The Hendrik Hudson, formally known as the Hendrik Hudson Residence Hotel, is a Tuscan-style apartment building located on

Riverside Drive Riverside Drive may refer to: * Riverside Drive (Lake Elsinore, California) *Riverside Drive (Los Angeles) * Riverside Drive (Manhattan) *Riverside Drive Historic District, Covington, Kentucky * Riverside Drive (London, Ontario) * Riverside Drive ( ...

Morningside Heights Morningside Heights is a neighborhood on the West Side of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Morningside Drive to the east, 125th Street to the north, 110th Street to the south, and Riverside Drive to the west. Morningside ...

, Manhattan, New York City. The first plans for a building named for Hendrik Hudson on Riverside Drive were announced in October 1897 by Eugene Kirby, a former manager of the Marie Antoinette Hotel. This was to be an 18-story hotel. These plans were never completed, however, and by 1907, an apartment building bearing the name had been constructed instead.

History

In order to take advantage 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 ...

's newly opened

line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

in the area, developers George F Johnson and Aleck Kahn purchased three-quarters of the block defined by Riverside Drive, Broadway, West 110th Street and 111th Street in order to build an

apartment 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 ma ...

complex. The architectural firm of Rouse & Sloan was hired to design and construct the building. The project was led by William L Rouse, and the result was an eight story building modeled after a Tuscan Villa, containing 72 apartment units. The building also featured two towers, on the north and south sides, connected by a promenade. The apartments officially opened on October 1, 1907, and the units were quickly rented. Due to this success, a 12 story annex, also designed by William Rouse, was constructed. The apartment building continued to enjoy success for several decades, until the aftermath of the 1943 rent-control law caused it to rapidly deteriorate. The current landlords of the building were brought to court in 1958 due to the slum-like conditions of the building, and were sentenced to a 30-day jail term. This, along with the investigation of the accidental death of a small child in the building, prompted renovations to be carried out in 1959. In 1971, the Hendrik Hudson became a co-op, and the north tower was removed. In 1996, the decision was made to preserve the deteriorating south tower as a "stabilized ruin", despite its preservation costing more than demolishing it.

History

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Further reading