Carnegie Hill, Manhattan
Encyclopedia
Carnegie Hill is a neighborhood within the Upper East Side
, in the borough
of Manhattan
in New York City
. Its boundaries extend from 86th Street
on the south to 96th Street
to the north, between Fifth Avenue
(Central Park
) on the west and Third Avenue
on the east, and up to 98th Street from Fifth to Park avenues. The neighborhood is part of Manhattan Community Board 8
. Carnegie Hill is widely considered one of the most prestigious residential areas of the Upper East Side
.
built at Fifth Avenue and 91st Street in 1901. Today the mansion houses the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
, a branch of the Smithsonian Institution
. Facing it on 91st Street is the Otto Kahn House (illustration below), a Florentine palazzo, now housing the Convent of the Sacred Heart. A number of other townhouses in the area have been converted to schools, including the recent purchase of the William Goadby and Florence Baker Loew House on 93rd Street by the Spence School
. The Lycée Français
, housed in the former Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt House
, held an additional townhouse space on 93rd between Fifth and Madison Avenue until 2005, when the property was sold to a private owner.
The architecture of the neighborhood includes apartment buildings along Park Avenue
and Fifth Avenue, brownstone
s (with stoop
s) and townhouse
s on the side streets, condos
, co-ops
and a handful of mansions, some of which are now used by organizations including the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, The Jewish Museum
, the National Academy of Design
and the Dalton School. From the 1950s to 1991, the National Audubon Society
was housed in the Willard Straight House, a red brick Colonial Revival townhouse at 1130 Fifth Avenue. When it moved to NoHo
, the International Center of Photography
moved in but later consolidated its operations in Midtown near Bryant Park
. In 2001, it again became a private residence. In 1989, the Jewish Museum demolished the 1963 modernist
addition and courtyard, replacing it with a new extension opened in 1993 that mimics the French Gothic
details of the Warburg Mansion, the museum's home since 1947. The limestone was crafted in Morningside Heights at the Cathedral Stoneworks. Frank Lloyd Wright's
originally maligned and now celebrated Guggenheim Museum
opened on Fifth Avenue in 1959. The New York Road Runners
occupies a townhouse around the corner at 9 East 89th Street, a block informally known as Fred Lebow
Place.
Similar to the official lines of the historic district, the borders of the neighborhood form an irregular rectangle and the northern boundary, which traditionally was 96th Street, has edged into what was traditionally Spanish Harlem
.
The northern section neighborhood was once seen as a less fashionable end of the East Side
, but is now prized for its esthetic sensibility, museums and restaurants. Besides, Andrew Carnegie, Marjorie Merriweather Post
, Margaret Rockefeller Strong and John Hay Whitney
all made their homes north of 90th Street.
were raised. Proponents include the 93rd Street Beautification Association and Carnegie Hill Neighbors, an organization which, seeking to preserve the village-like environment, spurred the creation of the historic district and actively monitors its well being. In its more than thirty years of operation, its well-publicized battles have included advocating against an adult education center near the 92nd Street Y
, plans for more high rise apartments and additions to existing brownstones.
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
, in the borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Its boundaries extend from 86th Street
86th Street (Manhattan)
86th Street is a major two-way street in the Upper East Side and Upper West Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan.On the West Side its continuous cliff-wall of apartment blocks includng The Belnord is broken by two contrasting landmarked churches at prominent corner sites, the Tuscan...
on the south to 96th Street
96th Street (Manhattan)
96th Street is a major two-way street in East Harlem and the Upper West Side, which is a part of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from the East River at the FDR Drive to the Henry Hudson Parkway at the Hudson River...
to the north, between Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue (Manhattan)
Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the center of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. The section of Fifth Avenue that crosses Midtown Manhattan, especially that between 49th Street and 60th Street, is lined with prestigious shops and is consistently ranked among...
(Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
) on the west and Third Avenue
Third Avenue (Manhattan)
Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from Cooper Square north for over 120 blocks. Third Avenue continues into The Bronx across the Harlem River over the Third Avenue Bridge north of East 129th Street to East Fordham Road at...
on the east, and up to 98th Street from Fifth to Park avenues. The neighborhood is part of Manhattan Community Board 8
Manhattan Community Board 8
The Manhattan Community Board 8 is a local government unit of the city of New York, encompassing the neighborhood of Upper East Side, Lenox Hill, Yorkville, and Roosevelt Island in the borough of Manhattan. It is delimited by the East River on the east, 59th Street on the south, Central Park on the...
. Carnegie Hill is widely considered one of the most prestigious residential areas of the Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
.
History
The neighborhood is named for the mansion that Andrew CarnegieAndrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
built at Fifth Avenue and 91st Street in 1901. Today the mansion houses the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
Cooper–Hewitt, National Design Museum, a subsidiary of the Smithsonian Institution, is the United States' national museum of design history and contemporary design and the only museum in the U.S. whose collection is solely focused on contemporary and historic design...
, a branch of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
. Facing it on 91st Street is the Otto Kahn House (illustration below), a Florentine palazzo, now housing the Convent of the Sacred Heart. A number of other townhouses in the area have been converted to schools, including the recent purchase of the William Goadby and Florence Baker Loew House on 93rd Street by the Spence School
Spence School
The Spence School is an American all-girls independent school in New York City, founded in 1892 by Clara B. Spence.-Overview:Spence has about 688 students, with K-4 representing the Lower School, 5-8 representing the Middle School, and 9-12 representing the Upper School. Lower school average class...
. The Lycée Français
Lycée Français de New York
The Lycée Français de New York , literally The French High School of New York, is an exclusive French-medium school for K-12 students based in Manhattan, New York which follows the French curriculum of study and allows students to study for the French general Baccalauréat, the international option...
