Barbara Rutherford Hatch Residence

History and architecture

The Hatch residence, located on East 63rd Street between Lexington and Third Avenues, is a distinctive example of townhouse design from the period immediately following the First World War. It was commissioned by Barbara Rutherford Hatch, a recently married young New York socialite, and designed by Frederick J. Sterner, an architect who had become well-known for his fashionable remodeling of 19th-century New York townhouses. Sterner created a new townhouse for Mrs. Hatch, which contrasts with Its older traditional brownstone neighbors, and which in the early 1910s must have seemed quite "modern". Today, this handsome structure with its red tile roof and restrained stucco facade still commands attention, while at the same time It harmonizes gracefully with its surroundings.

Mrs. Hatch in moving to 153 East 63rd Street was choosing an address which New York society then considered a bit "too far east". Her mother, Mrs. W.K. Vanderbilt, may have influenced her daughter's decision, since Mrs. Vanderbilt, at the death of her husband, had sold her great Fifth Avenue mansion, and caused a sensation by moving to Sutton Place which at that time was far from being a fashionable part of town. Barbara Rutherford was married in 1916 to Cyril Hatch, a clubman and leader of Newport's social set. Their marriage ended in divorce four years later, and the 63rd Street townhouse then passed into the possession of Charles B. Dillingham, one in a series of illustrious owners.