312 East 53rd Street House

STATUS Designated Individual Landmarks

312 East 53rd Street

CLIENT: R. V. J. Cunningham

ARCHITECT: Robert & James Cunningham

DATE: 1866

STYLE: French Second Empire

French Second Empire Hells Kitchen Manhattan

Designated 6/12/1968

This attractive little wood house, one of a pair, was built for R. V. J. Cunningham in 1866. Simple as it is, it nonetheless reflects faithfully the post-Civil War architecture so much influenced by French Second Empire models. Here are the Mansard roof and the carefully framed windows and front door, all displaying cornices carried on brackets.

The arrangement of the windows is somewhat unusual as the two long ones at the left of the door follow an asymmetrical pattern, while the two above are symmetrically placed with reference to the center of the building, as are the two dormers above them. They are all the double-hung type with the broad central muntin intended to simulate casement windows. This was characteristic of our desire to look French while retaining the practicality of double hung windows.

STATUS Designated Individual Landmarks

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