One of the most interesting and handsome condominium apartment conversion projects in the city is the Abbey 16 at 207 East 16th Street.
The very distinguished, mid-block building has 31 apartments and four professional offices and is on one of the city's loveliest streets. It is between Third Avenue and Rutherford Place, the western boundary of Stuyvesant Park.
The building was built in 1886 and abuts the Henry Hill Pierce House that was designed in the early 1850s by Leopold Eidlitz as the rectory for St. George's Church that was erected in 1846-1856 and designed by Blesch & Eidlitz on the northwest corner of 16th Street and Rutherford Place, across 16th Street from the very attractive red-brick Friends Meeting House and Seminary.
One of St. George's parishioners was J. P. Morgan, the financier, and he gave the building at 207 East 16th Street to the church as a gift.
In his excellent book, "Guide to New York City Landmarks, Second Edition" (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1998, Andrew S. Dolkart provides the following commentary about the St. George's enclave:
"This massive round-arched stone building dominating Stuyvesant Square is one of the first and most significant examples of Early Romanesque Revival church architecture in America. The exterior, probably the work of the Bavarian-born architect Otto Blesch, reflects the influence that the German round-arched style known as Rundbogenstil had on American design in the 1840s. The interiors were the work of Leopold Eidlitz, who also restored the church after it was damaged by fire in 1865. The design was ideally suited to the requirements of its rector, Stephen Higginson Tyng, an ardent leader of the evangelical wing of the Episcopal Church and one of the greatest preachers of his time. The original stone spires were removed in 1889; the church's facade was restored in the 1980s. The church is only one part of a larger complex (included in the Stuyvesant Square Historic District) composed of Saint George's Chapel (M. L. & H. G. Emery, 1911-12), a neo-Romanesque building located to the north of the church; the rectory, set to the rear of the church, designed in the early 1850s by Eidlitz; and the romantic, asymmetrically massed St. George Memorial House (now apartments, a gift from J. P. Morgan that was designed by Leopold Eidlitz's son, Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz, in 1886."
In the 1960s, this building was used as a young ladies' residence and in the next decade it was sold to some developers who converted it to rental apartments but eventually lost it in foreclosure to an insurance company.
It was acquired for about $5.1 million in 1996 by Herb Hirsch, president of Hirsch Enterprises, who proceed to invest about double that amount in renovating it. He bought a stained glass panel of St. George slaying the dragon at an auction in Worcester, Mass., and installed it in a wall in the lobby and he also found a wooden pulpit from Scotland from a dealer in Texas to serve as the doorman's roost. He has been renovating the apartments as they became available and many have unusual layouts and interesting architectural features.
One-bedroom apartments start at about $795,000 and four-bedroom units are over $4 million.
The 5-story building has a rusticated brownstone facade with a large steeple surrounded by four tall spires. The building has many different arched windows and very handsome wall lanterns flank the four-step-up entrance to which there is also a ramp for the disabled. In 1975, St. George's merged with Calvary Church and is known now as Calvary-St. George's Church.
The large lobby is very attractively done in different colored marbles. It is convenient to Gramercy Park, Union Square and the Flatiron District.
The very distinguished, mid-block building has 31 apartments and four professional offices and is on one of the city's loveliest streets. It is between Third Avenue and Rutherford Place, the western boundary of Stuyvesant Park.
The building was built in 1886 and abuts the Henry Hill Pierce House that was designed in the early 1850s by Leopold Eidlitz as the rectory for St. George's Church that was erected in 1846-1856 and designed by Blesch & Eidlitz on the northwest corner of 16th Street and Rutherford Place, across 16th Street from the very attractive red-brick Friends Meeting House and Seminary.
One of St. George's parishioners was J. P. Morgan, the financier, and he gave the building at 207 East 16th Street to the church as a gift.
In his excellent book, "Guide to New York City Landmarks, Second Edition" (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1998, Andrew S. Dolkart provides the following commentary about the St. George's enclave:
"This massive round-arched stone building dominating Stuyvesant Square is one of the first and most significant examples of Early Romanesque Revival church architecture in America. The exterior, probably the work of the Bavarian-born architect Otto Blesch, reflects the influence that the German round-arched style known as Rundbogenstil had on American design in the 1840s. The interiors were the work of Leopold Eidlitz, who also restored the church after it was damaged by fire in 1865. The design was ideally suited to the requirements of its rector, Stephen Higginson Tyng, an ardent leader of the evangelical wing of the Episcopal Church and one of the greatest preachers of his time. The original stone spires were removed in 1889; the church's facade was restored in the 1980s. The church is only one part of a larger complex (included in the Stuyvesant Square Historic District) composed of Saint George's Chapel (M. L. & H. G. Emery, 1911-12), a neo-Romanesque building located to the north of the church; the rectory, set to the rear of the church, designed in the early 1850s by Eidlitz; and the romantic, asymmetrically massed St. George Memorial House (now apartments, a gift from J. P. Morgan that was designed by Leopold Eidlitz's son, Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz, in 1886."
In the 1960s, this building was used as a young ladies' residence and in the next decade it was sold to some developers who converted it to rental apartments but eventually lost it in foreclosure to an insurance company.
It was acquired for about $5.1 million in 1996 by Herb Hirsch, president of Hirsch Enterprises, who proceed to invest about double that amount in renovating it. He bought a stained glass panel of St. George slaying the dragon at an auction in Worcester, Mass., and installed it in a wall in the lobby and he also found a wooden pulpit from Scotland from a dealer in Texas to serve as the doorman's roost. He has been renovating the apartments as they became available and many have unusual layouts and interesting architectural features.
One-bedroom apartments start at about $795,000 and four-bedroom units are over $4 million.
The 5-story building has a rusticated brownstone facade with a large steeple surrounded by four tall spires. The building has many different arched windows and very handsome wall lanterns flank the four-step-up entrance to which there is also a ramp for the disabled. In 1975, St. George's merged with Calvary Church and is known now as Calvary-St. George's Church.
The large lobby is very attractively done in different colored marbles. It is convenient to Gramercy Park, Union Square and the Flatiron District.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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