The Osborne

{{Short description|Residential building in Manhattan, New York}} {{distinguish|Osborne (disambiguation){{!}}Osborne}} {{good article}} {{Use American English|date=September 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}} {{Infobox building | name = The Osborne | image = The Osborne (51396674370).jpg | image_caption = Southeast corner as seen in 2021 | image_size = 270 | building_type = Housing cooperative | architectural_style = Italian Renaissance | structural_system = Masonry bearing wall; steel-framed annex | address = 205 West 57th Street | location_town = New York City | location_country = United States | mapframe-wikidata = yes | coordinates = {{coord|40|45|57|N|73|58|49|W|region:US-NY_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | construction_start_date = 1883 | completion_date = 1885 | renovation_date = 1891, 1906, 1962 | floor_count = 11 <small>(front)</small><br>15 <small>(rear)</small> | main_contractor = Thomas Osborne | architect = James Edward Ware | embedded = {{Infobox NRHP | name = Osborne Apartments | embed = yes | location= 205 West 57th Street,<br /> Manhattan, New York | built = 1883 | architect = James E. Ware | architecture = Renaissance, Romanesque | added = April 22, 1993<ref name="nris"/> | refnum = 93000333 | designated_other1 = New York State Register of Historic Places | designated_other1_abbr = NYSRHP | designated_other1_date = March 16, 1993<ref>{{cite web |title=Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS) |publisher=New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation |date=November 7, 2014 |url=https://cris.parks.ny.gov/ |access-date=July 20, 2023}}</ref> | designated_other1_number = 06101.006761 | designated_other1_num_position = bottom | designated_other2 = New York City Landmark | designated_other2_date = August 13, 1991<ref name="NYCL p. 1"/> | designated_other2_number = 1770 }} }}

'''The Osborne''', also known as the '''Osborne Apartments''' or '''205 West 57th Street''', is an apartment building at Seventh Avenue and 57th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. The original portion of the Osborne was designed by James Edward Ware and constructed from 1883 to 1885. An annex to the west, designed by Alfred S. G. Taylor and Julian Clarence Levi, was constructed in 1906. The Osborne is one of the oldest extant luxury apartment buildings in New York City.

The Osborne's facade is clad in rusticated blocks of brownstone, with a main entrance on 57th Street and a variety of window configurations. The first floor has an elaborate foyer and lobby, while the other floors contain apartments in duplex arrangements. The southern section of the building, facing 57th Street, is 11 stories tall and originally contained main living spaces with high ceilings. The northern section, at the rear of the building, is 15 stories tall and contained the bedrooms and servant's rooms. The Osborne was originally built with 38 apartments, although many of these units were gradually subdivided starting in the early 1920s.

The building's namesake was the stone contractor Thomas Osborne, who had acquired the land in 1883 from restaurateur John Taylor, constructing the building as a speculative investment. The $2&nbsp;million construction cost forced Thomas Osborne into foreclosure, leading Taylor's family to acquire the building in 1889. The Taylors sold the Osborne in 1961, and it was turned into a housing cooperative the next year. Throughout its history, the Osborne has housed many artists, actors, and musicians, as well as upper-middle-class residents such as doctors and lawyers. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the building as a city landmark in 1991, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

== Site == The Osborne, also known as the Osborne Apartments, is on the northwest corner of 57th Street and Seventh Avenue, two blocks south of Central Park, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S.<ref name="NYCityMap">{{Cite web|title=NYCityMap|url=http://maps.nyc.gov/|access-date=March 20, 2020|website=NYC.gov|publisher=New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications|archive-date=February 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210219214900/http://maps.nyc.gov/doitt/nycitymap/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NPS p. 2">{{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 7, p. 1 (PDF p. 2)}}</ref> As built, the Osborne measured {{Convert|150|ft||abbr=}} along 57th Street to the south and {{Convert|100|ft||abbr=}} along Seventh Avenue to the east.<ref name="Alpern p. 27">{{harvnb|Alpern|1992|ps=.|p=27}}</ref><ref name="NYCL5-NPS2" /><ref name="rer18840322">{{cite magazine|date=March 22, 1884|title=Prominent Buildings Under Way|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vollist=1&vol=ldpd_7031128_033&page=ldpd_7031128_033_00000313|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=33|pages=289|via=columbia.edu|number=836|access-date=May 12, 2022|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512033434/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vollist=1&vol=ldpd_7031128_033&page=ldpd_7031128_033_00000313|url-status=live}}</ref> The Osborne was extended by {{Convert|25|ft||abbr=}} to the west in 1906, giving the Osborne a frontage of {{Convert|175|ft||abbr=}} on 57th Street and 100 feet on Seventh Avenue.<ref name="NYCL p. 5">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|ps=.|p=5}}</ref><ref name="ZoLa">{{Cite web|title=205 West 57 Street, 10019|url=https://zola.planning.nyc.gov/l/lot/1/1029/27#17.1/40.765942/-73.979113|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=New York City Department of City Planning|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512033435/https://zola.planning.nyc.gov/l/lot/1/1029/27#17.1/40.765942/-73.979113|url-status=live}}</ref> The site covers {{convert|17572|ft2||abbr=}}<ref name="ZoLa" /><ref name="NPS p. 2" /> and was created by combining six land lots.<ref name="Hawes p. 105" />

The Osborne shares the city block with the American Fine Arts Society (also known as the Art Students League of New York building) and the Central Park Tower to the west, 5 Columbus Circle to the northwest, and the Saint Thomas Choir School to the north. The Osborne is cater-corner from Carnegie Hall. It is also near 218 West 57th Street to the southwest; 888 Seventh Avenue and the Rodin Studios to the south; Alwyn Court, The Briarcliffe, and the Louis H. Chalif Normal School of Dancing to the east; and 200 and 220 Central Park South to the north.<ref name="NYCityMap" /><ref name="NPS p. 2" /> Right outside the building is an entrance to the New York City Subway's 57th Street–Seventh Avenue station, served by the {{NYCS trains|Broadway}}.<ref>{{cite web|date=2018|title=MTA Neighborhood Maps: 57 St 7 Av (N)(Q)(R)(W)|url=https://new.mta.info/document/2001|access-date=September 13, 2018|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|archive-date=February 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224211132/https://new.mta.info/document/2001|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Osborne is part of a former artistic hub around a two-block section of West 57th Street between Sixth Avenue and Broadway. The hub had been developed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The hub was developed following the opening of Carnegie Hall in 1891,<ref name="nyt19990509">{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=May 9, 1999|title=Streetscapes /57th Street Between Avenue of the Americas and Seventh Avenue; High and Low Notes of a Block With a Musical Bent|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/09/realestate/streetscapes-57th-street-between-avenue-americas-seventh-avenue-high-low-notes.html|access-date=November 18, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127115151/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/09/realestate/streetscapes-57th-street-between-avenue-americas-seventh-avenue-high-low-notes.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=November 13, 2001|title=Steinway Hall|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2100.pdf|access-date=November 12, 2020|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|pages=6–7|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109230241/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2100.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite fednyc|page=232}}</ref> though the Osborne predates Carnegie Hall.<ref name="Alpern p. 27" /> Several buildings in the area were constructed as residences for artists and musicians, such as 130 and 140 West 57th Street, the Osborne, and the Rodin Studios, as well as the demolished Sherwood Studios and Rembrandt. In addition, the area contained the headquarters of organizations such as the American Fine Arts Society, the Lotos Club, and the American Society of Civil Engineers at 220 West 57th Street.<ref name="NYCL-2297">{{cite web|date=December 16, 2008|title=Society House of the American Society of Civil Engineers|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2297.pdf|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|page=2|access-date=May 12, 2022|archive-date=August 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823005513/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2297.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> By the 21st century, the artistic hub had largely been replaced with Billionaires' Row, a series of luxury skyscrapers around the southern end of Central Park.<ref>{{cite web | last=Scher | first=Robin | title='Round 57th Street: New York's First Gallery District Continues (for Now) to Weather Endless Changes in the Art World | website=ARTnews | date=July 19, 2016 | url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/round-57th-street-new-yorks-first-gallery-district-continues-for-now-to-weather-endless-changes-in-the-art-world-6685/ | access-date=June 13, 2024}}</ref> The Osborne was also part of a hub of luxury buildings developed on the northernmost end of Seventh Avenue, around Carnegie Hall, by 1900.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=April 6, 1997|title=The Lavish 'Studio Palace' Called Alwyn Court|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/06/realestate/the-lavish-studio-palace-called-alwyn-court.html|url-status=live|access-date=December 9, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=December 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225151523/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/06/realestate/the-lavish-studio-palace-called-alwyn-court.html}}</ref>

