Sniffen Court Historic District | |
 (2012) | |
  | |
| Location | offEast 36th Street betweenThird andLexington Avenues Manhattan,New York City |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°44′49″N73°58′41″W / 40.74694°N 73.97806°W /40.74694; -73.97806 |
| Built | 1863-1864 |
| Built by | John Sniffen |
| Architectural style | Early Romanesque revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 73001224 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 28, 1973[1] |
| Designated NYCL | June 21, 1966 |
TheSniffen Court Historic District is a small close-endedmews, running perpendicularly southwest fromEast 36th Street, betweenThird andLexington Avenues in theMurray Hill neighborhood ofManhattan in New York City. The district, one of the smallest in New York City,[2] encompasses the entirealley, which consists of 10 two-story brickstables built in 1863–1864 in the earlyRomanesque Revival style.[2][3] TheNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated Sniffen Court as a city historic district on June 21, 1966,[4] and the district was added to theNational Register of Historic Places on November 28, 1973.[1][5]
Sniffen Court may have been named after John Sniffen, a local builder,[4][6] althoughThe New York Times could not find evidence of his involvement with the alley.[6] As the need forcarriage houses lessened, the buildings were converted for other uses.[4] In 1918, two of the stables (#1, also known as 150 East 36th Street, and #3) were bought by the Amateur Comedy Club, which has been in existence since 1884, to be their clubhouse and theatre; they remain there today.[7] In the 1920s the conversions continued,[2] and by 1966 one of the buildings was in use as an architect's office, thegabled building at #2 (156 East 36th Street) was the home of a noted architect, while the remainder were small private residences.[4]
Two artists associated with the mews were the sculptorsMalvina Hoffman andHarriet Whitney Frishmuth, both of whom had studios in the Court.[2][8] On the rear of the alley are mounted two sculpted plaques of Greek horsemen by Hoffman.[4]
ComposerCole Porter once owned a residence at 2 Sniffen Court as well as the townhouse next door at 4 Sniffen Court in order to discreetly put up his boyfriend at the time, all while he was in residence at the Waldorf-Astoria. In the 1930s, authorPearl Buck resided in what had been Hoffman's home.[9] Also, legendary comedian ProfessorIrwin Corey owned a home on Sniffen Court for many years. Since then, the street has played host to modelClaudia Schiffer, musicianLenny Kravitz and, more recently, British talk show hostGraham Norton.[10][11]
.jpg)
Media related toSniffen Court Historic District at Wikimedia Commons
