St. Nicholas Historic District
("Striver's Row") |
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Row houses by Stanford White on West 139th Street (2014)
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Location | W. 138th and W. 139th Sts. (both sides) btwn. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. & Frederick Douglass Blvds. Manhattan, New York City |
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Coordinates | 40°49′5″N 73°56′37″W / 40.81806°N 73.94361°WCoordinates: 40°49′5″N 73°56′37″W / 40.81806°N 73.94361°W |
Area | 9.9 acres (4.0 ha) |
Built | 1891-93 |
Architect |
James Brown Lord (W.138/south) Bruce Price and Clarence S. Luce (W.138/north & W.139/south) Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White (W.139/north) |
Architectural style |
Georgian Revival Colonial Revival Italian Renaissance Revival |
NRHP Reference # | 75001209 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | October 29, 1975 |
Designated NYCL | March 16, 1967 |
The St. Nicholas Historic District, known colloquially as "Striver's Row", is a historic district located on both sides of West 138th and West 139th Streets between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is both a national and a New York City district, and consists of row houses and associated buildings designed by noted architects and built in 1891-93 by developer David H. King, Jr. These are collectively recognized as gems of New York City architecture, and "an outstanding example of late 19th-century urban design":
There are three sets of buildings:
The district was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1967, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
David H. King, Jr., the developer of what came to be called "Striver's Row", had previously been responsible for building the 1870 Equitable Building, the 1889 New York Times Building, the version of Madison Square Garden designed by Stanford White, and the Statue of Liberty's base. The townhouses in his new project, which were originally called the "King Model Houses", were intended for upper-middle-class whites, and featured modern amenities, dark woodwork, and views of City College. King's idea was that the project would be "on such a large scale and with such ample resources as to 'Create a Neighborhood' independent of surrounding influences."