== Architecture == The Osborne was designed and built by James Edward Ware, who completed the structure in 1885.<ref name="aia5" /><ref name="NYCL4-NPS11">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|pp=4}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 8, p. 5 (PDF p. 11)}}</ref> It was expanded with an annex to the west in 1906, designed by Alfred S. G. Taylor and Julien Clarence Levi.<ref name="aia5">{{cite aia5|page=307}}</ref><ref name="NYCL5-NPS13">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|p=5}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 8, p. 7 (PDF p. 13)}}</ref><ref name="Alpern pp. 30-32">{{harvnb|Alpern|1992|ps=.|pp=30, 32}}</ref> Ware designed the Osborne in a similar manner an Italian Renaissance-style palazzo.<ref name="Hawes p. 105" /><ref name="NYCL5-NPS13" /><ref name="Alpern p. 29">{{harvnb|Alpern|1992|ps=.|p=29}}</ref> The Osborne also contains some Romanesque Revival design features such as round-arched entrance and window openings, a rough-cut stone cladding, and recessed windows.<ref name="NYCL4-NPS12">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|p=4}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 8, p. 6 (PDF p. 12)}}</ref> It is the second-oldest luxury apartment building in New York City, behind the Dakota,<ref name="spt19880110">{{cite news|date=January 10, 1988|title=Apartment building home to stars|page=14|work=St. Petersburg Times}}</ref> which was completed in 1884.<ref name="Stern (1999) p. 561">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1999|p=561}}</ref>

The primary section of the Osborne faces south toward 57th Street and is designed with 11 stories.<ref name="NYCL5-NPS2" /> The rear section, facing north, contains 15 duplex levels, though the roof is at the same height as in the rest of the building.<ref name="NYCL5-NPS2" /><ref name="Alpern p. 29" /> The northern portion of the building contains two "light wells". The original structure contains a light well halfway along the northern elevation.<ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|p=5}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 7, p. 4 (PDF p. 5)}}</ref><ref name="nysky">{{cite nysky|page=137}}</ref> The placement of this light well was unusual, given that many contemporary structures had light courts at the front, which for the Osborne would be the southern elevation.<ref name="nysky" /> The other light well is between the annex and the western side of the original building.<ref name="NPS p. 5">{{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 7, p. 4 (PDF p. 5)}}</ref> The Osborne, including its annex, is {{convert|162|ft}} tall.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Osborne Apartments Addition|url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/115746/osborne-apartments-addition-new-york-city-ny-usa|access-date=December 3, 2020|publisher=Emporis|archive-date=January 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118210939/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/115746/osborne-apartments-addition-new-york-city-ny-usa|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

=== Facade === The Osborne's facade is clad largely with rusticated blocks of brownstone.<ref>{{cite web|last=Dolkart|first=Andrew S.|title=The Architecture and Development of New York City|url=http://ci.columbia.edu/0240s/0243_2/0243_2_s2_4_text.html|quote=Loosely modeled on an Italian-Renaissance palace|access-date=May 12, 2022|archive-date=February 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226083104/http://ci.columbia.edu/0240s/0243_2/0243_2_s2_4_text.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="nyt19940206">{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=February 6, 1994|title=Streetscapes/The Osborne; Restoring a Stone Dealer's Idiosyncratic Building|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/06/realestate/streetscapes-the-osborne-restoring-a-stone-dealer-s-idiosyncratic-building.html|access-date=December 1, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=April 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415153130/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/06/realestate/streetscapes-the-osborne-restoring-a-stone-dealer-s-idiosyncratic-building.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Stern (1999) p. 559">{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1999|ps=.|p=559}}</ref> Architectural writers Sarah Landau and Carl Condit theorized that the material was meant to evoke the design of the brownstone row houses that were common across the city,<ref name="nysky" /> while architectural writer Robert A. M. Stern wrote that the use of brownstone may have instead been used to "convey a sense of the power of stone".<ref name="Stern (1999) p. 559" /> The namesake and developer, Thomas Osborne, expected that the facade could attract residents of middle-class brownstone row houses.<ref name="Alpern p. 29" /> The superstructure is constructed of masonry bearing walls up to {{Convert|4|ft||abbr=}} deep.<ref name="ct19620308">{{cite news|date=March 8, 1962|title=Just Nosing Around|page=20|work=The Coshocton Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65535489/|access-date=December 1, 2020|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512033436/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65535489/just-nosing-around/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The primary elevation, or side, faces 57th Street, while the secondary elevation is on Seventh Avenue. The 57th Street side has ten vertical bays—eight from the original design and two from the 1906 annex—while the Seventh Avenue side has eight bays. Large cornices with modillions run atop the second, sixth, and ninth floors.<ref name="NYCL5-NPS2">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|p=5}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 7, p. 1 (PDF p. 2)}}</ref> The facade contains stylistic details such as carved stone panels with classical iconography.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /> Projecting oriel windows were also added to provide light to the apartments.<ref name="NYCL5-NPS12">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|p=5}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 8, p. 6 (PDF p. 12)}}</ref> In general, the exterior was intended to reflect the ornate design of the interior.<ref name="NYCL4-NPS12" /> The 15 duplex levels at the rear accommodated the shorter ceiling heights of the rooms there.<ref name="Alpern p. 29" />

==== Base ==== thumb|Seen from across Seventh Avenue The base is composed of the lowest two stories. At ground level, the main entrance is in the center of the original facade on 57th Street, between the fourth and fifth bays from the east. The entrance is within a white segmental arch, above which is a scrolled keystone flanked by garlands. Inside the arch opening is a wooden double door with a leaded-glass transom window above it. The arch is flanked by two pairs of pilasters supporting a short entablature; a pair of glass-and-metal lanterns are mounted on the inner pair of pilasters. The remainder of the ground level contains storefronts.<ref name="NYCL5-NPS2" /> A small band course runs between the first and second stories.<ref name="NYCL6-NPS2">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|p=6}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 7, p. 1 (PDF p. 2)}}</ref> An entrance porch formerly projected onto 57th Street.<ref name="Alpern p. 29" /><ref name="NYCL6-NPS2" /> There was also an areaway running around the building, traversed only by a small overpass.<ref name="Alpern p. 29" />

On the 2nd story along 57th Street, the original facade has eight bays. Within the center two bays, now the fourth and fifth bays from the east, there are four round-arched windows, topped by flat keystones. The two bays on either side, now the second, third, sixth, and seventh bays, each contain a single round-arched window with a flat keystone above and a decorative stone panel below. The outermost pair of bays, now the first and eighth bays, each contain a pair of rectangular sash windows.<ref name="NYCL6-NPS2" /> On Seventh Avenue, the seven southernmost bays each contain one rectangular sash window at the 2nd story.<ref name="NYCL6-NPS4">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|p=6}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 7, p. 3 (PDF p. 4)}}</ref> A modillioned cornice runs above the 2nd story along 57th Street and Seventh Avenue, except in the fourth and fifth bays along 57th Street.<ref name="NYCL6-NPS2" /> The cornice was intended to give the impression that the building was shorter than it actually was.<ref name="Hawes p. 105" />

The two westernmost bays along 57th Street comprise the 1906 annex and contain three shorter stories within the same double-height base: the ground floor, followed by two mezzanine floors. Both mezzanines contain a triple-sided, metal-clad oriel window within the left-side bay, which is the tenth bay from the east. The annex's right-side bay, the ninth bay from the east, contains a rectangular window opening on each mezzanine.<ref name="NYCL6-NPS3">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|p=6}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 7, p. 2 (PDF p. 3)}}</ref> The northernmost Seventh Avenue bay also contains three shorter stories in the double-height base, with two rectangular windows on either mezzanine floor.<ref name="NYCL6-NPS4" />

