History and architecture
1321 Madison Avenue, at the northeast corner of 93rd Street, is a most striking Queen Anne style rowhouse, one of an original row of five, built in 1890-91. Real estate developer James v. S. Woolley commissioned the original row and another row of five houses at 91st Street and Madison Avenue in the same years from the architect James F. Ware.
Ware, a versatile designer, worked in two of the most popular styles for domestic architecture during this period—the Queen Anne and the Romanesque Revival. The area in which the home 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. The population of the area had already begun to grow in the 1880s and 1890s as middle-class residences were built.
Woolley had many clients for his rowhouses of which 1321 Madison Avenue is such a fine example.
This handsome four-story building enhances its conspicuous corner site, and it is highlighted by its prominent tower-like roof. The brownstone front on Madison Avenue is accented by such Queen Anne features as a three-sided bay with paneled parapet at the third floor and three round-arched windows with engaged colonnettes at the fourth floor. A similar window is placed on the 93rd Street side.
Foliate capitals on the colonnettes and scallop shells above the round-arched window enframements are additional decorative accents. The two lower stories have been altered for commercial use.
Sources and further reading
This history comes from the Landmarks app’s historical catalog. Names and building uses may reflect the period described.