London Terrace is an
apartment building
An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ...
complex in the
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
neighborhood of
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 ...
in New York City. It occupies an entire city block on Manhattan's
West Side
West Side or Westside may refer to:
Places Canada
* West Side, a neighbourhood of Windsor, Ontario
* West Side, a neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia
United Kingdom
* West Side, Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland
* Westside, Birmingham E ...
, bounded by
Ninth Avenue to the east,
Tenth Avenue to the west,
23rd Street to the south, and 24th Street to the north. Construction began in late 1929 and cost more than $25 million ()
on what was to be the largest apartment buildings in the world.
London Terrace has about 1,700 apartments in 14 contiguous buildings of 17 to 19 stories, and an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
The complex was built by Henry Mandel Companies
and the architectural firm Farrar & Watmough.
The building is operated by two entities: London Terrace Towers is a
co-op
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
and managed by
Douglas Elliman
Douglas Elliman is an American real estate company.
Douglas Elliman employs more than 7,000 agents and has 113 offices in New York City and across the country. The company also has a number of subsidiaries related to real estate services such as ...
Property Management; London Terrace Gardens is a rental building, managed by Rose Associates.
History
The name of the building stems from the former development also known as London Terrace, which consisted of roughly 80 houses resembling London flats. These were built in 1845 by
Alexander Jackson Davis
Alexander Jackson Davis, or A. J. Davis (July 24, 1803 – January 14, 1892), was an American architect, known particularly for his association with the Gothic Revival style.
Education
Davis was born in New York City and studied at t ...
.
The location was selected by investor
Henry Mandel due to the short walk to midtown Manhattan offices, as a way to provide modern low-priced housing for "white collar" workers.
Victor C. Farrar, architect of London Terrace, compared the project to
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco ...
, and stated that large-scale projects conserve valuable space and rehabilitate the city with modern apartment buildings and stores.
Descendants of
Clement Clarke Moore
Clement Clarke Moore (July 15, 1779 – July 10, 1863) was an American writer, scholar and real estate developer. He is best known as author of the Christmas poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas."
Moore was Professor of Oriental and Greek Literature ...
leased the property to Mandel in 1929, which permitted the demolition of the six-story "London Terrace" buildings and the smaller "Chelsea Cottage" in the rear, which were mostly constructed in 1845, after their 85-year leases expired.
Mandel stated that "The section which we will develop is one of the most logical areas in downtown section for the purpose... here may be found about the only unbroken rows of old-style buildings which lend themselves readily to destruction without the interference of newer structures. The convenience of the section to the midtown and shopping centers offers another logical reason for such development".
The cornerstone was laid by Clement Clarke Moore, great-great-grandson of his namesake, in December 1929.
To finance construction of the complex, two separate $5.5 million bonds were issued, one for the "End Units" (now London Terrace Towers) and one for the "Garden Units" (now London Terrace Gardens),
which leads to the buildings' bifurcated structure. The first buildings were opened for occupancy May 1930.
[
When the complex was complete in November 1930, the population of the block increased from approximately 400 to roughly 5,000, making better use of the valuable real estate.] The complex included restaurants, swimming pool, gymnasium, and a "modernistic garage with club rooms for both patrons and chauffeurs". The pool was regularly used for swim meets. An internal dial telephone system connected the apartments and businesses in the complex.
At the 1932 London Terrace Christmas party, Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
baseball legend 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 ...
dressed as Santa Claus
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...
and distributed gifts to hundreds of children. Some guests were residents of London Terrace, while others were invited by The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...
. After handing out the gifts, Babe revealed his identity to wild shouts and cheers from the crowd. Babe and his wife thrilled the crowd by signing autographs and visiting apartments.
The building fell into default in May 1933, shortly after the complex was complete, due in part to the Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. Henry Mandel entered into personal bankruptcy in 1932 with debts of more than $14 million ().
Three years after completion, on January 1, 1934, it was 94% rented (1,560 out of 1,665). The property agent, William A. White & Sons credited this to four factors: the opening of the Independent Subway System
The Independent Subway System (IND or ISS), formerly known as the Independent City-Owned Subway System (ICOSS) or the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad (ICORTR), was a rapid transit rail system in New York City that is now part of th ...
's Eighth Avenue Line station at 23rd Street (hosting the current of the New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
); lowered rental prices; advertising campaigns; and addition of facilities available to residents without charge.
Description
The London Terrace building contains approximately 1,700 apartments in 14 contiguous buildings of between 17 and 19 stories,[ and was constructed by Henry Mandel Companies][ and architectural firm Farrar & Watmough.][ On the outside, the building still appears to be one large complex, but it is operated on the inside as two separate organizations, London Terrace Towers and London Terrace Gardens; many of the internal connections have been closed off. All London Terrace residents are still able to enjoy amenities such as the swimming pool, health club, roof deck, and internal garden. However, whether the swimming pool at London Terrace is included in the rent has been disputed since 1992. In , both the Gardens and the Towers have invested significant sums to modernize and repair the building.
London Terrace is situated very close to the ]High Line
The High Line is a elevated park, elevated linear park, greenway (landscape), greenway and rail trail created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the West Side (Manhattan), west side of Manhattan in New York City. The High Line's ...
and within less than of Penn Station Pennsylvania Station is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals.
Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may also refer to
Current train stations
* Baltimore Penn Station
* Pennsylvania Station (Cinci ...
, Chelsea Market
Chelsea Market is a food hall, shopping mall, office building and television production facility located in the Chelsea neighborhood of the borough of Manhattan, in New York City. The Chelsea Market complex occupies an entire city block with a ...
, Chelsea Piers
Chelsea Piers is a series of piers in Chelsea, on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located to the west of the West Side Highway ( Eleventh Avenue) and Hudson River Park and to the east of the Hudson River, they were originally a pa ...
