern) elevation has a pediment over its entrance, bands of foliate ornament, and metal bays, while the rear elevation has large windows.
The Atelier Building is at 33 West 67th Street and was designed by Simonson, Pollard & Steinam. The building stands 14 stories high, with a steel frame and a brick, limestone, iron, and terracotta facade interspersed with double hung windows. The facade has elaborate Gothic-style ornamentation at various locations. The limestone base has an entrance with animal and floral motifs, while the upper stories have details such as corbels and pointed arches. The bricks on the facade are oriented so that their narrow ends, or headers, are exposed; the headers are in various shades. In the lobby are murals by artists such as V. V. Sewell and Frank DuMond.
The 67th Street Studios, also known as 27 West 67th Street, was designed by Simonson & Sturgis. The 14-story building, described by the LPC as being in the Art Nouveau or Arts and Crafts styles, has a steel frame with iron columns. Its facade is made of brick and terracotta, with a mixture of double-hung and casement windows; the roof is made of brick and slate. Although the 67th Street Studios was built with gables, these have since been removed. The apartments had spaces with lower ceilings at the front and studios with higher ceilings in the rear.
17 West 67th Street was designed by Gronenberg and Leuchtag. Measuring 12 stories high, it is designed in the neo-Renaissance and Romanesque styles, although the decorations do not complement those of the buildings to either side. 17 West 67th Street has a brick facade and a steel frame. The window openings consist of casement windows, vertical sidelights, and horizontal transoms.
The Central Park Studios at 15 West 67th Street was designed by Simonson, Pollard & Steinam. The building rises 14 stories with a steel frame. The facade is made of brick, limestone, and terracotta. There is elaborate limestone decoration, including a projecting entrance, arches, gablets, and finials on the two lowest stories, and arches, buttresses, and gables on the three highest stories. The intermediate stories are clad in brick, with some of the headers pulled out. The windows are a mixture of arched openings and double-hung units.
At the eastern end of the colony is the Hotel des Artistes, a nine-story building at 1 West 67th Street designed by George Mort Pollard. The building has a brick-and-stone facade, with extensive terracotta or limestone decoration. The lowest two stories are clad in limestone, with trefoils, quatrefoils, finials, and a second-floor cornice. There is an ornate third-story pavilion in the entrance bay, along with finials and arches on the upper stories. The Hotel des Artistes has double-height windows facing both north and south, which consist of either casement windows or pivoting multi-paned units. Inside, the lobby has wood, iron, and plaster decorations and a mural. The structure had a mixture of artists' studios and conventional apartments from the outset, combining elements from studio buildings and apartment hotels. The apartments originally lacked kitchens, and the building has a restaurant (formerly the Café des Artistes), event spaces, and amenities such as squash courts and a swimming pool. There is also a triple-story apartment once used by author Fannie Hurst.
Institutions
Just east of Colonial Studios is the Swiss House at 37 West 67th Street, a five-story institutional structure designed by John E. Scharsmith. It was originally used by the Swiss Benevolent Society and has been used by William E. Macaulay Honors College since 2008. The Swiss House is a steel-frame building with a brick, limestone, iron, and terracotta facade interspersed with double hung windows. The base is clad with limestone, while on the upper stories, the facade is made of brick, with limestone decorations such as oriel windows, cornices, and balconies. The facade also includes the seals of Switzerland and the United States, along with seals of the Swiss cantons. The Swiss House has a pitched roof and limestone gables. Inside were originally a meeting hall on the first floor and rooms on the upper stories; after Macaulay Honors College moved in, the interiors were turned into education spaces such as classrooms.
South side At 50 West 67th Street, Shape & Bready designed a co-op. The steel-framed building has eight stories. Like the district's other buildings, the facade is made of brick and terracotta, featuring double-hung windows. The facade is patterned after the Elizabethan style, with details including a decorative parapet, drip moldings, and shields. The west wing was initially intended for visual artists and the east wing for musicians, though both groups were allowed to buy units in either wing. As such, the building has soundproof walls.
Immediately east, at 40 West 67th Street, Rosario Candela designed another co-op building. The building has nine stories. It is a steel-frame building with a brick and stone facade, along with double-hung or casement windows. Despite 40 West 67th Street's similarities to the district's other buildings, the interiors bear greater similarities to standard apartment buildings than to the studios.
History Background
The surrounding portion of the Upper West Side was originally occupied by the Lenape Native Americans before being settled by the Dutch and then the English in the 17th century. In 1708, the city began constructing an extension of Broadway, then known as Bloomingdale Road, to the modern Upper West Side. At that time the area was rural, and it remained sparsely settled through the 18th and much of the 19th century. With the completion of Central Park in 1876, economic prosperity and improved transit access caused real estate speculators to erect apartment houses in the neighborhood.