==== Upper stories ==== thumb|Northernmost bay on Seventh Avenue On the 3rd through 6th stories, the original section of the 57th Street facade contains triple-sided, stone-clad oriel windows on the first, fourth, fifth, and eighth bays from the east. The second, third, sixth, and seventh bays contain rectangular windows, with balconettes at the fifth story. Above all eight bays, there are carved stone spandrel panels between the 3rd- and 4th-story windows, and stained-glass transom panels near the top of each 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-story window opening. In addition, bartizans rise from the 5th and 6th story at each corner of the original facade, supporting the cornice.<ref name="NYCL6-NPS3" /> A similar window arrangement appears on the seven southernmost bays facing Seventh Avenue, where the fourth and fifth bays from the south are grouped into a single oriel structure.<ref name="NYCL6-NPS4" />

On the 7th through 9th stories of the original 57th Street facade, the first, fourth, fifth, and eighth bays each contain three windows per story. The second, third, sixth, and seventh bays of this facade each contain two windows per story. The windows in each story are separated by carved stone spandrel panels. In addition, there are stained-glass transom panels near the top of each 7th- and 8th-story window opening.<ref name="NYCL6-NPS3" /> A similar window arrangement appears on the seven southernmost bays facing Seventh Avenue, except that each bay has a single window.<ref name="NYCL7-NPS4">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|p=7}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 7, p. 3 (PDF p. 4)}}</ref>

On both 57th Street and Seventh Avenue, there are rectangular windows on the 10th and 11th stories, with a horizontal band course between these floors. The windows on the 10th and 11th stories do not necessarily align with those on the other floors. There is a copper cornice above the 11th story.<ref name="NYCL6-7-NPS3-4">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|pp=6–7}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 7, pp. 2–3 (PDF pp. 3–4)}}</ref>

The 57th Street annex rises only to the 10th story. The 3rd through 9th stories of the annex correspond to those in the original building. They contain a metal oriel on the left and a sash window on the right, similar to at the base. As with the original facade, there are bartizans on the 5th and 6th story, which flank the oriel and support the cornice. The annex's 10th story has a triple rectangular window.<ref name="NYCL6-NPS3" />

The 3rd through 6th stories of the northernmost Seventh Avenue bay contain six offset duplex levels, each with a triple-sided, stone-clad oriel window. The 7th through 9th stories of the northernmost Seventh Avenue bay contain four offset duplex levels, each with a triple rectangular window.<ref name="NYCL6-7-NPS4">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|pp=6–7}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 7, p. 3 (PDF p. 4)}}</ref><ref group="lower-alpha">In the northernmost Seventh Avenue bay, the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th, and 11th stories correspond to the rest of the building. There are also nine mezzanines: two each above the 1st, 3rd, and 5th stories, and three above the 7th story.</ref>

=== Interior ===

==== Entrance foyer and lobby ==== thumb|Storefronts The entrance foyer and lobby form a connected space. The decorative details were designed by architect Stanford White, muralist John La Farge, and designer Jacob Adolphus Holzer.<ref name="CityRealty" /><ref name="NYCL3-NPS10-11">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|p=3}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|loc=section 8, pp. 4–5 (PDF pp. 10–11)}}; {{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1999|ps=.|p=559}}</ref> The lobby was mainly the work of Holzer<ref name="Alpern p. 29" /><ref name="Hawes p. 108">{{harvnb|Hawes|1993|ps=.|page=108}}</ref> and is designed in marble, mosaics, murals, gilded surfaces, and leaded glass.<ref name="NYCL3-NPS11">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|p=3}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 8, p. 5 (PDF p. 11)}}</ref><ref name="Hawes pp. 105–108">{{harvnb|Hawes|1993|ps=.|pages=105, 108}}</ref> The Tiffany glass in the foyer and lobby, created by Louis Comfort Tiffany,<ref name="Stern (1999) p. 559" /><ref name="CityRealty">{{cite web|last=Horsley|first=Carter|title=The Osborne, 205 West 57th Street, Midtown West, New York, NY 10019|url=https://www.cityrealty.com/nyc/midtown-west/the-osborne-205-west-57th-street/1850|access-date=December 1, 2020|website=CityRealty|archive-date=January 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123105538/https://www.cityrealty.com/nyc/midtown-west/the-osborne-205-west-57th-street/1850|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NPS p. 4">{{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 7, p. 3 (PDF p. 4)}}</ref> was reputed to be Tiffany's first decorating job.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Carey|first=Bernadette|date=April 4, 1966|title=East Side, West Side, 57th Street Is on the 'In' Side|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/04/04/archives/east-side-west-side-57th-street-is-on-the-in-side.html|access-date=December 1, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512033449/https://www.nytimes.com/1966/04/04/archives/east-side-west-side-57th-street-is-on-the-in-side.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens was also involved in the foyer and lobby's design.<ref name="CityRealty" /> The spaces are decorated in shades of red, green, and blue.<ref name="Hawes pp. 105–108" /> According to the writer Elizabeth Hawes, the building's lobby "had been designed to overwhelm, to transport".<ref name="Hawes p. 105" />

The entrance foyer measures {{Convert|20|ft||abbr=}} square with a 20-foot ceiling. It is connected to the lobby by a short flight of marble and copper steps.<ref name="NPS p. 4" />{{efn|''The New York Times'' characterizes the entry hall as being {{convert|26|by|15|ft}}.<ref name="nyt19851121"/>}}

The lobby extends north of the foyer and measures {{Convert|92|by|14|ft|abbr=}}, with a ceiling {{Convert|15|ft||abbr=}} high.<ref name="NPS pp. 4-5">{{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 7, pp. 3–4 (PDF pp. 4–5)}}</ref> The floors contain mosaics made of small tiles, alternating with Italian marble slabs. The western and eastern walls of the lobby contain marble wainscoting, interspersed with plaster plaques of nude figures and garlands, designed to resemble bronze.<ref name="Alpern29-Whitaker">{{harvnb|Alpern|1992|p=29}}; {{harvnb|Whitaker|1997|ps=.}}</ref> Carved-plaster cap friezes and mosaic tiles run along the walls.<ref>{{harvnb|Alpern|1992|ps=.|pp=29–30}}</ref> Above the wainscot, the walls feature a silver-gilt wall surface,<ref name="NPS p. 5" /> as well as carvings, mosaic tiles, and roundels.<ref>{{harvnb|Alpern|1992|p=30}}; {{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1999|ps=.|p=559}}</ref> There are marble niches with benches,<ref name="Alpern29-Whitaker" /> as well as Tiffany mosaics and stained glass on the niche walls.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /> The Osborne was the first building to use foil-backed mosaics in a nonreligious setting.<ref name="Stern (1999) p. 559" /> The ceiling, which is coffered,<ref name="NYCL3-NPS11" /><ref name="Alpern p. 30">{{harvnb|Alpern|1992|ps=.|p=30}}</ref> is painted in red and blue tones and gold leaf, in a manner similar to the ceiling at J. P. Morgan's 36th Street library.<ref name="Alpern p. 30" /><ref name="nyt19971012">{{Cite news|last=Whitaker|first=Barbara|date=October 12, 1997|title=Habitats/The Osborne, 205 West 57th Street; In a Stately Old Building, Just a Touch of Karma|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/12/realestate/habitats-osborne-205-west-57th-street-stately-old-building-just-touch-karma.html|access-date=December 1, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603144049/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/12/realestate/habitats-osborne-205-west-57th-street-stately-old-building-just-touch-karma.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The space is lit by four copper chandeliers and sixteen bronze double sconces.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /> Two marble staircases lead from the lobby.<ref name="Hawes p. 105" /><ref name="NPS p. 5" />

In addition to the lobby and entrance foyer, there were other communal spaces within the building, giving it the feel of an enclosed community. On the second floor was a banquet room.<ref name="Hawes p. 108" /> There was a private billiards room, as well as a florist's shop, doctor's office, and chemist in the basement. The original plans called for a rooftop croquet lawn, which was not built.<ref name="rer18840322" /><ref name="Alpern p. 29" /><ref name="NYCL3-NPS10" />

