11 East 90th Street House

History and architecture

This elegant residence, built in 1902-03 for M. Louise McAlpin, was designed by the New York City architectural firm of Barney & Chapman. In keeping with their training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, the architects' design was inspired by the classical traditions of the l8th century French hotel particulier.

The area in which the house is located acquired the name "Carnegie Hill" soon after Andrew Carnegie erected his mansion at Fifth Avenue and 91st Street at the turn of the century. Although middle-class residences had been built in the area in the 1880s and 18905, Carnegie's move uptown inspired other well-to-do business and professional people to build here. The McAlpin family had purchased property in the area even before it became fashionable. Louise McAlpin and her husband William W. McAlpin moved into their new home at ll East 90th Street in 1904. William's brother, George, built the adjoining house at 9 East 90th Street at the same time.

The handsome four-and-one-half-story residence is faced with smooth limestone ashlar and enhanced by elegant decorative detail. The facade is divided horizontally into three major sections: the bandcourse separating the street level from the parlor story is repeated below the fourth story, and the entire front is crowned by a projecting dentilled roof cornice which provides the base for a graceful parapet above. Tall, dignified round-arched ground floor openings with deep reveals and festooned keystones contrast with square-headed windows set with French casements at the upper stories, while balustrades and crowning cornice slabs set on elongated console brackets accentuate the parlor floor windows.

The third and fourth floor windows are outlined by "eared" enframements. A balustraded parapet, repeating the design of the balustrade in front of the parlor story windows, rises above the roof cornice partially concealing three dormer windows with arched pediments which are set in the attic story.