The Hendrik Hudson facts for kids
The Hendrik Hudson is a special apartment building in New York City. It's located on Riverside Drive in an area called Morningside Heights, Manhattan. This building looks like a beautiful Tuscan-style villa.
The idea for a building named after Hendrik Hudson first came up in 1897. Eugene Kirby, a hotel manager, wanted to build a huge 18-story hotel. But those plans didn't happen. Instead, by 1907, the Hendrik Hudson became the apartment building we know today.
Building History
In the early 1900s, the New York City Subway opened a new train line nearby. This made the area very popular! Two developers, George F. Johnson and Aleck Kahn, bought a large piece of land. They wanted to build a big apartment complex there.
They hired an architecture firm called Rouse & Sloan. William L. Rouse led the design. He created an eight-story building that looked like a Tuscan villa. It had 72 apartment homes inside. The building also featured two tall towers, one on the north side and one on the south. These towers were connected by a walkway.
The apartments officially opened on October 1, 1907. They were very popular and rented out quickly! Because it was so successful, a 12-story addition was built. William Rouse also designed this new part.
Changes Over Time
The Hendrik Hudson building was popular for many years. But after a rent-control law in 1943, the building started to have problems. By 1958, the building needed a lot of repairs. This led to big renovations in 1959 to make things better.
In 1971, the Hendrik Hudson became a co-op. This means that residents buy shares in the building and own their apartments together. Around this time, the north tower was removed.
Later, in 1996, a decision was made about the south tower. It was getting old and worn down. Instead of tearing it down, they decided to keep it as a "stabilized ruin." This meant they would make sure it was safe and wouldn't fall apart, even if it cost more than removing it. It's a way to preserve a piece of the building's history.
