508 East 78th Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 508 East 78th Street by Carter Horsley

This very distinguished 6-story, mid-block building was erected in 1910 and was converted to a cooperative in 1987. It has 192 apartments.

The beige-brick building has a two-story, rusticated limestone base and handsome terracotta decorative accents. There are many balconies with attractive supports and the building has an impressive cornice. It is across the street from the attractive but less distinguished City & Suburban housing complex that was erected in 1904.

This building has large globe lanterns on wall torcheres flanking its locked entrance gates.

This is part of a complex that extends through the block to 77th Street and to the east to Cherokee Place overlooking John Jay Park and the East River. It was erected between 1909 and 1911 and was originally known as the Shively Sanitary Tenements and later East River Homes. The complex was designed by Henry Atterbury Smith.

In their excellent book, "The A.I.A. Guide to New York City, Fourth Edition," (published by Three Rivers Press, 2000), Elliot Willensky and Norval White provide the following commentary about the Cherokee complex:

"The progressive environmental ideas of Dr. Henry Shively, intended to help cure those with tuberculosis (the second leading cause of death in the early 20th century), were translated into these model tenements with the assistance of Mrs. William Kissam Vanderbilt. A second glance here is well deserved. These simple buildings are rich in architectural thoughts new for their time: the triple-hung windows allow a tenant to step onto a narrow French balcony and view the river; and even without taking the step, one has a dramatic sense of space and view. The units are entered through Gustavino tile-vaulted tunnels opening into central courtyards from which, at each corner, stairs rise five flights. Wrought-iron seats and iron-and-glass canopies shelter the stair climber from the rain."

There is good cross-town bus service on 79th Street where there is also a downtown entrance to the FDR Drive. This building is just to the east of PS 158. This building has no doorman, no garage, no health club and no sidewalk landscaping.