History and architecture
The Wilbraham, built in 1888-90 as a bachelor apartment hotel, was commissioned by prominent Scottish-American jeweler William Moir as a real estate investment. It was designed by the versatile New York architectural firm of D. & J. Jardine, whose principals, David and John Jardine, were brothers and also of Scottish birth.
Located at the northwest corner of Fifth Avenue and West 30th Street, the Wilbraham is eight stories high and crowned by a mansard roof. Clad in a handsome combination of Philadelphia brick, Belleville brownstone, and cast iron, the Wilbraham is extraordinarily well-detailed and reflects the influence of the Romanesque Revival style in the rock-faced stonework and excellent, intricately carved stone detail. The Real Estate Record & Guide in 1890 called it "quite an imposing piece of architecture." The building's two-story shopfront housed the famous china and glassware importing firm of Gilman Collamore & Co. from 1890 to about 1920.
The Wilbraham was constructed when this area was changing due to the inroads of commerce, but was still fashionable for clubs, theaters, apartments, and hotels. The bachelor apartment hotel, or "bachelor flats," was a multiple dwelling building type that arose in the 1870s to serve the city's very large population of single men. The Wilbraham catered to professional men of means.
Each apartment contained a two-room suite with a bathroom but no kitchen; a residents' dining room was provided on the eighth floor. In 1934-35, the apartments were remodeled to include kitchens, and the building ceased to operate solely as bachelor flats. The Wilbraham, an outstanding extant example of the bachelor apartment hotel building type, has remained in residential use.
Sources and further reading
This history comes from the Landmarks app’s historical catalog. Names and building uses may reflect the period described.