History and architecture
This grand apartment house, built in 1900-01, is a fine example of the French Beaux-Arts style which was popular at that time for large buildings such as this and for single-family dwellings. Gilbert Brown, a real-estate developer, commissioned the design from architects Buchman & Fox.
The area in which the building 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 1890s, Carnegie's move uptown inspired other well-to-do business and professional people also to move here. Although many built their own houses, others chose to move into elegant and newly fashionable apartment houses such as 1261 Madison Avenue which was built to house only fourteen families.
1261 Madison Avenue, an elegant, yet restrained, example of Beaux-Arts design, is seven stories high including the tiled mansard roof. Heavy rusticated limestone is used on the first two floors which form a base for the composition. A grand entrance is provided on Madison Avenue.
Projecting forward from the facade, it is flanked by rusticated pilasters enclosing a molded enframement. A short flight of steps leads up and back to the double doors. The enframement is crowned by a voluted 'broken" pediment set on foliate console brackets with flowered blocks. More volutes in the break of the pediment enframe the street number "1261."
Sources and further reading
This history comes from the Landmarks app’s historical catalog. Names and building uses may reflect the period described.