History and architecture
The 254 West 102nd Street House is one of an intact group of four residences designed by the architectural firm of Schneider & Herter and built by the firm of Schneider & Company as a speculative venture. The rowhouse group is the sole surviving example of a type of site planning used on several comer plots along West End Avenue in the early 1890s where a group of houses facing the Avenue featured a prominent comer house and an additional house which was built facing the side street behind the Avenue-facing houses, of which 254 West 102nd Street is one of the few remaining examples.
The group of residences was built in 1892-93 during the first period of intense residential development for the comfortable professional class along the northern portion of West End Avenue where the suburban qualities of landscaped streets, the views of the Hudson River, and the amenities of nearby Riverside Park created a desirable residential area.
The quality and distinctiveness of the Queen Anne/Romanesque Revival style design of the house reflects the desire for individuality in the appearance of houses within rowhouse groups and is representative of the eclectical ly-styled residential architecture of West End Avenue dating from the 1890s. No. 254 West 102nd Street is distinguished by ornament characteristic of the mannerist aesthetic of the firm of Schneider & Herter, the juxtaposition of contrasting textures of rough, smooth-faced, and carved brownstone, and the emphasis on a lively roof line punctuated by a pedimented parapet and carved panel.
Sources and further reading
This history comes from the Landmarks app’s historical catalog. Names and building uses may reflect the period described.