Junior League of the City of New York

History and architecture

Reflecting the Neo-Classic Style of Robert Adam, one of the foremost English architects of the Eighteenth Century, this formal residence of austere elegance is five stories high with basement and sub-basement. It is one of the most successful houses designed by a very gifted architect. Constructed of ashlar masonry of Roche limestone imported from France, the facade has a flat, low relief quality resulting from the slight variation in depth between the surface of the wall and projecting planes of the decorative elements. There is an absence of deep shadows, and the architect has deliberately used understatement in expressing the true refinement to be found here.

Separated from the street by a simple iron railing, the front elevation is three windows wide and symmetrical in design. Under the central windows, the double doors, with semicircular fanlight above, have an Ionic portico that handsomely frames this main entrance, the primary accented note on the facade. Above the portico is a broad, horizontal band supporting four Ionic pilasters and forming the sill of the tall, second story windows. Of these, the central window is given emphasis both by the especially broad central spacing of the pilasters and by being surrounded by a shallow, arched recess, a characteristically Adam detail.

The pilasters, which rise through the second and third floors, carry a full entablature, the flat frieze being decorated with rosettes (paterae). The cornice of this entablature, like the horizontal* band below, foims the sill for the attic windows which, in turn, are surmounted by a handsome pediment that extends the entire width of the house.

This residence, built in 1927, was designed by Mott B. Schmidt for Vincent Astor, whose father Col. John Jacob Astor lost his life in the sinking of the Titanic. In 1943 the townhouse was sold to Mrs. Bertha Rainey Plum, and late in 1947 it was acquired by the Junior League of New York City, which took possession of its new quarters in 1949. At that time, the construction of the house was found to be of such exceptional character that it was unnecessary to install a sprinkler system.