, and the Hudson River Park
Hudson River Park is a waterfront park on the North River (Hudson River) that extends from 59th Street south to Battery Park in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The park, a component of the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway, stretches and ...
.
Notable residents
* Chelsea Clinton
Chelsea Victoria Clinton (born February 27, 1980) is an American writer and global health advocate. She is the only child of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Secretary of State and 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton ...
, journalist, daughter of Bill
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
and Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
* Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Timothy Gladwell (born 3 September 1963) is an English-born Canadian journalist, author, and public speaker. He has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' since 1996. He has published seven books: '' The Tipping Point: How Little T ...
, Canadian journalist, author, public speaker and thinker
* Carla Gugino
Carla Gugino (; born August 29, 1971) is an American actress. After appearing in ''Troop Beverly Hills'' (1989) and ''This Boy's Life'' (1993), she received recognition for her starring roles as Ingrid Cortez in the ''Spy Kids'' trilogy (2001â ...
, actress
* Tim Gunn
Timothy MacKenzie Gunn (born July 29, 1953) is an American author, academic, and television personality. He served on the faculty of Parsons School of Design from 1982 to 2007 and was chair of fashion design at the school from August 2000 to Mar ...
of ''Project Runway
''Project Runway'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on December 1, 2004. The series focuses on fashion design.
The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted by time, mater ...
''
* Sebastián Gutiérrez, Venezuelan film director, screenwriter and film producer
* Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981.
Born in ...
, singer in the band Blondie, actress
* Chris Kattan
Christopher Lee Kattan () (born October 19, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1996 to 2003. He played Doug Butabi in '' A Night at the Roxbury'', Bob on the first four seasons of '' The ...
, member of the ''Saturday Night Live'' cast and actor
* Catherine Keener
Catherine Ann Keener (born March 26, 1959) is an American actress. She has portrayed disgruntled and melancholic yet sympathetic women in independent films, as well as supporting roles in studio films. She has been nominated twice for the Acad ...
, actress
* Mark Kriegel
Mark Kriegel is an American author, journalist, and television commentator.
Early years
He is the son of author and essayist, Leonard Kriegel. He grew up in New York City, and attended Stuyvesant High School, Swarthmore College, and the Columbia ...
, sportswriter with the newspapers The New York Daily News
The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
and New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
* Diane Kruger
Diane Kruger ( Heidkrüger; ; born 15 July 1976) is a German and American actress. Early in her career, Kruger gained worldwide recognition and received the Trophée Chopard from the Cannes Film Festival.
Kruger became known for her roles in f ...
, German-American actress
* Annie Leibovitz
Anna-Lou Leibovitz ( ; born October 2, 1949) is an American portrait photographer best known for her engaging portraits, particularly of celebrities, which often feature subjects in intimate settings and poses. Leibovitz's Polaroid photo of Jo ...
, celebrity photographer
* Bridget Moynahan
Kathryn Bridget Moynahan (born April 28, 1971) is an American actress and model. Moynahan is best known for her role as Erin Reagan in the police drama '' Blue Bloods''. She graduated from Longmeadow High School in Massachusetts in 1989 and be ...
, actress
* John O'Hara
John Henry O'Hara (January 31, 1905 – April 11, 1970) was one of America's most prolific writers of short stories, credited with helping to invent ''The New Yorker'' magazine short story style.John O'Hara: Stories, Charles McGrath, ed., The L ...
, author
* Adam Pally
Adam Saul Pally (born March 18, 1982) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for starring as Max Blum in the ABC comedy series '' Happy Endings'' and as Dr. Peter Prentice in ''The Mindy Project''. He also starred ...
, actor
* Kate Pierson
Catherine Elizabeth Pierson (born April 27, 1948) is an American singer, lyricist, and founding member of the B-52's. She plays guitar, bass and various keyboard instruments. In the B-52s, she has performed alongside Cindy Wilson, Fred Schneid ...
, keyboardist and singer with The B-52's
The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, p ...
* Christine Quinn
Christine Callaghan Quinn (born July 25, 1966) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she formerly served as the Speaker of the New York City Council. The third person to hold this office, she was the first female and firs ...
, Democratic politician, former Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
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* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** In ...
of the New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs.
The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...
* Milos Raonic
Milos Raonic (; sr, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian inactive professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), wh ...
, tennis player
* Rob Shuter
Robert James Shuter (aka "Naughty But Nice Rob"), born on July 16, 1973, in Birmingham, United Kingdom, is a journalist, gossip columnist, magazine editor, talk-show host, and author.
Overview
In 2007, Shuter became the Executive Editor of th ...
, entertainment columnist
* Susan Sontag
Susan Sontag (; January 16, 1933 – December 28, 2004) was an American writer, philosopher, and political activist. She mostly wrote essays, but also published novels; she published her first major work, the essay "Notes on 'Camp'", in 1964. Her ...
, essayist
* Bruce Sussman
Bruce Howard Sussman (born July 12, 1949) is an American lyricist, and librettist. Though he has collaborated with numerous composers, he is probably best known for his work with his long-time collaborator, Barry Manilow. Together they have writ ...
, songwriter
* Tom Verlaine
Tom Verlaine (born Thomas Miller, December 13, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known as the frontman of the New York City rock band Television.
Biography
Verlaine was born Thomas Miller in Denville, New Jersey and ...
, singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist, front man of Television
References
Notes
External links
London Terrace Gardens official website
London Terrace Towers official website
Forgotten-NY article on London Terrace
{{Chelsea, Manhattan
1930 establishments in New York City
23rd Street (Manhattan)
Apartment buildings in New York City
Chelsea, Manhattan
Full-block apartment buildings in New York City
Residential buildings completed in 1930
Residential buildings in Manhattan