122 East 92nd Street House

History and architecture

This mid-nineteenth century frame house, on a side street of New York's upper east side, unchanged by time, comes as a delightful surprise to the passerby. Set back from the street, it retains an ample, well planted front yard enclosed by an iron railing. Nestled against another frame house to the west, which stands closer to the street, it is related to its neighbor in height, and use of materials.

Entering through a gate in the railing and crossing the yard, one arrives at the low stoop which leads to a wide porch with attractive openwork columns. On the right hand end of the porch are the handsome paneled entrance doors, and on the left, two French doors with segmental arched heads surmounted by cornices. This same treatment is repeated at the two upper floors above the porch.

The clapboard front wall is crowned by a cornice supported on paired brackets with panels in between. Set back above it, a penthouse addition of 1927 with large windows, provides a fourth floor. At the left, and also set hack, a much earlier two story addition contains a service entrance. The architecture of this house is that of the local vernacular with the wood segmental arched window heads reflecting the contemporary design of those executed in masonry.