E. Hayward and Amelia Parsons Ferry House

STATUS Designated Individual Landmark

26 West 56th Street

ARCHITECT: Harry Allan Jacobs

DATE: 1907-08

STYLE: Neo-French Classic

Manhattan Neo-French Classic Upper West Side

Designated 11/10/2009

This highly intact former townhouse is an exceptionally fine example of the restrained Neo-French Classic variant of the Beaux-Arts style and forms part of “Bankers Row,” a group of five residences built for bankers on West 56th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The building’s rusticated base focuses on a large central entry with an elegantly carved lion’s head and garlands surmounting a pair of original iron-and-glass doors.

The smooth limestone mid-section of the façade is framed by two colossal pilasters set off by narrow bands of waterleaf-and-dart molding. The tripartite windows at the center of the façade retain their historic paired wood casements and transoms and are accented by a stone balcony at the third story. A heavy cornice and balustrade caps the third story, balancing the strong verticals created by the piers.

STATUS Designated Individual Landmark

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The Neighborhood

Upper West Side

The Upper West Side is located along the western side of Central Park from 59th Street to 110th Street. The Upper West Side has several Historic Districts and Individual Landmarks.

Aaron Dexter, Aaron Douglas, Abolitionist, Academic Classic, Adamesque, Addisleigh Park, Admiral's Row, African American, Al Smith, American Aesthetic, American Art ... VIEW ALL

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Local Voices

“I don’t know what the City would be without HDC. [They] testified before LPC time after time and helped us focus on the right issues. We would not be an historic district without HDC! ”

Doreen Gallo: DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance

Local Voices

“Use HDC as a resource because they know what they are doing and can offer advice on how to go about creating a district from every front: architectural, political, LPC, and the media. I had floundered prior to my involvement with this invaluable organization.”

Fern Luskin: Lamartine Place Historic District; Friends of Lamartine Place & Gibbons Underground Railroad Site

Local Voices

“HDC provided guidance and shared information during that process—we knew which Council members were going one way or another and we changed a few minds. I don’t think NoHo would have had as cohesive a district had it not been for HDC’s aid.”

Zella Jones: NoHo Historic District; NoHo East; and NoHo Extension

Local Voices

“I remember Richard saying at a meeting, we have someone here from HDC, Nadezhda Williams, Director of Preservation and Research, to help us. She said to us, ‘You are not the only ones going through this.’ HDC included us in an enormous community”

Erika Petersen: West End Preservation Society

Local Voices

"HDC has begun a series of projects to highlight the Bronx's architectural and cultural history. From booklet's and research highlighting specific sites and historic districts to the HDC's symposium in October 2018 to the latest community-based committee to look into further possible sites to qualify for landmarking, the HDC has established projects that will serve the Bronx community well."

Elena Martinez
City Lore, Folklorist
Bronx Music Heritage Center, Co-Artistic Director

Local Voices

"Welcome2TheBronx is grateful for the advocacy done by the Historic Districts Council on behalf of the people of The Bronx. Through their deep connections and understanding of the importance of preserving our local histories, The Bronx has been able to have several spotlights shown on endangered communities as gentrification creeps into the borough."

Ed García Conde,
founder and Executive Director,
Welcome2TheBronx