2 East 82nd Street

HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURECurrently home to Marymount School of New York, this grand property measures 25-feet wide built full on a 100-foot deep lot. Approximate total square footage is 12,300 sq. ft. The house was originally built as a residence around 1898-1900 by architect Alexander McMillan Welch of Welch, Smith & Provot for W.W. and T.M. Hall, renowned New York City builders and developers of the period. Both a banker and an architect, Mr. Welch graduated from Columbia University and the Ecole Beaux-Arts, the alma mater of many of the most prominent architects of that time. Together with Bower Bancroft, a graduate of MIT and Ecole, the architects designed several other elegant Beaux-Arts style of townhouses within the Historic District. Unfortunately nearby buildings 1007 and 1008 Fifth Avenue, formerly limestone residences, have been demolished. Thankfully however, the adjacent Benjamin N. Dukes mansion at 1009 Fifth Avenue remains an iconic example to this day. Other notable architectural works include the distinguished houses at 3-11 West 73rd Street, St. Stephens Methodist Church in the Bronx, Hamilton Grange, the Washington Headquarters in White Plains, and the Dutch Colonial Dyckman House.The first owners of the house were Mr. and Mrs. Albert Gould Jennings. Albert Jennings, the owner of a Brooklyn lathe works (the first of its kind in the nation), lived in the house until 1940. THE FACADEThis five-story august residence, constructed of brick and limestone, has a rusticated limestone on the first story. Above it, the red brick have limestone quoins and trim. The facade is symmetrically composed with single windows at each side of the main entrance and groups of three windows centered at each of the upper floors. Areaways, at basement level, are surrounded by wrought iron railings, which flank the central entrance. Decorative wrought-iron railings appear at the full-width balconies of the second and fifth stories and at the narrow balcony below the central window of the third story. These balconies are carried on long vertical console brackets, and the railings lend a note of delicacy to the overall design. The windows of the upper stories with limestone enframements are crowned by console bracket keystones at the second and third stories. The central window at the second floor is effectively accented by the third floor balcony above it, while the brackets of the continuous fifth story balcony are carefully related to the fourth floor windows beneath. A simple roof cornice with modillions and pulvinated frieze crowns the facade.THE SCHOOL: CURRENT LAYOUTToday the school retains the original facade and exterior with the exception of a lift for handicap accessibility located west of the main entrance. The interior abounds with precious architectural details. The impressive wood-paneled lobby is replete with intricate carvings and also features coffered ceilings and a large wood burning fireplace with a majestic mantle. The center houses a reception room, coat and mailroom, while the spacious rear Common Hall/cafeteria accommodates up to 72 pupils.The second floor houses a baronial wood-paneled classroom/library with a large wood burning fireplace, a rear science room, faculty room as well as a sublime sitting vestibule/lounge with beautiful stained glass windows plus a coat room and a powder room.The third floor is comprised of a front classroom with a wood burning fireplace and a Juliet balcony, a rear classroom--also with a wood burning fireplace, a faculty room, administrative office, technology office, server room and powder room.The fourth floor consists of a front and rear classroom--both with wood burning fireplaces, a nurses office, an administrative office and two powder rooms.The fifth floor features a front classroom with a wood burning fireplace, a rear classroom, two offices and two powder rooms. On the sixth floor is a rear classroom, an office, a kiln room, and roof access. In the cellar one finds a classroom, a kitchen, two powder rooms, a maintenance office and mechanical rooms. The elevator services all floors.2 East 82nd Street is ideal for another school, an institution, foundation (occupancy capacity is 324) or those looking to convert into a single-family residence. Vacancy delivery is in 2-3 years, with a possible triple net lease back to accommodate a more immediate closing. Please call for further information.