, housed in the former Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt House
Mrs. Graham Fair Vanderbilt House
The Mrs. Graham Fair Vanderbilt House, also known as the Lycée français de New York, is located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City...
, held an additional townhouse space on 93rd between Fifth and Madison Avenue until 2005, when the property was sold to a private owner.
Park Avenue (Manhattan)
Park Avenue is a wide boulevard that carries north and southbound traffic in New York City borough of Manhattan. Through most of its length, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east....
and Fifth Avenue, brownstone
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
s (with stoop
Urban stoop
In urban architecture, a stoop is a small staircase ending in a platform and leading to the entrance of an apartment building or other building.-Etymology:...
s) and townhouse
Townhouse
A townhouse is the term historically used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and in many other countries to describe a residence of a peer or member of the aristocracy in the capital or major city. Most such figures owned one or more country houses in which they lived for much of the year...
s on the side streets, condos
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
, co-ops
Housing cooperative
A housing cooperative is a legal entity—usually a corporation—that owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, sometimes subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease. ...
and a handful of mansions, some of which are now used by organizations including the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, The Jewish Museum
Jewish Museum (New York)
The Jewish Museum of New York, an art museum and repository of cultural artifacts, is the leading Jewish museum in the United States. With over 26,000 objects, it contains the largest collection of art and Jewish culture outside of museums in Israel. The museum is housed at 1109 Fifth Avenue, in...
, the National Academy of Design
National Academy of Design
The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
and the Dalton School. From the 1950s to 1991, the National Audubon Society
National Audubon Society
The National Audubon Society is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation. Incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world and uses science, education and grassroots advocacy to advance its conservation mission...
was housed in the Willard Straight House, a red brick Colonial Revival townhouse at 1130 Fifth Avenue. When it moved to NoHo
NoHo
NoHo, for North of Houston Street is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, roughly bounded by Houston Street on the south, The Bowery on the east, Astor Place on the north, and Broadway on the west. NoHo is wedged between Greenwich Village, west of Broadway, and the East Village...
, the International Center of Photography
International Center of Photography
The International Center of Photography is a photography museum, school, and research center in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...
moved in but later consolidated its operations in Midtown near Bryant Park
Bryant Park
Bryant Park is a 9.603 acre privately managed public park located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located between Fifth and Sixth Avenues and between 40th and 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan...
. In 2001, it again became a private residence. In 1989, the Jewish Museum demolished the 1963 modernist
Mid-century modern
Mid-Century modern is an architectural, interior and product design form that generally describes mid-20th century developments in modern design, architecture, and urban development from roughly 1933 to 1965...
addition and courtyard, replacing it with a new extension opened in 1993 that mimics the French Gothic
French Gothic architecture
French Gothic architecture is a style of architecture prevalent in France from 1140 until about 1500.-Sequence of Gothic styles: France:The designations of styles in French Gothic architecture are as follows:* Early Gothic* High Gothic...
details of the Warburg Mansion, the museum's home since 1947. The limestone was crafted in Morningside Heights at the Cathedral Stoneworks. Frank Lloyd Wright's
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
originally maligned and now celebrated Guggenheim Museum
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
opened on Fifth Avenue in 1959. The New York Road Runners
New York Road Runners
New York Road Runners , founded in 1958 with 47 members, has grown into the foremost running organization, with a membership of 40,000. NYRR conducts more than 100 events each year, including races, classes, clinics, and lectures...
occupies a townhouse around the corner at 9 East 89th Street, a block informally known as Fred Lebow
Fred Lebow
Fred Lebow , who was born Fischel Lebowitz, was an avid runner and founder of the New York City Marathon. Born in Arad, Romania, he presided over the transformation of the race from one with 55 finishers in 1970 to one of the largest marathons in the world with over 43,660 finishers in 2009...
Place.
Similar to the official lines of the historic district, the borders of the neighborhood form an irregular rectangle and the northern boundary, which traditionally was 96th Street, has edged into what was traditionally Spanish Harlem
Spanish Harlem
East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem and El Barrio, is a section of Harlem in the northeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. East Harlem is one of the largest predominantly Latino communities in New York City. It includes the area formerly known as Italian Harlem, in which...
.
The northern section neighborhood was once seen as a less fashionable end of the East Side
East Side
-Municipalities:* East Side Township, Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, United States* East Side, Pennsylvania, United States- Canada :* Eastside, Ontario, a neighborhood in Sault Ste...
, but is now prized for its esthetic sensibility, museums and restaurants. Besides, Andrew Carnegie, Marjorie Merriweather Post
Marjorie Merriweather Post
-External links:******...
, Margaret Rockefeller Strong and John Hay Whitney
John Hay Whitney
John Hay Whitney , colloquially known as "Jock" Whitney, was U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the New York Herald Tribune, and a member of the Whitney family.-Family:...
all made their homes north of 90th Street.
Preservation
The Carnegie Hill Historic District, designated as such by the Landmarks Preservation Commission on July 23, 1974 and then expanded on December 21, 1993, runs from 86th Street in the south to just north of 98th Street in the north. Its western boundary is Central Park, and its eastern boundary varies from Madison Avenue in some parts to Lexington Avenue further east in others. There are efforts to expand this district in order to protect undesignated landmarks , including 179 East 93rd Street, where the Marx BrothersMarx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
were raised. Proponents include the 93rd Street Beautification Association and Carnegie Hill Neighbors, an organization which, seeking to preserve the village-like environment, spurred the creation of the historic district and actively monitors its well being. In its more than thirty years of operation, its well-publicized battles have included advocating against an adult education center near the 92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y is a multifaceted cultural institution and community center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, at the corner of E. 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Its full name is 92nd Street Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association...
, plans for more high rise apartments and additions to existing brownstones.