==== Apartments ==== The National Park Service writes that each of the 2nd through 10th stories originally contained four apartments;<ref name="NPS p. 5, Whitaker">{{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|loc=section 7, p. 4 (PDF p. 5)}}; {{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1999|p=559}}; {{harvnb|Whitaker|1997|ps=.}}</ref> according to Hawes, there were fewer apartments on the 2nd floor because that story also included the banquet hall.<ref name="Hawes p. 108" /> There were two apartments on the ground floor, for 38 total units on the ground through 10th floors. The 11th floor did not contain any residents and was used by service workers and as storage.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /><ref name="Stern (1999) p. 559" /> Each of the upper stories was separated into western and eastern halves, with two apartments per side. Each side was served by its own elevator and staircase, connected only at ground level.<ref name="Alpern p. 29" /><ref name="NPS p. 21">{{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|p=22 (PDF p. 21)}}</ref> When completed, the building had four elevators and a heating and power plant.<ref name="nyt18960312">{{Cite news|date=March 12, 1896|title=The Real Estate Field; Sale of the Osborne Apartment House at Auction. It Brings More Than a Million the Gross Rental is Near $100,000 – Several Notable Purchases and Leases – Offerings for to-day|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1896/03/12/archives/the-real-estate-field-sale-of-the-osborne-apartment-house-at.html|access-date=December 2, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512033436/https://www.nytimes.com/1896/03/12/archives/the-real-estate-field-sale-of-the-osborne-apartment-house-at.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Each apartment was arranged in a specific way, with a parlor, reception room, library room, dining room, pantry, and kitchen in the front, as well as bedrooms in the rear.<ref name="Hawes p. 108" /> The main living spaces, where guests were entertained, contained {{convert|15|ft|adj=on||abbr=}} ceilings.<ref name="Hawes p. 108" /><ref name="NPS p. 5, Whitaker" /> The front end, facing 57th Street, contained the apartments' libraries and parlor rooms.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /> The foyer, dining room, kitchen, and one bedroom of each apartment also contained high ceilings.<ref name="NPS p. 21" /> The rear sections had bedrooms and private baths, separated from the main living areas by flights of seven steps, and the ceilings are just over {{convert|8|ft}} high.<ref name="Hawes p. 108" /><ref name="NPS p. 5, Whitaker" /> The westernmost apartments of each floor, as expanded in 1906, were generally larger than the other units, with seven bedrooms and enlarged reception and dining rooms.<ref name="Alpern p. 30" /> The apartment designs were also marked by their elaborate interior features, including mahogany wood decoration, bronze fireplace mantels, and crystal chandeliers.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /><ref name="nyt19610218">{{Cite news|last=Reif|first=Rita|date=February 18, 1961|title='Save the Osborne' Is Music in Tenants' Ears at Luxury Apartment House; Dwelling, 76, Faces Sale and Possible Extinction|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/02/18/archives/save-the-osborne-is-music-in-tenants-ears-at-luxury-apartment-house.html|access-date=December 3, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512033436/https://www.nytimes.com/1961/02/18/archives/save-the-osborne-is-music-in-tenants-ears-at-luxury-apartment-house.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The parquet floor surfaces contained banded edges,<ref name="nyt19971012" /> and the walls were soundproofed and insulated for privacy.<ref name="Hawes p. 108" />

In the early and mid-20th century, many of the apartments were subdivided, the ground-floor apartments were removed, and new apartments were created on the 11th floor. The National Park Service wrote in 1993 that the Osborne had 109 units, of which 14 retained their original large configurations.<ref name="NPS pp. 5-6">{{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 7, pp. 4–5 (PDF pp. 5–6)}}</ref> As a result of these subdivisions, the modern layouts of the apartments are more complex. For instance, an apartment might have its entrance in one of the rear mezzanines and its main rooms in the high-ceiling portion.<ref name="CityRealty" /><ref name="nyt19610218" /> Other units were configured as "apartments within apartments", where the only access was through another tenant's residence.<ref name="nyt19610218" /> The haphazard nature of the conversions resulted in the sealing-off of spaces such as an entire room<ref name="nyt19610218" /> and a staircase.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rosenblum|first=Constance|date=February 17, 2012|title=Where the Secrets Were Kept|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/realestate/where-the-secrets-were-kept.html|access-date=December 3, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=January 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130204925/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/realestate/where-the-secrets-were-kept.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Among the modern-day apartments are a unit with vaulted-brick ceilings, as well as a studio with mahogany decorations and a spiral staircase.<ref name="Sedacca j238">{{cite web | last=Sedacca | first=Matthew | title=The Mahogany Studio in the Osborne That Just Won't Sell | website=Curbed | date=April 3, 2025 | url=https://www.curbed.com/article/205-west-57th-street-the-osborne-billionaires-row-apartment-4aa.html | access-date=April 4, 2025}}</ref>

==History== During the early 19th century, apartment developments in the city were generally associated with the working class, but by the 1870s, apartments were also becoming desirable among the middle and upper classes.<ref name="NYCL2-NPS8">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|p=2}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 8, p. 2 (PDF p. 8)}}</ref> Between 1880 and 1885, more than ninety apartment buildings were developed in the city.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=February 7, 1885|title=How the Great Apartment Houses Have Paid|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031138_001&page=ldpd_7031138_001_00000152&no=10|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=35|issue=882|pages=127–128|access-date=May 12, 2022|archive-date=May 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506014424/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031138_001&page=ldpd_7031138_001_00000152&no=10|url-status=live}}</ref> The advent of the passenger elevator enabled the construction of taller apartment buildings such as the Osborne and the Dakota, whereas previously apartment buildings had been limited to six or seven stories.<ref name="NYCL3-NPS10">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|p=3}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 8, p. 4 (PDF p. 10)}}</ref><ref name="nyt19851121">{{Cite news|last=Giovannini|first=Joseph|date=November 21, 1985|title=The Osbourne: Now 100 Years Old and Still a Nice Place to Live|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/21/garden/the-osbourne-now-100-years-old-and-still-a-nice-place-to-live.html|access-date=December 2, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171126204805/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/21/garden/the-osbourne-now-100-years-old-and-still-a-nice-place-to-live.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|These included the Osborne Building on Fifth Avenue between 52nd and 53rd Street, which is unrelated to the current apartment structure.<ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|p=2}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 8, p. 3 (PDF p. 9)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=October 10, 2013|title=Madame Restell's Other Profession|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/realestate/madame-restells-other-profession.html|access-date=December 3, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=May 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505211229/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/realestate/madame-restells-other-profession.html|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Simultaneously, West 57th Street was being developed with townhouses, some of which were known as New York City's "choicest" residences, as well as artists' studio apartments.<ref name="NYCL3-NPS10" /> 57th Street attracted large developments because it was wider than other crosstown streets and was similar in width to a north–south avenue.<ref name="Hawes p. 104">{{harvnb|Hawes|1993|ps=.|p=104}}</ref> The area around the Osborne was relatively undeveloped in the early 1880s but benefited from the presence of Central Park two blocks north.<ref name="Alpern p. 27" /> At the time, the street's developments included the Rembrandt Studio Building, the Calvary Baptist Church, and various row houses.<ref name="Alpern p. 27" /><ref name="Hawes pp. 104–105">{{harvnb|Hawes|1993|ps=.|pages=104–105}}</ref>

=== Development === thumb|A bus outside the base of the building on 57th Street The Osborne's namesake was Thomas Osborne, an Irish immigrant who ran a successful stone contracting business.<ref name="NYCL3-NPS10" /> In 1883, he purchased a lot for $210,000 ({{Inflation|US|210000|1883|r=0|fmt=eq|cursign=$}}) from restaurant operator John Taylor.<ref name="Alpern p. 30" /><ref name="NYCL3-NPS10" /> After an architectural design competition,<ref name="Stern (1999) p. 559" /> Osborne hired Ware to design an apartment building on the site. Ware submitted plans for an 11- and 15-story brownstone apartment to the New York City Department of Buildings that May, to cost $650,000.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=May 19, 1883|title=Buildings Projected|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031128_031&page=ldpd_7031128_031_00000390&no=1|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=31|pages=368|via=columbia.edu|number=792|access-date=May 12, 2022|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512033440/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031128_031&page=ldpd_7031128_031_00000390&no=1|url-status=live}}</ref> The original plans included a fireproof structure with four elevators; some iron-and-marble staircases; various spaces such as a florist and pharmacy; and the newest electric, plumbing, and heating systems of the time.<ref name="rer18840322" /><ref name="Alpern p. 29" /><ref name="NYCL3-NPS10" /> Osborne had been inspired by Queen Victoria's Isle of Wight residence and reportedly sent workers to examine the architecture of that residence.<ref name="Hawes p. 105" /> He bragged that the 57th Street building would probably be the tallest in the city, if not the United States, at a height of {{Convert|200|ft}}.<ref name="Stern (1999) p. 559" />

