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East 73rd Street, between Third and Lexington Avenues, is one of a handful of blocks in the Upper East Side that owes its character to charming former stable houses, and of the others found opn neighboring blocks, it is the only one that can claim being the first. The first on the block was the Marquand, originally built in 1883 by the celebrated architect Richard Morris Hunt, and beautifully restored to its original glory in 2007. However, far more extravagant, is the stable just to its east at 168. It was designed in an outlandish Flemish style by the architect Charles Romeyn in 1899, who is better known for having built the Prasada at 50 Central Park West.
Read on to learn more about the Upper East Side stable house with old school charm.
Ultra-Elite Only
Romeyn designed this carriage house for to serve the Baylis family home on Fifth Avenue, as that street became the latest (and arguably final) destination for the super elite wealthy Manhattanites. As the street developed into a central hub of stables, Romeyn’s building remained eclectically distinct. The broken stepped gable of the roofline is a distinct Flemish Renaissance look that stands out drastically in comparison. It is considered one of the finest examples of neo-Flemish architecture in NYC and is built with an array of typical elements including Roman style brick and terra cotta beltcourses, quoins, and window keys.
No Love For Equestrians
As the street developed into a back-alley of stables, horses were starting to be replaced by automobiles. The last building erected on the street in 1906 was built specifically for the car. Eventually the remaining stables too would be converted to house automobiles.
When a Townhouse Reaches Landmark Status
Sometime much later, as real estate became increasingly more valuable, these back alleys became major streets of their own and the stables/garages were slowly converted into residences. In 9187, 11 of the buildings, including this one, were declared individual historic landmarks, and the group was added to the National Register two years later. In 2005, the building case converted into a four story townhouse and was both enlarged vertically and horizontally (although none of this is visible from the street). In 2008 it was listed for sale just before the housing market imploded and eventually sold in 2010 for $5,000,000 for only 68% of the initial asking price.