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Villard Houses

Houses completed in 1884Houses in ManhattanMadison AvenueMcKim, Mead & White buildingsMidtown Manhattan
New York City Designated Landmarks in ManhattanRenaissance Revival architecture in New York CityResidential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in ManhattanUse mdy dates from July 2021
Villard Exterior 118503pv
Villard Exterior 118503pv

The Villard Houses are a set of former residences comprising a historic landmark at 451–457 Madison Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by the architect Joseph Morrill Wells of McKim, Mead & White in the Renaissance Revival style, the residences were erected in 1884 for railroad magnate Henry Villard. They comprise a portion of the Lotte New York Palace Hotel, the main tower of which is to the east. The building comprises six separate residences in a "U"-shaped plan, with wings to the north, east, and south surrounding a courtyard on Madison Avenue. The facade is made of Belleville sandstone, and each house consists of a raised basement, three stories, and an attic. Among the artists who worked on the interiors were artist John La Farge, sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and painter Maitland Armstrong. Some of the more elaborate spaces, such as the Gold Room, dining room, and reception area in the south wing of the complex, still exist as part of the New York Palace Hotel. The houses were commissioned by Henry Villard, president of the Northern Pacific Railway, shortly before he fell into bankruptcy. Ownership of the residences changed many times through the mid-20th century. By the late 1940s, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York had acquired all of the houses, except the northernmost residence at 457 Madison Avenue, which it acquired from Random House in 1971. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the complex an official landmark in 1968, and the residences were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. As part of the construction of the New York Palace Hotel, completed in 1980, the north wing was turned into office space for city preservation group Municipal Art Society.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Villard Houses (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Villard Houses
Madison Avenue, New York Manhattan

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Latitude Longitude
N 40.758055555556 ° E -73.975277777778 °
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Lotte New York Palace

Madison Avenue 455
10022 New York, Manhattan
New York, United States
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call+12128887000

Website
lottenypalace.com

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Villard Exterior 118503pv
Villard Exterior 118503pv
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Lotte New York Palace Hotel
Lotte New York Palace Hotel

Lotte New York Palace Hotel is a luxury hotel in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, at the corner of 50th Street and Madison Avenue. It was originally developed between 1977 and 1980 by Harry Helmsley. The hotel consists of a portion of the Villard Houses, built in the 1880s by McKim, Mead & White, which are New York City designated landmarks and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It also includes a 51-story skyscraper designed by Emery Roth & Sons and completed in 1980. The Villard Houses, arranged in a U-shaped plan, consist of three wings surrounding a central courtyard on the east side of Madison Avenue. The houses' center wing serves as a lobby, while the south wing serves as an event space. Behind the Villard Houses to the east is the modern skyscraper addition. As of 2021, the hotel has 909 rooms and suites. The top floors of the skyscraper are known as the Towers, which consist of 176 luxury units. Among the units in the Towers are four ornate triplex suites, each with their own decorations, as well as four other specialty suites. The Helmsley Palace Hotel opened in 1981 and was operated by Helmsley until 1992. As part of a bankruptcy proceeding, it was sold in 1993 to the Sultan of Brunei, who completely renovated the hotel and Villard Houses. The government of Brunei took over the hotel from the royal family in the late 2000s. Northwood Investors, an American real estate investment firm, bought the hotel from the government of Brunei in 2011 and renovated it. The hotel was sold again in 2015 to Korean luxury hotel operator Lotte Hotels & Resorts, which renamed it the Lotte New York Palace Hotel.

488 Madison Avenue
488 Madison Avenue

488 Madison Avenue, also known as the Look Building, is a 25-story office building in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is along Madison Avenue's western sidewalk between 51st and 52nd Streets, near St. Patrick's Cathedral. 488 Madison Avenue was designed by Emery Roth & Sons in the International Style, and it was constructed and developed by Uris Brothers. The building was originally named for its primary tenant, the American magazine Look. The building largely contains a facade of white brick, interspersed with horizontal strips of aluminum windows. The lowest two stories contain a main entrance on Madison Avenue as well as several glass-and-metal storefronts. The three sides are connected by curved walls. The exterior includes several setbacks to comply with the 1916 Zoning Resolution. Each of the building's stories contain an average floor area of 19,500 square feet (1,810 m2), a feature intended to maximize usable office space. 488 Madison Avenue was constructed from 1948 to 1950 as a speculative real estate development, without a main tenant. By late 1949, the building was completely leased, and it was named after Look magazine, which had signed a lease for several floors. 488 Madison Avenue remained the headquarters of Look until the magazine stopped publishing in 1971, although it continued to be known as the Look Building for several years. The building has been owned by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and The Feil Organization since the 1970s. The Look Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated it as an official landmark in 2010.

St. Patrick's Cathedral (Midtown Manhattan)
St. Patrick's Cathedral (Midtown Manhattan)

St. Patrick's Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is the seat of the Archbishop of New York as well as a parish church. The cathedral occupies a city block bounded by Fifth Avenue, Madison Avenue, 50th Street, and 51st Street, directly across from Rockefeller Center. Designed by James Renwick Jr., it is the largest Gothic Revival Catholic cathedral in North America. The cathedral was constructed starting in 1858 to accommodate the growing Archdiocese of New York and to replace St. Patrick's Old Cathedral. Work was halted in the early 1860s during the American Civil War; the cathedral was completed in 1878 and dedicated on May 25, 1879. The archbishop's house and rectory were added in the early 1880s, both by James Renwick Jr., and the spires were added in 1888. A Lady chapel designed by Charles T. Mathews was constructed from 1901 to 1906. The cathedral was consecrated on October 5, 1910, after all its debt had been paid off. Extensive restorations of the cathedral were conducted several times, including in the 1940s, 1970s, and 2010s. St. Patrick's Cathedral is clad in marble and has several dozen stained glass windows. It measures 332 feet (101 m) long, with a maximum width of 174 feet (53 m) at the transepts. The bronze doors that form the cathedral's main entrance on Fifth Avenue are flanked by towers with spires rising 329.5 feet (100 m). The northern tower contains nineteen bells, and the interior has two pipe organs. Inside is a nave flanked by several chapels; two transepts; a chancel and apse; and a crypt. East of the apse are the rectory, Lady chapel, and archbishop's residence facing Madison Avenue. The cathedral is a New York City designated landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.