In October 1883, three investors formed a company to buy Osborne's apartment building for $700,000.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=October 20, 1883|title=Real Estate Department|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vollist=1&vol=ldpd_7031128_032&page=ldpd_7031128_032_00000360|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=32|pages=809|via=columbia.edu|number=814|access-date=May 12, 2022|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512033441/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vollist=1&vol=ldpd_7031128_032&page=ldpd_7031128_032_00000360|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the sale never happened.<ref name="NYCL3-NPS11" /> By the next year, Osborne was still anticipating that he would sell the building upon its completion.<ref name="rer18840322" /> The building's roof was completed by June 1884, when the apartments were reported as "nearly ready for tenants".<ref name="bc18840627">{{cite news|date=June 27, 1884|title=Fifteen Stories High|page=1|work=Buffalo Commercial|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64418696/|access-date=December 1, 2020|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512033441/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64418696/fifteen-stories-high/|url-status=live}}</ref> Advertisements in New York City newspapers boasted, in boldface letters, that the building was "the most magnificently finished and decorated apartment house in the world".<ref name="Stern (1999) p. 559" /><ref name="Hawes p. 105">{{harvnb|Hawes|1993|ps=.|p=105}}</ref> The first tenants moved into the building in November 1885.<ref name="Alpern p. 29" /> The next month, the ''Real Estate Record and Guide'' reported that the Osborne was sold to unnamed investors for $1,209,000 ({{Inflation|US|1209000|1885|r=0|fmt=eq|cursign=$}}).<ref name="rer18851219">{{cite magazine|date=December 19, 1885|title=Gossip of the Week|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vollist=1&vol=ldpd_7031138_002&page=ldpd_7031138_002_00000694|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=36|pages=1393|via=columbia.edu|number=927|access-date=May 12, 2022|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512033441/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vollist=1&vol=ldpd_7031138_002&page=ldpd_7031138_002_00000694|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NYCL3-4-NPS11">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|pp=3–4}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 8, p. 5 (PDF p. 11)}}</ref> The buyer was subsequently revealed to be John Taylor's son John H. Taylor; by then, the senior John Taylor had died.<ref name="rer18851219" /> The development of the Osborne spurred the construction of nearby apartment houses, including the Alwyn Court and Rodin Studios.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=November 7, 2013|title=West 57th's Hodgepodge Block|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/realestate/west-57ths-hodgepodge-block.html|access-date=November 18, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113000655/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/realestate/west-57ths-hodgepodge-block.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Modifications === The building had ultimately cost $2&nbsp;million to construct, at least part of which was covered by loans that John H. Taylor had made to Osborne.<ref name="Alpern p. 30" /> The lavish decorations contributed to the massive costs, which turned out to be excessive for Osborne.<ref name="Stern (1999) p. 559" /><ref name="Alpern p. 30" /> John Taylor's estate foreclosed on the Osborne at auction in 1888.<ref name="Alpern p. 30" /> William Taylor, another member of the Taylor family, bought the building that March for $1,009,250 ({{Inflation|US|1009250|1888|r=0|fmt=eq|cursign=$}}).<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 7, 1888|title=Selling the Osborne Flats|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1888/03/07/archives/selling-the-osborne-flats.html|access-date=December 1, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512033441/https://www.nytimes.com/1888/03/07/archives/selling-the-osborne-flats.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NYCL7-NPS14">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|pp=7}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1993|ps=.|loc=section 8, p. 8 (PDF p. 14)}}</ref> The next year, Ware expanded the attic to a full size; this provided additional room for servants' quarters while placing the roof at a uniform height.<ref name="NYCL5-NPS2" /><ref name="CityRealty" /><ref name="Stern (1999) p. 561" /> The northern section of the building had contained 14 levels, while the southern section was largely 10 stories with a partial 11th-story attic. The cornice of the northern section had originally sloped downward because of the uneven roof height.<ref name="Alpern p. 29" />

Contemporary advertisements described the Osborne as occupying "the highest ground below Fifty-seventh Street"; this feature became more attractive to potential tenants, as the state government had passed the Daly Law in 1885 to limit similar structures to five or six stories.<ref name="Hawes p. 108" /> As such, despite Thomas Osborne's financial difficulties, the building was successful in attracting middle-class residents.<ref name="Stern (1999) pp. 559-561">{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1999|ps=.|pp=559–561}}</ref> By early 1896, the Osborne was fully occupied, and the Taylor estate was looking to sell the Osborne so the estate could be closed out. The estate also planned to sell adjoining {{Convert|25|by|100|ft|abbr=|adj=on}} lot to the west, which adjoined the Art Students League building.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=February 22, 1896|title=Real Estate Market|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_017&page=ldpd_7031148_017_00000341&no=9|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=57|pages=301|via=columbia.edu|number=1458|access-date=May 12, 2022|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512033442/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_017&page=ldpd_7031148_017_00000341&no=9|url-status=live}}</ref> John S. Ely, a son-in-law of the late John Taylor, paid $1.01&nbsp;million for the building and $35,000 for the adjacent lot at an auction in March 1896.<ref name="nyt18960312" /><ref>{{cite magazine|date=March 14, 1896|title=Real Estate Market|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_017&page=ldpd_7031148_017_00000479&no=1|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=57|pages=437|via=columbia.edu|number=1461|access-date=May 12, 2022|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512033442/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_017&page=ldpd_7031148_017_00000479&no=1|url-status=live}}</ref> At the time, the neighborhood was being developed rapidly, and ''The New York Times'' wrote, "It is safe to assume that these lots will be worth double their present value ten years hence."<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 15, 1896|title=The Real Estate Field; Lot Speculation Has Ceased for the Time Being|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1896/03/15/archives/the-real-estate-field-lot-speculation-has-ceased-for-the-time-being.html|access-date=December 2, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512033442/https://www.nytimes.com/1896/03/15/archives/the-real-estate-field-lot-speculation-has-ceased-for-the-time-being.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A glass and metal sidewalk canopy was erected {{Circa}} 1900.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=April 15, 2001|title=Streetscapes/Apartment-Building Canopies; An Aspect of City Life Usually Taken for Granted|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/15/realestate/streetscapes-apartment-building-canopies-aspect-city-life-usually-taken-for.html|access-date=December 3, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331043709/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/15/realestate/streetscapes-apartment-building-canopies-aspect-city-life-usually-taken-for.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Taylor family started constructing the 57th Street annex in 1906, on the adjoining lot to the west. The annex was designed by family member Alfred S. G. Taylor, in conjunction with J. C. Levi.<ref name="Alpern pp. 30-32" /> The annex, completed in 1908,<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Apartment Houses of Duplex and Studio Plan in New York City|journal=Architects' and Builders' Magazine|date=March 1909|volume=10|issue=6|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c033529567&view=1up&seq=233|page=221|access-date=May 12, 2022|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512033445/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c033529567&view=1up&seq=233|url-status=live}}</ref> provided additional bedroom space for the westernmost apartments, which were each given seven bedrooms and an expanded reception room.<ref name="NYCL5-NPS13" /><ref name="Alpern p. 30" /> Many businesses moved to the surrounding area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.<ref name="Alpern p. 32">{{harvnb|Alpern|1992|ps=.|p=32}}</ref> Thus, in 1919, the Taylor family converted the ground-floor apartments to commercial spaces, which the family believed would be more profitable.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /><ref name="nyt19940206" /><ref name="Alpern p. 32" /> At this time, the main entrance porch and the moat that originally surrounded the ground floor were removed.<ref name="CityRealty" /><ref name="Alpern p. 32" /> Walter J. Salmon took a 21-year lease for the Osborne that year.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=June 21, 1919|title='Osborne' in Long-Term Lease|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_063&page=ldpd_7031148_063_00001196&no=1|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=103|pages=834|via=columbia.edu|number=25}}</ref> The upper floors were subdivided into smaller units starting in 1922, and the 11th-floor attic was converted to apartments in 1941.<ref name="NPS p. 5" />

