Manhattanville Houses
Encyclopedia
Manhattanville Houses is a public housing
project in the Manhattanville section of West Harlem
, in the borough
of Manhattan
, New York City
. The project is located between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue, spanning a superblock from 129th Street to 133rd Street. The project consists of six 20-story buildings containing 1,272 apartment units.
The project was designed in 1961 by modernist
architect William Lescaze
, reflecting the "tower in the park" concept in vogue during the mid-20th century. Lescaze designed the towers to emphasize view corridors that bring air and light to housing residents.
Manhattanville Houses were completed June 30, 1961 at a cost of $24 million. The buildings are managed by the New York City Housing Authority
.
The site formerly consisted of city blocks of tenements which were demolished via slum clearance, beginning in 1957.
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
project in the Manhattanville section of West Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, in the borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
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...
, 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...
. The project is located between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue, spanning a superblock from 129th Street to 133rd Street. The project consists of six 20-story buildings containing 1,272 apartment units.
The project was designed in 1961 by modernist
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
architect William Lescaze
William Lescaze
William Edmond Lescaze was a Swiss-born American architect, and is one of the pioneers of modernism in American architecture....
, reflecting the "tower in the park" concept in vogue during the mid-20th century. Lescaze designed the towers to emphasize view corridors that bring air and light to housing residents.
Manhattanville Houses were completed June 30, 1961 at a cost of $24 million. The buildings are managed by the New York City Housing Authority
New York City Housing Authority
The New York City Housing Authority provides public housing for low- and moderate-income residents throughout the five boroughs of New York City. NYCHA also administers a citywide Section 8 Leased Housing Program in rental apartments...
.
The site formerly consisted of city blocks of tenements which were demolished via slum clearance, beginning in 1957.
Further reading
- NYCHA description
- "Plans are Filed For Housing Unit," Grutzner, Charles. New York Times, May 23, 1957