Turtle Bay Gardens Historic District | |
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    | |
| Location | 226–246 E. 49th St. and 227–245 E. 48th St.,New York, New York |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°45′15″N73°58′13″W / 40.75417°N 73.97028°W /40.75417; -73.97028 (Turtle Bay Gardens Historic District) |
| Area | 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) |
| Built | 1860 (1860) |
| Architect | Clarence Dean |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 83001750[1] |
| NYCL No. | 0279 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | July 21, 1983 |
| Designated NYCL | June 21, 1966 |
TheTurtle Bay Gardens Historic District is a collection of twenty rowhouses in theTurtle Bay neighborhood ofManhattan inNew York City. They consist of eleven houses on the south side of 49th Street and nine on the north side of 48th Street, betweenSecond andThird Avenues.[2]: 3–4 The rowhouses, dating from the 1860s, were renovated between 1918 and 1920 by Charlotte Hunnewell Sorchan to plans by Clarence Dean.[3][4]
TheNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Turtle Bay Gardens Historic District in 1966,[4] and it was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1983.[2]
The 20 rowhouses, dating from the 1860s, were purchased in 1918 by Charlotte Hunnewell Sorchan (who remarried in 1921 to Dr. Walton Martin).[5][6] Her own Hunnewell Mansion was one of the 20 properties.[7] She renovated them between 1918 and 1920 to plans by Clarence Dean.[3] Dean refaced the brownstone street-fronts with pale stucco.[3][4]
None of the houses are exactly alike, but the street facades are generally four stories high, and some houses have rear attics.[4][2]: 2 The stoops in front of each house were removed; the basements were converted intoEnglish basements, slightly below ground level, withrusticated facades. On the street facades, Dean used decorative elements such as balconies made of cast iron,cartouches,parapets,pilasters,quoins,roundels, andstucco detailing.[2]: 2 Inside each house, Dean rearranged the interiors so that service room, such as dining rooms faced the noisy street and living areas faced inward.[3][4][2]: 2
The rear facades are more plainly decorated, and many of the structures contain roof terraces.[2]: 2 [6] The rowhouses' secluded character was emphasized by the presence of tall apartments to the east, along Second Avenue, and office buildings to the west, along Third Avenue.[2]: 2 There areloggias on many of the houses' rear facades.[6]
The individual backyards are arranged so that each opens into a common garden of trees and shrubs down the center.[4][6] Strips of land measuring 6 feet (1.8 m) wide were taken from the rear boundary of each backyard to create the common garden. The shared space is separated from each individual backyard by short walls made of masonry. Running through the center of the garden is a walkway paved in flagstone. There is also a fountain, designed in the style of another at theVilla Medici, which is surrounded by iron benches and shaded by a willow tree.[2]: 2
Sorchan sold the houses to friends at cost, with property restrictions that kept the commons secure.[2]: 5 Among the first purchasers was Maria Bowen Chapin, founder of theChapin School. Celebrity residents since have included actorsKatharine Hepburn,Ruth Gordon,June Havoc,Ricardo Montalbán, andTyrone Power; writer-directorGarson Kanin; juristLearned Hand; conductorLeopold Stokowski; editorMaxwell Perkins; publisherHenry Luce; journalistDorothy Thompson; and writer/journalistE. B. White, who wroteCharlotte's Web when living on 48th Street.[3][5] Later occupants also included composerStephen Sondheim and actressMary-Kate Olsen.[8]
As of 2024[update], the rowhouse at 240 East 49th Street is the Consulate General of Ukraine in New York.[9] Thegovernment of Ukraine had acquired the house from the journalistsGardner Botsford andJanet Malcolm after thedissolution of the Soviet Union.[6]