=== Cooperative conversion === thumb|The base, seen with scaffolding around it in 2019 The Taylor family could not maintain the Osborne in the mid-20th century, and the interior had degraded by the 1950s.<ref name="nyt19851121" /><ref name="Alpern p. 32" /> In 1961, the Osborne was sold to the Linland Corporation,<ref name="ct19620308" /> operated by real-estate investor Sarah Korein, in a deal that valued the building at $2.5&nbsp;million ({{Inflation|US|2500000|1961|r=0|fmt=eq|cursign=$}}).<ref>{{Cite news|date=February 25, 1961|title=57th St. Landmark in $2,500,000 Deal|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/02/25/archives/57th-st-landmark-in-2500000-deal.html|access-date=December 1, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Korein had planned to demolish the Osborne, replacing it with a 17-story residential building designed by Robert Bien.<ref name="nyt19940206" /><ref name="Alpern p. 32" /> In response, tenants collected $500,000 to give to Korein in exchange for the building's ownership. The payment was roughly double the $250,000 deposit that Korein had paid for the building.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|date=November 4, 1998|title=Sarah Korein, 93, Whose Dainty Bearing Masked a Tough Property Investor, Is Dead|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/04/nyregion/sarah-korein-93-whose-dainty-bearing-masked-a-tough-property-investor-is-dead.html|access-date=December 2, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101211423/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/04/nyregion/sarah-korein-93-whose-dainty-bearing-masked-a-tough-property-investor-is-dead.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The planned replacement tower was canceled the next year after the Osborne Tenants Corporation bought the Osborne and converted it into a cooperative.<ref name="ct19620308" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Bartnett|first=Edmond J.|date=March 3, 1962|title=Osborne, Home of Artists, to Become a Co-Op|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/03/03/archives/osborne-home-of-artists-to-become-a-coop-building-has-stood.html|access-date=December 1, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The co-op board took a $2&nbsp;million mortgage for the building in 1965.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Clines|first=Francis X.|date=July 29, 1965|title=News of Realty: Coney Island Site; Talks Under Way on Future of Steeplechase Park|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/07/29/archives/news-of-realty-coney-island-site-talks-under-way-on-future-of.html|access-date=December 2, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Davida Tenenbaum Deutsch, an architectural historian who lived in the building, started holding bazaars in 1976 to fund the restoration of the lobby, ultimately raising nearly $100,000 ({{Inflation|US|100000|1976|r=0|fmt=eq|cursign=$}}).<ref name="nyt19940728" /> By the mid-1980s, prices for apartments in the Osborne were as high as in comparable apartments on the traditionally wealthy Upper East Side.<ref name="nyt19851121" /> From 1989 to 1994, the Osborne's cooperative board restored the facade at a cost of $4.1&nbsp;million ({{Inflation|US|4100000|1994|r=0|fmt=eq|cursign=$}}).<ref name="nyt19940206" /> During that time, Rambusch Studios restored the lobby.<ref name="Alpern p. 32" /> By the early 21st century, the Osborne had become part of Billionaires' Row, an area with several residential skyscrapers marketed for the ultra-wealthy.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Live in one of New York City's first major luxury apartment buildings for $745K|url=https://www.6sqft.com/this-745k-co-op-has-historic-vaulted-ceilings-and-a-present-day-billionaires-row-location/|access-date=December 2, 2020|website=6sqft|language=en-US|archive-date=October 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024232711/https://www.6sqft.com/this-745k-co-op-has-historic-vaulted-ceilings-and-a-present-day-billionaires-row-location/|url-status=live}}</ref> After the city's Open Restaurants program (first implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic) became permanent in early 2022, the Osborne's co-op board sued 57th and 7th Associates, to which the building's commercial space was leased. The co-op board claimed that 57th and 7th Associates had failed to enforce restrictions regarding the use by sub-tenants of the building's commercial spaces, including the installation of outdoor dining and unauthorized signage.<ref name="trd-2022-06-27">{{Cite web |last=Hourie |first=Ilya |date=2022-06-27 |title=Billionaires' Row Landlord: Outdoor Dining Spoils West 57th Street |url=https://therealdeal.com/2022/06/27/billionaires-row-landlord-fed-up-with-outdoor-dining/ |access-date=2022-08-06 |website=The Real Deal New York |language=en-US |archive-date=August 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806141816/https://therealdeal.com/2022/06/27/billionaires-row-landlord-fed-up-with-outdoor-dining/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Notable residents == Despite its proximity to Carnegie Hall and West 57th Street's arts hub, the Osborne did not have any musicians, artists, or authors listed as residents prior to World War II, and only two architects were recorded as living there during that time. However, it was popular among the upper middle class, with residents including executives, entrepreneurs, lawyers, and doctors. The building's artistic residents largely moved there after World War II.<ref name="Alpern p. 27" /> By the 1960s, the Osborne was known as "the residential Carnegie Hall".<ref name="nyt19610218" />

