Fantasy Townhouses Along Riverside Drive

We will walk along Riverside Drive & West End Ave. from 72nd to 79th Streets exploring mansions that exploded in the neighborhood from the 1880s through the early 20th Century. Many of them were designed by famous architects: C.P.H. (not Cass) Gilbert, Lamb and Rich & Clarence True. There were grand mansions on Riverside Dr. with views of the Hudson. The arrival of the subway along Broadway in 1904 increased the value of real estate making individual townhouses uneconomical & kicking off a spasm of apartment buildings.

We will talk about a few of those apartment buildings, about Riverside Park and its creators & about the history of the neighborhood. There will also be some gossip about a few neighborhood residents. The views from Riverside Dr. of the Park & the river are spectacular. The townhouses are a cornucopia of styles + shapes.