23 Beekman Place, also the Paul Rudolph Apartment & Penthouse, is an apartment building between 50th and 51st streets in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Built c. 1869 as a five-story brownstone residence, it was substantially redesigned in the late 20th century by Paul Rudolph, an American architect and one-time dean of Yale University. It is one of the few known projects Rudolph designed in the city.
The house is part of a secluded residential enclave surrounding Beekman Place. It consists of the original brownstone residence, along with a four-story steel skeletal penthouse with concrete wall panels, which is cantilevered slightly over the street. The rear walls contain full-width windows with East River views, while the interiors contain high ceilings and open floor plans. Throughout his occupancy at the building, from the 1960s to 1990s, Rudolph constantly adjusted the interior layout. The penthouse originally received negative feedback from neighbors, who expressed concerns that it would draw excessive attention to the area and that it would block their own views of the river.
The building was originally a brownstone along with the other structures in the area. In the first half of the 20th century, it was occupied by actress Katharine Cornell and director and producer Guthrie McClintic, who were married. Starting in 1961, Rudolph leased a fourth-story apartment at 23 Beekman Place, and he ultimately bought the entire building outright in 1976. Following that, Rudolph redeveloped the building from 1977 to 1982, constructing the steel penthouse above the existing masonry apartments. After Rudolph died in 1997, the building was sold to the Boyd family and then to Steven Campus, who both renovated the interior. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the house as a landmark in 2010.
Continue reading on Wikipedia 
