903 Park Avenue is a 17-story residential building on

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...

on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

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 ...

Location

The building is located on the corner of 903 Park Avenue (where the main entrance is) and East 79th Street.

History

The building was erected from 1912 to 1914 by the construction firm

Bing & Bing Bing & Bing was one of the most important apartment real estate developers in New York City in the early 20th century. The firm was founded by Leo S. Bing (1874–1956) and his brother, Alexander M. Bing (1878–1959). The brothers often worked w ...

. It was designed by architect Robert T. Lyons. At the time of its construction, 903 Park Ave was said to be the tallest residential building in New York City. It was acquired by

Maria DeWitt Jesup Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

, the widow of banker

Morris Ketchum Jesup Morris Ketchum Jesup (June 21, 1830 – January 22, 1908), was an American banker and philanthropist. He was the president of the American Museum of Natural History and was known as a leading patron of scientific research and an eminent art ...

, in 1914. Physician and railroad investor

William Seward Webb William Seward Webb (January 31, 1851 – October 29, 1926) was a businessman, and inspector general of the Vermont militia with the rank of colonel. He was a founder and former president of the Sons of the American Revolution. Early life Webb w ...

was an early tenant. In 1916, the widow and son of financial investor Norman B. Ream were also tenants. In 1917, the building was acquired by

Vincent Astor William Vincent Astor (November 15, 1891 – February 3, 1959) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and member of the prominent Astor family. Early life Called Vincent, he was born in New York City on November 15, 1891. Astor was the eld ...

. By the 1930s,

Walter Hoving Walter Hoving (December 2, 1897 – November 27, 1989) was a Swedish-born American businessman and writer. He was the chairman of Tiffany & Company from 1955 to 1980. Early life Hoving was born in Stockholm on December 2, 1897. He was a son of Jo ...

was a tenant. In 2002, the building was owned by Stahl Real Estate.

Architectural significance

The building is high, with seventeen floors. As part of the Park Avenue Historic District, it has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

since August 29, 2010.

References

Park Avenue Upper East Side Residential buildings completed in 1914 Residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Historic district contributing properties in Manhattan Residential buildings in Manhattan {{Manhattan-struct-stub