Notable residents have included: {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * Dana Andrews, actor<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /> * Peter Beard, artist, photographer<ref name="Brubach">{{cite web | date=April 19, 2019 | last=Brubach | first=Holly | title=Inside a New York Family's Annabelle Selldorf-Designed Residence | website=Architectural Digest | url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/inside-a-new-york-familys-annabelle-selldorf-designed-residence | access-date=June 1, 2021 | archive-date=June 2, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602215934/https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/inside-a-new-york-familys-annabelle-selldorf-designed-residence | url-status=live }}</ref> * Leonard Bernstein, composer and conductor, lived in unit 4B until 1961 and maintained an office in 2DD until his death<ref name="short-bernstein">{{cite news|last=Taylor|first=Candace|date=May 11, 2009|title=Bobby Short and Leonard Bernstein Home on the Market|work=The Real Deal|url=http://therealdeal.com/blog/2009/05/11/bobby-short-and-leonard-bernstein-home-on-the-market-osborne-west-side-story/|access-date=August 19, 2014|archive-date=August 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821165708/http://therealdeal.com/blog/2009/05/11/bobby-short-and-leonard-bernstein-home-on-the-market-osborne-west-side-story/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Harmon|first=Charlie|title=On the road & off the record with Leonard Bernstein : my years with the exasperating genius|date=2018|others=Harold Prince|isbn=978-1-62354-527-7|location=Watertown, MA|oclc=1019835351}}</ref> * Shirley Booth, actress<ref name="NYCL p. 7">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|ps=.|p=7}}</ref><ref name="faith" /> * Hortense Calisher, writer<ref name="faith" /> * Jessica Chastain, actress, purchased unit 4B in 2015<ref>{{cite news|last=Budion|first=Jeremiah|date=March 11, 2015|title=Jessica Chastain Buys Leonard Bernstein's Former Co-op|work=Curbed|url=http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2015/03/11/jessica_chastain_buys_leonard_bernsteins_former_coop.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412092453/http://ny.curbed.com/2015/3/11/9982120/jessica-chastain-buys-leonard-bernsteins-former-co-op|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 12, 2016|access-date=December 2, 2020}}</ref> * Dane Clark, actor<ref name="nyt19610218" /> * John Clark, actor, and his wife Lynn Redgrave, an actress<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref name="faith" /> * Van Cliburn, pianist<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref name="Brubach"/> * Gray Foy, artist, and his spouse Leo Lerman, a writer and editor, lived in unit 6C from 1967 until their respective deaths in 2012 and 1994<ref>{{Cite news|last=Fox|first=Margalit|date=December 1, 2012|title=Gray Foy, Artist and Avatar of a Gilded Age, Dies at 90|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/nyregion/gray-foy-artist-and-avatar-of-a-gilded-age-dies-at-90.html|access-date=December 2, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612230438/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/nyregion/gray-foy-artist-and-avatar-of-a-gilded-age-dies-at-90.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Goodman|first=Wendy|date=October 16, 2017|title=A Building Where the 19th Century Met the 21st|url=https://www.curbed.com/2020/10/inside-the-osborne-apartments.html|access-date=December 2, 2020|website=Curbed|archive-date=December 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202145850/https://www.curbed.com/2020/10/inside-the-osborne-apartments.html|url-status=live}}</ref> * Gary Graffman, American classical pianist<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Malcolm|first=Janet|author-link=Janet Malcolm|title=Yuja Wang and the Art of Performance|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/09/05/yuja-wang-and-the-art-of-performance|access-date=December 2, 2020|magazine=The New Yorker|date=August 29, 2016|language=en-us|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108192209/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/09/05/yuja-wang-and-the-art-of-performance|url-status=live}}</ref> * Paul Hartman, Broadway performer<ref name="nyt19610218" /> * Eric Hotung, businessman<ref name="Sedacca j238"/> * Phil Jackson, professional basketball player, coach, and executive, lived in unit 3B while serving as a New York Knicks basketball team executive<ref name="Brubach" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Clarke |first=Katherine |title=Slamdunk: Knicks president Phil Jackson drops $4.85M on Midtown pad |newspaper=New York Daily News |date=August 15, 2014 |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/real-estate/phil-jackson-drops-4-85m-midtown-pad-article-1.1905104 |access-date=December 2, 2020 |archive-date=January 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123085746/https://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/real-estate/phil-jackson-drops-4-85m-midtown-pad-article-1.1905104 |url-status=live }}</ref> * Fran Lebowitz, American author and public speaker, who spoke of the building in the documentary ''Pretend It's a City,'' moved into the building in 1984<ref name="Brubach" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Goodman|first=Wendy|date=December 29, 2020|title=Fran Lebowitz vs. the World|url=https://www.curbed.com/article/fran-lebowitz-pretend-its-a-city.html|access-date=January 1, 2021|website=Curbed|language=en-us|archive-date=December 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229190019/https://www.curbed.com/article/fran-lebowitz-pretend-its-a-city.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Sayej|first=Nadya|date=January 21, 2021|title=Fran Lebowitz's Life in NYC Real Estate|url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/fran-lebowitz-life-nyc-real-estate-living-10000-books-more|access-date=July 18, 2021|website=Architectural Digest|language=en-US|archive-date=July 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718170242/https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/fran-lebowitz-life-nyc-real-estate-living-10000-books-more|url-status=live}}</ref> * Julian Clarence Levi, architect, art collector, philanthropist<ref>{{Cite news|last=Johnston|first=Laurie|date=August 25, 1971|title=Julian Clarence Levi. Dies at 96; Oldest Alumnus of Columbia U.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/08/25/archives/julian-clarence-levi-dies-at-96-oldest-alumnus-of-columbia-u.html|access-date=February 18, 2022|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218112252/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/08/25/archives/julian-clarence-levi-dies-at-96-oldest-alumnus-of-columbia-u.html|url-status=live}}</ref> * Ira Levin, novelist<ref name="short-bernstein" /> * Elinor Lipman, novelist<ref>Alleman, Richard (2005) ''New York: the Movie Lover's Guide : the Ultimate Insider Tour of Movie New York''. New York: Broadway.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Kaufman|first=Joanne|date=November 2, 2012|title=Stargazing in the Elevator|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/realestate/in-new-york-stargazing-in-the-elevator.html|access-date=December 3, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112024709/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/realestate/in-new-york-stargazing-in-the-elevator.html|url-status=live}}</ref> * David Maupin, gallerist, art dealer<ref name="Brubach a059">{{cite web | last=Brubach | first=Holly | title=Inside a New York Family's Annabelle Selldorf-Designed Residence | website=Architectural Digest | date=2019-04-19 | url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/inside-a-new-york-familys-annabelle-selldorf-designed-residence | access-date=2026-05-13}}</ref> * Lorne Michaels, producer of ''Saturday Night Live''<ref>{{cite book | last1=Hill | first1=Doug | last2=Weingrad | first2=Jeff | title=Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live | publisher=Beech Tree Books | series=Beech Tree Books | year=1986 | isbn=978-0-688-05099-3| page=68}}</ref> * Sylvia Miles, actress<ref name="Brubach" /><ref name="faith" /> * Alice Nielsen, Broadway performer and opera singer<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /> * Robert Osborne, the host of Turner Classic Movies, moved into unit 3DA in 1988 and also owned units 1CB and 2DD until his death in 2017<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kaufman|first=Joanne|date=May 21, 2006|title=A Home Destined by the Stars|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/21/realestate/a-home-destined-by-the-stars.html|access-date=December 1, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> * Charles Osgood, newscaster<ref>{{Cite news|last=Pope-Chappell|first=Maya|date=June 29, 2011|title=Osgood Tries to Exit Osborne|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304447804576413894056094576.html|access-date=December 2, 2020|issn=0099-9660|archive-date=August 5, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805032839/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304447804576413894056094576.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Barbanel|first=Josh|date=April 24, 2009|title=12 Rooms; Stroll to CBS|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/realestate/26deal1.html|access-date=December 3, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126161748/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/realestate/26deal1.html|url-status=live}}</ref> * Tom Poston, actor<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref name="faith" /> * Joseph M. Proskauer, New York Supreme Court judge<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 8, 1940|title=Apartment Leased in Central Park West; Former Justice Proskauer Will Remain in the Osborne|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1940/03/08/archives/apartment-leased-in-central-park-west-former-justice-proskauer-will.html|access-date=December 2, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> * Lynn Redgrave, actress<ref name="Brubach" /> * John Coit Spooner, U.S. senator from Wisconsin, lived in the Osborne until his death in 1919<ref>{{Cite news|date=June 11, 1919|title=John C. Spooner Dies In City Home.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1919/06/11/archives/john-c-spooner-dies-in-city-home-former-united-states-senator-for.html|access-date=December 2, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=June 11, 1919|title=Senator Spooner|page=10|newspaper=Wisconsin State Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36190094/john_coit_spooner_18431919/|access-date=September 21, 2019|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=September 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921040411/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36190094/john_coit_spooner_18431919/|url-status=live}}</ref> * Bobby Short, singer, lived in unit 4B for fourteen years until 1986<ref name="short-bernstein" /> * Faith Stewart-Gordon, owner of the nearby Russian Tea Room restaurant<ref name="faith" /> * Larry Storch, actor, lived in unit 4B right after Bernstein moved out<ref name="short-bernstein" /> * Blanche Thebom, opera singer and director<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref name="faith" /> * Stefano Tonchi, journalist, curator, and consultant<ref name="Brubach a059"/> * Helen Traubel, opera singer, took a suite in the Osborne in 1940<ref>{{Cite news|date=May 23, 1940|title=Leasing of Suites Continues Active; Entire Floor of 12 Rooms in 620 Park Ave. Taken by Mrs. Egil Boeckman|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1940/05/23/archives/leasing-of-suites-continues-active-entire-floor-of-12-rooms-in-620.html|access-date=December 1, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> * André Watts, pianist<ref name="faith">{{cite book | last=Stewart-Gordon | first=Faith | title=The Russian Tea Room: A Love Story | publisher=Simon & Schuster | year=1999 | isbn=978-0-684-85981-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SPp8emHUvIcC | access-date=April 13, 2024 | archive-date=June 14, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220614131933/https://books.google.com/books?id=SPp8emHUvIcC | url-status=live }}</ref> * Maury Yeston, composer, lyricist, educator and musicologist<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Barron|first1=James|last2=Lee|first2=Linda|last3=Rashbaum|first3=William K.|date=March 8, 2002|title=Boldface Names|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/08/nyregion/boldface-names-962538.html|access-date=December 3, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=May 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527204520/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/08/nyregion/boldface-names-962538.html|url-status=live}}</ref> * Gig Young, American actor, briefly lived in unit 1BB before killing himself and his wife there in 1978<ref>{{cite news|date=October 20, 1978|title=Gig Young Kills Bride And Himself, Cops Say: Cops Say Actor Kills Wife, Self|page=1|work=Newsday|id={{ProQuest|963723152}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=October 20, 1978|title=Gig Young, wife found dead|page=1A|work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal|agency=Associated Press|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-f4hAAAAIBAJ&pg=1765%2C1323454}}</ref> >{{div col end}}

