| 655 Park Avenue | |
|---|---|
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 Interactive map of the 655 Park Avenue area | |
| General information | |
| Type | Housing cooperative |
| Architectural style | Georgian Architecture |
| Location | 655Park Avenue,Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 40°46′06″N73°57′56″W / 40.768243°N 73.965569°W /40.768243; -73.965569 |
| Completed | 1924 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 11 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architects | J.E.R. Carpenter,Mott B. Schmidt |
655 Park Avenue is a Georgian-styleco-op residential building onManhattan'sUpper East Side, located onPark Avenue between 67th Street and 68th Street, adjacent to thePark Avenue Armory. It was developed in 1924 by Dwight P. Robinson & Company. The building at 655 Park Avenue was designed by architectsJames Edwin Ruthven Carpenter, Jr., often referred to by the initials "J.E.R. Carpenter", andMott B. Schmidt. Carpenter is considered the leading architect for luxury residential high-rise buildings in New York City in the early 1900s, while Schmidt is known for his buildings in the American Georgian Classical style, including Sutton Place and houses for New York City's society figures and business elite.[1]
655 Park Avenue is designed in the Georgian architectural style, featuring a limestone base on the lower floors and brick masonry on the upper floors. The building is centered around a courtyard garden facing Park Avenue.[2] Its staggered height design, which may be unique among Park Avenue co-ops of its time, resulted from restrictions imposed on the developer by a syndicate of owners of nearby mansions who sold the land for the building.[3] This "Battle for Suitable Scale at 655 Avenue" is described in Andrew Alpern's bookHistoric Manhattan Apartment Houses.[4] The 11-story main mid-block building includes an 8-story wing on 67th Street and a 7-story wing on 68th Street. It also features a duplex penthouse with a 3,000-square-foot roof terrace,[5] as well as lower terraces on the 68th Street and 67th Street wings. The building has entrances on both 67th and 68th Streets and employs full-time doormen and elevator operators.