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Monday, September 28, 2009

Elegant Living on the Upper East Side

East 64th Street, NYC
Photo by myself on the Upper East Side, at 84th Street and Park Avenue.

Some of the townhouses in this area are just to die for. Limestone facades, cast iron balcony railings and beautiful details make these townhouses precious to the eye.

The buildings on Park and Fifth Avenue are similarly detailed, though for apartment buildings at a much larger scale.

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This weekend, Mark and I went to our fourth wedding of the summer. We are all wedding'ed out!

The reception was held in a gorgeous townhouse on the Upper East Side, called the Harold Pratt House, partially shown in the photo above with the arched windows. Originally a private residence built in the beginning of the 20th Century, the building is now the headquarters for the Council for Foreign Relations.

East 64th Street, NYC

It's hard to believe that a family once lived in the townhouse, which has a paneled library, curving staircase and polished stone floors. It was donated by Mrs. Harold Irving Pratt to the Council of Foreign Relations after a period of disrepair.

The location was a perfect choice for an elegant reception. With the rooms filled with guests in fancy attire, it was easy to imagine the building in its heyday. Mark and I drank much too much and spent the entire day Sunday nursing our hangovers.

To see photos of the interior and read more about the history of the building, click here.

Related posts: Taking a Break at the Statue of Liberty, Union Square in Black and White and The View of Liberty.

7 comments:

Olivier said...

surprenant ce personnage au milieu de la photo, il pose, j'aurais bien vu du mouvement flou derrière lui.

Anonymous said...

Very nice photos. I like the black and white for these two.

Lily Hydrangea said...

i love how the two men who are facing you look entranced.

Washington Cesar Takeuchi said...

Hi Kitty.
Nice photos of a place that seems to be made for wealthy people.
Is this mainly a residential area?

Kitty said...

Thanks everyone!

Washington, this area is a mix of building types. On the sidestreets there are some restaurant on the ground floor (not many) but most are residences.

The main streets vary. Madison Avenue has a wealth of very very fancy stores - Barney's, Armani and many boutiques.

Park Avenue has large apartment buildings and no stores whatsoever. There is a median strip down the street which is planted with flowers and trees. Fifth Avenue, which runs alongside Central Park, is also fully residential. Some major museums are located there.

The Upper East Side is huge, spanning from 59th Street to above 110th Street. The area below 72nd Street and north of 59th Street, west of Park Avenue, is extremely fancy and primarily residential, except for Madison Avenue.

Luis Gomez said...

Great photo. So telling. Architecture, people. Thanks for describing it.

Terry at Blue Kitchen said...

Not sure why, Kitty, but these shots and this story have me totally jonesing for New York.