The Pembroke, 357 West 55th Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 357 West 55th Street by Carter Horsley

The Pembroke is an attractive, 6-story, mid-block, pre-war, co-operative apartment building at 357 West 55^th Street, close to the northeast corner at Ninth Avenue. 

It has 72 apartments. 

It is on one of Clinton’s most attractive blocks and is convenient to Columbus Circle, Central Park and the Theater District. 

This neighborhood has good public transportation.

Bottom Line

The Pembroke at 357 West 55^th Street is a distinctive pre-war building on one of Clinton’s best blocks.  It is convenient to Columbus Circle, Central Park and the Theater District and has high ceilings and arched openings between rooms.

Description

The red-brick building has a canopied entrance with a small one-step-up entrance and a thin white-stone entrance surround.  Two other similar white-stone surrounds are to the west of the entrance. 

The building is distinguished by five oculi windows on the ground floor west of the entrance, fire-escape openings that are somewhat disguised with masonry bands and that also create a break in the roofline that has thin railings, and rusticated masonry piers. 

The building has some protruding window air-conditioners.

Amenities

The building has a part-time doorman, a laundry facility, a garden and a live-in superintendent.

Apartments

The apartments have high ceilings, sunken living rooms and arched openings between rooms. 

Kitchens and bathrooms have windows and kitchens have wood cabinetry. 

Apartment 3E is a studio apartment with a 20-foot-long living room, an 11-foot-long dining alcove, a small enclosed kitchen and a dressing room. 

Apartment 1H is a two-bedroom unit with foyer that opens onto an enclosed kitchen and leads to an 11-foot-long dining gallery overlooking a sunken 20-foot-long living room.

History

The building was erected in 1936 and is convenient to public transportation and Columbus Circle and Carnegie Hall.