448-454 West 44th Street (New York City, New York)

USA / New Jersey / West New York / New York City, New York / West 44th Street, 448-454
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A row of four 3-story (plus raised basements) Italianate residential buildings completed together in 1871. Nos. 448 & 454 most retain their original appearance, while No. 450 has had its facade completely rebuilt, and the brownstone replaced with brick.

No. 448 at the east end has a high stoop on the right (with black iron handrails) leading up to a round-arched parlor-floor entrance with a glass-and-wood double-doors with iron grilles over the glass panes in an intricate pattern. There doors are framed by paneled pilasters, and the fanlight is topped by an acanthus-leaf keystone between large console brackets carrying a rounded pediment. To the left are two tall single-windows with iron grilles, projecting sills, and curved lintels, and below are two basement windows, also with iron grilles. The upper floors have three bays of single-windows with bracketed sills and curved lintels (smaller than those at the parlor floor). The facade is crowned by a black metal roof cornice with scrolled brackets, modillions, dentils, and panels.

No. 450 has a rebuilt facade with brown brick. The stoop has been replaced by a ground-level entrance on the left, with a black metal door. It has a curved brick lintel, as do the two windows to the right. The upper floors have three bays of round-arched single-windows with projecting planter boxes below them. A simple metal coping marks the roof line.

No. 452 is a near-twin of No. 448. It has different handrails on the stoop, and wood-and-leaded-glass double-doors below a fancy split fanlight. There are full surrounds at the parlor-floor windows, and no grilles. The upper floors have full surrounds as well, and wavy lintels. Much of the facade is covered by climbing ivy.

No. 454 at the west end was originally a mirror-image of Nos. 448 & 452. The brownstone is painted a darker shade, and most of the ornament has been stripped off. The basement and parlor-floor windows have iron grilles, as does the entry, set in a simple surround.
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Coordinates:   40°45'37"N   73°59'37"W
This article was last modified 4 years ago