38 Gramercy Park East: Review and Ratings

Review of 38 Gramercy Park East by Carter Horsley

The very handsome red-brick building at 38 Gramercy Park East on the southeast corner of 21^st Street at Gramercy Park originated as the Sanderson family hotel around 1851. 

In 2011, the property was extensively renovated by architect Scott Henson..  

The five-story building has 36 cooperative units.

Bottom Line

A major improvement to the cityscape around Gramercy Park, this low-rise building was extensively renovated in 2011 and given a fresh, simple and lovely façade.

Description

The building has a handsome half-course base of cast-stone brownstone and a cast-stone brownstone bandcourse above the third floor.  

Its 21^st Street façade is distinguished by very handsome protruding bay windows on the second and third floors near the west end of the building, an arched, three-step-up entrance and an asymmetrical fenestration pattern west of the entrance.  

The building has a cornice facing the park and permits protruding air-conditioners.

Amenities

The building has a resident manager, an elevator, a bicycle room, a roof deck, a laundry, and storage lockers.

Apartments

Apartments have keys to Gramercy Park and high ceilings. 

A one-bedroom apartment has a long entry hall past a 5-foot-office to the 11-foot-long bedroom and the 18-foot-long living room and 10-foot-wide open kitchen. 

A two-bedroom, two-bath apartment has a 17-foot-long entry foyer that leads to a 18-foot-long living room with a fireplace, a 10-foot-long bedroom and a 13-foot-long bedroom with a kitchenette. 

History

The building was originally three structures including two residential properties and a Neo-Italianate hotel. The buildings were converted to a singled structure with a Neo-Tudor-style face in the 1920s. In 2007, architect Scott Henson determined that the façade was “beyond repair" and designed a new cast-stone façade to match the original brownstone that was revealed during the removal of the deteriorated stucco. The façades were fully restored, the building's windows and roof were replaced and a terrace was added.

In 2010, a restaurant group planned to open a restaurant in the building but later withdrew the application for a liquor license. The group operates The House restaurant nearby at 121 East 17^th Street.