370 Riverside Drive is a building on Riverside Drive and the north side of West 109th Street on the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. A number of notable people have lived here, including

Hannah Arendt Hannah Arendt (, , ; 14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) was a political philosopher, author, and Holocaust survivor. She is widely considered to be one of the most influential political theorists of the 20th century. Arendt was born ...

Grace Zia Chu Grace Zia Chu (April 23, 1899 – April 15, 1999) was an author of Chinese cookbooks and a major figure in American Chinese culinary world. Chu introduced generations of Americans to Chinese cooking. Personal life Grace Zia Chu was born in Sha ...

(culinary figure), Clarence J. Lebel (inventor of fluorescent bulb), and Evelyn John Strachey (British politician), among others.

History

The building at 370 Riverside Drive was erected in 1922 and 1923 for approximately $800,000. The architects were Simon Schwartz and Arthur Gross. It is located on a hill overlooking the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

, and the Riverside Park. As a pre-war building its floor plans included a number of Classic Six apartments with high ceilings, a roof deck with views of the river, the park and

George Washington Bridge The George Washington Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting Fort Lee, New Jersey, with Manhattan in New York City. The bridge is named after George Washington, the first president of the United St ...

. It is close to

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

campus. The 16 story building was completed in 1922 and converted to a cooperative in 1973. The building changed ownership a number of times. On September 4, 1944 Samuel Knepper acquired 370 RSD from Pasquale Ferri. The price was not disclosed, but the building had a mortgage of $530,000 and was assessed at $650,000. On November 1, 1944, an investor bought 370 Riverside Drive still assessed at $650,000. On January 27, 1949, it was reported that the US Attorney's office had brought involuntary bankruptcy proceedings against Samuel Bronxmeyer, who was the owner of 370 Riverside Drive. He was charged with milking bankers and other parties by use of his many properties, including the building where he lived. By August 11, 1949, Henry Payson purchased 370 Riverside Drive from H. B. Management Corporation for cash above a $489,000 mortgage. The property was assessed at $605,000. H. B.Management acquired the parcel through foreclosure proceedings on August 3 against Samuel Bronxmeyer. On January 9, the Jason Realty Company bought the rent-controlled 75-apartment 370 Riverside Drive from the estate of Joseph Ross for an undisclosed amount of cash over a $600,000 mortgage. The building sits on an irregular 160 by 71 foot plot with an assessment of $625,000. The building was incorporated as a cooperative apartment building in 1973. The building is particularly notable, being mentioned in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' 68 times.

Gallery

File:370 rsd fireworks red.jpg, Red File:370 rsd fireworks blue.jpg, Blue File:370 rsd fireworks white.jpg, White

Notable residents

, political theorist, lived in the building from 1959 until her death in 1975. *

Lawrence Blochman Lawrence Goldtree Blochman (February 17, 1900 – January 22, 1975) was an American detective story writer and translator. Lawrence Blochman was born in San Diego, California, to Lucien A. Blochman, a banker, and his wife Haidee Goldtree. He beg ...

, American detective story writer and translator * Seymour C.Y. Cheng, diplomat *

, culinary figure and cookbook author advertised "Madame Chu's Chinese Cooking Classes" as listed at 370 Riverside drive, 6B. * Shelby Millard Harrison, director of the

Russell Sage Foundation The Russell Sage Foundation is an American non-profit organisation established by Margaret Olivia Sage in 1907 for “the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States.” It was named after her recently deceased husband, rail ...

and also in charge of the

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

Foundation, and an author * C. J. Lebel, held 10 patents, including a patent on fluorescent lamp *

Morris Lichtenstein Morris Lichtenstein (1889–1938) was the founder of the Jewish Science, Society of Jewish Science. Born in Lithuania, he later moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where he was ordained by the Reform Hebrew Union College in 1916, becoming the first Eastern E ...

, rabbi, co-founder of the Society of Jewish Science, husband of

Tehilla Lichtenstein Tehilla Lichtenstein (1893 – 1973) was a cofounder and leader of Jewish Science, as well as an author. She was born in Jerusalem and immigrated to America when she was eleven years old. Her parents were Hava (Cohen) and Rabbi Chaim Hirschensohn. ...

, also co-founder of SJS *

Henry Pfeiffer Henry Pfeiffer (1857–1939) was president of William R. Warner Co., manufacturing pharmaceutists, and a philanthropist. According to his New York Times obituary, he made large donations to educational institutions and the Methodist church ...

, president of William R. Warner & Co. (later known as Warner-Lambert), pharmaceutical manufacturer and philanthropist *

Norman Mills Price Norman Mills Price (1877–1951) was a Canadian American illustrator known for his work in historical subjects.Reed, p.109 Born in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, he studied at the Ontario School of Art, then in London at the Westminster School of Art a ...

, American illustrator, lived in the building as well * Evelyn John Strachey, British

Secretary of State for War The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...

, writer and British politician, circa 1935 *

Robert G. Thompson Robert George Thompson (June 21, 1915 – October 16, 1965) was a distinguished US soldier who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) during World War II but was later jailed for several years for his communist sympathie ...

, received Distinguished Service Cross for valor in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the chairman of the Communist Party in

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

* Frank H. Warder, New York State Superintendent of Banks *

Robert Kurt Woetzel Robert Kurt Woetzel (December 5, 1930 – September 6, 1991), professor of international law, was for many years a leading proponent for the establishment of the International Criminal Court. Early life and education Woetzel’s parents were G ...

, professor of international law (circa 1961) * Ernest Hunter Wright, professor at Columbia, a chairman of English Institute at Columbia (1942–1946) *

Martin Gutzwiller Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

, quantum and particle physicistHarvard: Workshop on Quantum Nonintegrability: Molecular Systems and General Theory April 30 - May 2, 1998
/ref>

References

{{coord, 40.8043, -73.9684, region:US-NY_type:landmark, display=title New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Art Deco architecture in Manhattan Art Deco skyscrapers Residential buildings completed in 1922 Condominiums and housing cooperatives in Manhattan Upper West Side Residential buildings in Manhattan