Graham Court facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Graham Court |
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Italian Renaissance |
| Location | Harlem, Manhattan, New York City |
| Address | 1921-1935(or 1923-1937) 1925 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard, New York, NY 10026 |
| Coordinates | 40°48′12.26″N 73°57′8.28″W / 40.8034056°N 73.9523000°W |
| Construction started | 1898 |
| Completed | 1901 |
| Height | Eight stories |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 8 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Clinton and Russell |
| Main contractor | Developed by William Waldorf Astor |
Graham Court is a famous apartment building in Harlem, New York City. It stands along Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard between West 116th and 117th Streets. A very rich person named William Waldorf Astor asked for it to be built.
Architects Clinton and Russell designed the building. It was constructed between 1899 and 1901. This happened during a time when many new buildings were going up in Harlem.
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission recognized Graham Court as a landmark in 1984. They called it a "premier reminder" of how Harlem grew around 1900. They also said it was a "signal achievement" in New York City's apartment building history. Some even compared it to the Dakota, another famous apartment building.
Contents
What is Graham Court Like?
Graham Court is a large building with 800 rooms. These rooms are now divided into 93 separate apartments. The building has eight floors and eight elevators. It stretches the entire length of the block between 116th and 117th Streets.
Outside Appearance
The building looks like a big, boxy structure. Its design is similar to an Italian palazzo, which is a grand palace or mansion.
The first two floors are made of rough-textured limestone. The floors above that use tan or gray brick. The very top floor is decorated with leafy terra cotta designs. A copper cornice (a decorative molding) sits at the very top.
Main Front of the Building
The main front of Graham Court faces Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Boulevard. It is divided into five parts. The middle and end sections stick out a little.
The bottom two floors have a rough stone look. They are made of limestone in wide and narrow horizontal bands. The windows are simple rectangles.
Above these floors is a decorative stone band. The main entrance is very grand. It leads through an archway into a courtyard. This entrance has a large arch supported by pink granite columns. The word "Graham Court" is carved above the arch.
The archway leading into the courtyard has a curved ceiling. This ceiling is made of special Guastavino tiles. These tiles create a beautiful, ribbed pattern.
The middle section of the building goes from the third to the seventh floors. Its corners are marked by decorative stone blocks called quoins. All the windows have simple terra cotta frames. Some windows on the fourth, fifth, and seventh floors have decorative tops.
Each floor is separated by a continuous stone band. Above the entrance on the third floor, there are terra cotta panels with leaf designs. Some floors also have iron balconies with a harp design.
The seventh floor has a decorative terra cotta band. The top floor has round-arched windows and terra cotta panels. A metal cornice used to be at the very top, but most of it has been removed.
Side Views
The two sides of the building look almost the same. They continue the same design as the main front. There are a few round-arched entrances on the 116th Street side and one on the 117th Street side. The back of the building is made of plain brick.
Inside Courtyard
The building has a large courtyard in the middle. It is about 79 feet by 108 feet. You can reach it through the main archway from Seventh Avenue. This courtyard was originally a garden with grass and shrubs.
The courtyard is now locked to keep it private. It feels grand but also safe and cozy. This large open space is special in a city like New York. It also helps air flow through all the apartments.
In the past, many apartment buildings had small, narrow courtyards. These were often just for air. But Graham Court's courtyard is big and shared only by its residents.
Inside the courtyard, a driveway and sidewalk go around an oval garden. This garden once had a fountain in the middle. There were also eight iron lampposts. Now, only some of these posts and the fountain's stone base remain.
You enter the building from the courtyard through four grand doorways. These doorways have columns and Guastavino tile ceilings. They have wooden double doors with glass panels.
The courtyard walls match the rest of the building's design. The first floor has wide limestone bands. The brick above is set in horizontal bands. The windows on the lower floors are rectangular. The windows on the upper floors have flat arches. The top floor has round-arched windows.
Inside the Apartments
The apartments inside Graham Court were designed in a unique way. Some people say the layout was a bit unusual. For example, the bedrooms could be small.
However, each apartment had special features. These included oak kitchen cabinets, mosaic floors in the entryways, and beautiful wood floors. Many apartments also had paneled dining rooms and several fireplaces. These details made them very luxurious for their time.
Building Updates
In the early 1990s, the owners of Graham Court started a big project. They began to renovate the inside of the building. This part of the building is not protected by landmark rules.
The goal of these renovations was to update the apartments. This allowed the owners to make changes to the building's features.
One of the updates involved the windows. In 1996, the owners got permission to replace the windows. An inspection showed that many of the original mahogany windows needed repair. The plan was to replace them with new aluminum windows.
Some residents felt that replacing the windows was not needed. They thought the old windows could just be repaired and repainted. However, the new windows were eventually installed.
