I’ll admit it, I don’t know much about 365 1st Avenue, on the west side of the avenue between East 21st and 22nd Streets facing Peter Cooper Village across the street. But I like it for a number of reasons. Its red and buff brickwork reminds me of Playmates Arch in Central Park, and it even shares the edged-out brickwork (I don’t know the architectural term) of the Arch. The arched windows have grimacing faces at their apices.
Best of all there’s a terra cotta tableau on the roofline featuring three Civil War-era horse soldiers: I can place the era from the caps worn on the left and right. The commanding officer, in the center, looks like Teddy Roosevelt, but this is too early for him. I imagine the builder wanted to honor a specific commander, but I can’t place who it might be.
Check out the ForgottenBook, take a look at the gift shop, and as always, “comment…as you see fit.”
12/30/20
2 comments
Back in the 50s, my grandparents lived at 275 First Ave. The building was very much like the red building on the left of the picture.
Well, the building was built in 1910 (says StreetEasy), in 1979 a Secret Service agent was shot and seriously wounded at the Guy Fawkes restaurant there (New York Times, September 16, 1979). The 1940 tax photo is pretty inconclusive as to what was there in 1940 (Block 927, lot 27). That’s about it for me.