The office of the President of the United States is frequently associated with Washington, D.C., but the nation’s first capital was New York City. The first president, George Washington, took the oath of office at Federal Hall, which served as the first City Hall in what is now the Financial District. This building was demolished in 1812, shortly after the Residence Act established Washington, D.C. as the nation’s capital, but the current Federal Hall stands on the site as a national memorial. It is a model of Greek Revival architecture and a commemoration of the events that occurred at the previous structure.
Centuries later, New York has not lost its affection for presidential history. Several buildings, streets, and even full neighborhoods have been named in honor of past presidents. In anticipation of the Presidents’ Day federal holiday on Monday, February 19, we look at listings that will appeal to history buffs as well as savvy buyers.
Centuries later, New York has not lost its affection for presidential history. Several buildings, streets, and even full neighborhoods have been named in honor of past presidents. In anticipation of the Presidents’ Day federal holiday on Monday, February 19, we look at listings that will appeal to history buffs as well as savvy buyers.
In this article:
Building completed in 1929, converted in 1960
84 Units | 15 Floors
No Availabilities
D.C. for the rare win
Approximately 230 miles north of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, The White House offers a commanding presence and majestic views of Central Park on the Upper West Side.
Building completed in 1930
199 Units | 13 Floors
2 available listings from $575K - $1.075M
Washington Heights got its name from before George Washington was president, indeed before the United States was even a country. One of the general's forts wer built at the highest point of Manhattan, to serve as a lookout for British armies during the Revolutionary War.
The Riviera, #1J
$1,075,000 (-1.8%)
Washington Heights | Cooperative | 2 Bedrooms, 1 Bath | 1,500 ft2
The Riviera, #1J (Sothebys International Realty)
Building completed in 1963
414 Units | 21 Floors
6 available listings from $475,000
President from 1797-1801, John Adams was the first president to have signed the Declaration of Independence. Over 150 years later, a postwar co-op in Greenwich Village was named in his honor.
The John Adams, #11R (Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales LLC)
Building completed in 2023
18 Units | 4 Floors
4 available listings from $655K - $1.25M
Before commencing his terms as the nation's third president from 1801 to 1809, Thomas Jefferson was the first president to be inaugurated in Washington, D.C., and the reason why the capital was moved from New York City. In 2021, a statue of Jefferson was removed from City Hall, but a Brooklyn avenue still bears his name and another of our Founding Fathers.
Jefferson Hancock, #3A (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
Building completed in 2019
10 Units | 4 Floors
No current availabilities
Before becoming the United States’ first president from New York, Martin van Buren was an accomplished politician at all state levels. A street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn has been named in his honor. It is lined with timeless rowhouses, but the boutique condo building boom has made its way here.
Building completed in 1900; converted in 2014
12 Units | 7 Floors
No Availabilities
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William Henry Harrison served the shortest tenure as president in American history, but his name lives on in a narrow Tribeca street. Ephemeral New York notes that this stretch has gone from residential to commercial to residential again over the decades.
Abraham Lincoln
16th U.S. President from 1861 until his assassination in 1865
Lincoln Spencer Arms, Lincoln Center
Building completed in 1903; converted in 1986
237 Units | 12 Floors
4 available listings from $275K - $2.4M
Abraham Lincoln was the first United States president to be photographed at his inauguration, and his name lives on in New York. It cannot be confirmed whether the Lincoln Center performing arts center, and the Lincoln Square neighborhood that preceded it, was named after him.
Lincoln Spencer Arms, #121A
$2,400,000
Lincoln Center | Cooperative | 3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths | 1,300 ft2
Lincoln Spencer Arms, #121A (Leven Real Estate)
Building completed in 1924
96 Units | 6 Floors
No current availabilities
Before becoming president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson’s academic and political careers largely took place in New Jersey. However, that did not prevent a full-service Art Deco building in Crown Heights from being named in his honor.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
26th U.S. President from 1933 until his death in 1945
The Island House, Roosevelt Island
Building completed in 1975
400 Units | 19 Floors
4 availabilities from $275K - $2.4M
The Roosevelt family was one of New York's most prominent and prestigious throughout the Gilded Age. The Gramercy birthplace of Theodore Roosevelt is a National Historical Site, and an island in the East River, once used mainly for hospitals, was named after Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1973. More recently, the island has seen increased residential development and the FDR Four Freedoms State Park opened in 2012.
The Island House, #1312 (Corcoran Group)
Building completed in 1905, converted in 1988
36 Units | 6 Floors
One availability for $1,795,000
By Official White House Photo by Pete Souza - P120612PS-0463 (direct link)https://web.archive.org/web/20160227060205/https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president-obama (Official White House page - direct link), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23956389
In 2019, activists petitioned to change the name of the strip of Fifth Avenue at 57th Street to President Barack H. Obama Avenue. This did not come to pass, but Obama nevertheless has a connection to New York City: After he graduated from Columbia University, he moved to a fourth-floor walk-up in Morningside Heights. More recently, that apartment has sold for $1,295,000.
622 West 114th Street, #53
$1,795,000 (-7.9%)
Morningside Heights | Cooperative | 4 Bedrooms, 3 Baths
622 West 114th Street, #53 (Corcoran Group)
Donald Trump
45th U.S. President from 2017 to 2021
200 Riverside Boulevard (formerly Trump Place), Upper West Side
Building completed in 1999
377 Units | 46 Floors
4 available listings from $1.675M - $4.699M
Many buildings, streets, and neighborhoods were named after presidents long after their terms ended. However, the reverse happened for developer-turned-president Donald Trump: Over the course of his presidency, his branded New York City buildings became the site of protests against his most unpopular policies. This resulted in their prices and value taking a hit to a point where some boards have voted to remove the name from the facade altogether.
200 Riverside Boulevard, #27C
$2,325,000 (-1.1%)
Riverside Dr./West End Ave. | Condominium | 2 Bedrooms, 2.5 Baths | 1,397 ft2
200 Riverside Boulevard, #27C (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
Joe [Robinette] Biden
46th U.S. President from 2021 --
Although there are plenty of Joe's around the city (pizza!), Joesph and Biden are two difficult names to find on an apartment building. So we turn to his endearing middle name, Robinette. Since Biden is no spring chicken, we found an Upper West Side building that fits the bill.
Robin Court, #2F (Sothebys International Realty)
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