One of the things I love about my job as a project associate is seeing interesting architectural details up close. While recently conducting a 7th Cycle Local Law 11/98 facade inspection at 56 East 87th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan I got an eyeful.
A terra cotta relief is one of the building's main decorative elements.
The Beaux Arts building was formerly known as "The King," after Joseph King, who constructed it in 1910. Although it falls just outside the Carnegie Hill Historic District, the building nonetheless has a rich architectural style. Decorative terra cotta features abound, including quoins, garlands, cartouches, splayed lintels, and a basket handle with an elliptical arch and egg-and-dart trim. There's also an ornamental cornice with modillions and dentils, and iron grille doors at the entrance. Even the iron fire escapes have character.
The ornamental cornice, terra cotta quoins, and splayed lintels give the building a rich aesthetic style, as does the decorative iron fire escapes.
My favorite element, however, was the lion head relief. While conducting a hands-on examination from the scaffold on the sixth floor, I ran my fingers over the lion's terra cotta face and mane, appreciating the aesthetic details. As the majestic figure stared straight ahead impassively, it occurred to me that this impressive-looking building could have been called "The King" for quite another reason.
