La Touraine, 50 Morningside Drive: Review and Ratings

Review of 50 Morningside Drive by Carter Horsley

This very elegant and attractive apartment building at 50 Morningside Drive was erected in 1927 and was designed by Schwartz & Gross, one of the most prolific architectural firms specializing in pre-war apartment buildings on the Upper West Side.

The 6-story building, which is known as La Touraine, has 24 co-operative apartments and a sister building at 54 Morningside Drive, the Mont Cenis.

Bottom Line

One of the most distinguished looking buildings in an around the Columbia University campus.

Description

The building has a two-story rusticated base, a large cornice, a moat and some arched windows on the fifth floor.

Apartments

Apartment 53 is a three-bedroom unit with a long entrance hall that leads to a 15-foot-long living room, a 15-foot-long dining room and a 9-foot-long kitchen with an angled wall with a window.

Apartment 43 is a two-bedroom unit that has a very long entry hall that leads to a 22-foot-wide living room and a 10-foot-wide office next to a 9-foot-wide enclosed kitchen with an angled, window wall.

Apartment 42 is a two-bedroom unit with a very long entrance hall that leads to an 11-foot-long den, a 15-foot-long enclosed dining room and a 13-foot-long living room.  It has an enclosed, 12-foot-long kitchen with an angled wall with a window.

Apartment 62 is a two-bedroom unit with a long entrance hall that leads to a 16-foot-long living room, a 16-foot-long dining room, a 10-foot-long maid’s room and a 12-foot-long kitchen with an angled wall with a window.

Apartment 64 is a two-bedroom unit with a long entry hall that leads to a 32-foot-long living/dining room next to a 13-foot-long enclosed kitchen and a 13-foot-long maid’s room.

History

A January 2, 1953 article in The New York Times noted that “President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower spent a quiet New Year’s day at his residence at 50 Morningside Drive with Mrs. Eisenhower and other members of his family,” adding that General Eisenhower did not leave the house.”