The Permanent Mission of Yugoslavia to the United Nations

854 5th Avenue, New York, NY

History and architecture

Although this small town house is sandwiched between two large apartment buildings, their overpowering size cannot diminish the palatial scale nor the elegant grandeur of its architecture. Designed by an architect educated In the finest tradition of the French Beaux Arts School, this house, in its character, reflects the influence of the Eighteenth Century classic period of Louis XV.

Two windows wide, the three-story masonry facade, with steep mansard roof containing two floors with dormers, has an impressive dignity and restraint. In its noble scale this house, if multiplied, could form a palace. The design has a purity of style which was executed with such finesse and authority that it sets this French style residence apart as one of the finest small town houses extant on Fifth Avenue.

Completed in 1905, and once the home of R. Livingston Deeknan, it now serves the Mission of Yugoslavia to the U.N. most admirably.

Sources and further reading

This history comes from the Landmarks app’s historical catalog. Names and building uses may reflect the period described.

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