== Impact == === Reception === An unnamed critic for the ''New York Evening Post'' reviewed the design negatively, writing in 1884, "An attempt has been made by Mr. Jas. E. Ware to give variety to the immense number of windows in the eleven stories on the street fronts. For the fifteen stories in the rear [...] nothing can be done".<ref name="bc18840627" /> The critic particularly regarded the 6th- and 9th-story cornices as haphazard.<ref name="bc18840627" /> The next year, a critic for the ''Real Estate Record'' negatively regarded the design as "crude and unskillful", and wrote that "there is nothing architecturally interesting about the Osborne, except the grouping of the stories, and here and there some carving that is good in execution".<ref name="Alpern p. 29" /><ref>{{cite magazine|date=September 12, 1885|title=In West Fifty-Seventh Street|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031138_002&page=ldpd_7031138_002_00000283|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=35|pages=993|via=columbia.edu|number=913}}</ref> In 2020, ''The New York Times'' described the Osborne as "kind of grand but dour", as opposed to the "extravagantly ornate" Alwyn Court across the street.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kimmelman|first=Michael|date=September 16, 2020|title=Carnegie Hall and the Jewels of Midtown: Stroll the History|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/16/arts/design/carnegie-hall-lincoln-center-virtual-tour.html|access-date=December 2, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=December 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203125814/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/16/arts/design/carnegie-hall-lincoln-center-virtual-tour.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Other critics were more positive. Carter Horsley wrote for City Realty that "Perhaps more than any other building [...] this is a presence, a pile of architecture that manifests great power."<ref name="CityRealty" /> Roger Starr, writing for ''The New York Times'' in 1983, stated that the ornate lobby demonstrated that "even the most powerful families in the country can live well in apartments".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Starr|first=Roger|date=January 6, 1983|title=Apartment Lobbies: Chronicle of Taste|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/06/garden/apartment-lobbies-chronicle-of-taste.html|access-date=December 2, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=April 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404023512/http://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/06/garden/apartment-lobbies-chronicle-of-taste.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The ''St. Petersburg Times'' reported in 1988 that the "opulent interior" counterbalanced the "undistinguished exterior". According to the ''St. Petersburg Times'', tenants appreciated the building so much that they held parties to celebrate the anniversary of its completion.<ref name="spt19880110" /> Robert A. M. Stern wrote in his 1999 book ''New York 1880'' that the building was "the grandest of the apartment buildings south of Central Park and one of the city's incomparable monuments to shared domesticity".<ref name="Stern (1999) p. 559" />

===Landmark designations=== The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) first considered city-landmark status for the Osborne in 1966 and 1967.<ref name="NYCL7-Adams">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|p=7}}; {{harvnb|ps=.|Adams|1994}}</ref> The Osborne's co-op board withdrew the building's application for landmark status because of concerns that landmark status would entail additional regulation, given that modifications to city landmarks required LPC approval.<ref>{{Cite news|date=February 17, 1974|title=The Dakota Finds Repairs To a Landmark Are Costly|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/02/17/archives/the-dakota-finds-repairs-to-a-landmark-are-costly-the-dakota-finds.html|access-date=December 2, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=May 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511123832/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/02/17/archives/the-dakota-finds-repairs-to-a-landmark-are-costly-the-dakota-finds.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A second landmark hearing was held in 1980,<ref name="NYCL7-Adams"/> followed by a third such hearing in 1985.<ref name="NYCL7-Adams" /><ref name="nydn19850315">{{cite news|last=Shepard|first=Joan|date=March 15, 1985|title=Landmark Designation for B. Altman|page=1272|work=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64536359/|access-date=December 3, 2020|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> After a fourth set of hearings in 1989, the LPC ultimately designated the Osborne's exterior as a city landmark in 1991.<ref name="NYCL p. 1">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991|ps=.|p=1}}</ref> The Osborne was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.<ref name="nris">{{cite web|date=1993|title=National Register of Historic Places Weekly Lists for 1993|url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/weekly-list-1993-national-register-of-historic-places.pdf|access-date=March 8, 2020|publisher=Library of Congress|page=25|archive-date=December 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228214613/https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/weekly-list-1993-national-register-of-historic-places.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

As early as 1980, the lobby and foyer were also considered for interior-landmark status.<ref name="Rajamani 2016"/><ref name="Bindelglass 2015"/> During the 1985 hearing, the LPC had considered designating the lobby and foyer as an interior landmark. The LPC deferred a decision on the designation because the agency's rules mandated that interior landmarks had to be public spaces.<ref name=nyt19940728>{{Cite news|last=Adams|first=Michael|date=July 28, 1994|title=Polish My Lobby, Polish My Self|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/28/garden/polish-my-lobby-polish-my-self.html|access-date=December 2, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In late 2015, the LPC again hosted a public hearing on whether to designate the Osborne's lobby and foyer as a city landmark. The Victorian Society supported the proposed interior designation but, because the lobby and foyer were legally private interior spaces, Manhattan Community Board 5 and the New York Landmarks Conservancy opposed the designation.<ref name="Bindelglass 2015">{{Cite web|last=Bindelglass|first=Evan|date=November 9, 2015|title=42nd Street Theaters, Osborne Interior, More Round Out First Manhattan Landmarks Backlog Hearing|url=https://newyorkyimby.com/2015/11/42nd-street-theaters-osborne-interior-more-round-out-first-manhattan-landmarks-backlog-hearing.html|access-date=September 30, 2021|website=New York YIMBY|language=en-US|archive-date=September 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930182930/https://newyorkyimby.com/2015/11/42nd-street-theaters-osborne-interior-more-round-out-first-manhattan-landmarks-backlog-hearing.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This was part of a review of 95 listings that had been calendared by the LPC for several decades but never approved as city landmarks.<ref name="Rajamani 2016">{{cite web | last=Rajamani | first=Maya | title=7 Theaters Among Midtown and Hell's Kitchen Sites Up for Landmarking | website=DNAinfo New York | date=February 23, 2016 | url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160223/midtown/7-theaters-among-midtown-hells-kitchen-sites-up-for-landmarking | access-date=September 30, 2021 | archive-date=November 28, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128103935/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160223/midtown/7-theaters-among-midtown-hells-kitchen-sites-up-for-landmarking/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> The LPC rejected the interior-landmark designation in February 2016 because the interior was a private space.<ref>{{cite web | title=7 Theaters on 42nd Street Fail to Make Cut for Landmark Consideration | website=DNAinfo New York | first1=Maya | last1=Rajamani | first2=Emily | last2=Frost | date=February 23, 2016 | url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160223/midtown/7-theaters-on-42nd-street-fail-make-cut-for-landmark-consideration | access-date=September 30, 2021 | archive-date=November 29, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129201803/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160223/midtown/7-theaters-on-42nd-street-fail-make-cut-for-landmark-consideration/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>

== See also == * List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets * National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets

== References ==

=== Notes === {{Notelist}}

===Citations=== {{reflist}}

=== Sources === * {{Cite book |last=Alpern |first=Andrew |url=https://archive.org/details/luxuryapartmenth0000alpe|url-access=registration |title=Luxury Apartment Houses of Manhattan: An Illustrated History |date=1992 |publisher=Courier Corporation |isbn=978-0-486-27370-9 |language=en}} * {{cite book |last=Hawes |first=Elizabeth |title=New York, New York: How the Apartment House Transformed the Life of the City (1869-1930) |publisher=A.A. Knopf |series=A Borzoi book |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-394-55641-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/newyorknewyorkho0000hawe|url-access=registration}} * {{cite report |date=April 22, 1993 |title=Historic Structures Report: Osborne Apartments |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/93000333.pdf |publisher=National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service |ref={{harvid|National Park Service|1993}}}} * {{cite report |date=August 13, 1991 |title=Osborne Apartments |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1770.pdf |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |ref={{harvid|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1991}}}} * {{Stern: New York|edition=1880}}

== External links == {{commons category|Osborne Apartments}} * [http://www.cityrealty.com/sell/building.cr?bid=1850 The Osborne] at CityRealty * [http://www.nysonglines.com/7av.htm#58st The Osborne] on ''The New York Songlines''

{{Midtown North, Manhattan}} {{National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan|state=collapsed}} {{Portal bar|Architecture|National Register of Historic Places|New York City}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osborne, The}} Category:1885 in New York City Category:1885 establishments in New York (state) Category:57th Street (Manhattan) Category:Apartment buildings in New York City Category:Condominiums and housing cooperatives in Manhattan Category:Midtown Manhattan Category:New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Category:Renaissance Revival architecture in New York City Category:Residential buildings completed in 1885 Category:Residential buildings in Manhattan Category:Residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Category:Apartment buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Category:Seventh Avenue (Manhattan) Category:New York State Register of Historic Places in New York County Category:1880s architecture in the United States