Remember the Roaring Twenties. Imagine flapper dresses and jazz music. Now, fix your gaze on The Cornwall. This luxury residential cooperative whispers tales of a bygone era.
The Cornwall stands at 255 West 90th Street. It graces the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It is located on the northwest corner of Broadway and 90th Street. Neville and Bagge designed it. Arlington C. Hall and Harvey M. Hall developed it in 1909.
The Cornwall is a twelve-story brick and stone building. It is known for its elaborate balconies and window details. The AIA Guide to New York City called its ornate Art Nouveau cornice a terra-cotta diadem. This shows the importance of The Cornwall in the cityscape.
In 1991, owner-occupants invested 600,000 dollars. They replaced the cornice and balconies. They ensured the terra cotta replicas matched the originals. It was a grand effort.
The sinuous Art Nouveau style swept Europe as early as 1890. It became popular for jewelry and household items. It rarely appeared in Manhattan architecture, except at The Cornwall.
The Cornwall overflows with Art Nouveau motifs. Anthemion forms swirl above the tenth-floor openings. The sensational terra cotta cornice erupts in intertwining vines. They form open screens of budding flowers. The sight must have been beautiful.
Neville and Bagge designed The Cornwall with a U-shaped plan. It provided light and air. It also eliminated ugly interior light shafts. The Architects’ and Builders’ Magazine called it a street-opening court. It gave a more pleasing prospect for the apartment dweller.
The architects placed the entrance on West 90th Street. This afforded privacy to the residents. It also provided income-producing retail spaces on Broadway. A clever design helped The Cornwall thrive.
Apartments in The Cornwall ranged from seven to nine rooms. They included two to three bathrooms. Arlington C. Hall and Harvey M. Hall reserved apartments for their families. That showed how great living in The Cornwall was.
Early residents included William Irving Twombly. He invented new modes of transportation. He ran the Twombly Motors Co. His cars sold to upper-class customers. One 1910 Twombly model featured removable doors. The Twombly family certainly added to the building’s history.
Another early resident was Melvina Hammerstein. She was the wife of impresario Oscar Hammerstein. She obtained a divorce in June 1911. She died in her apartment in January 1912.
Another family living in The Cornwall had some domestic issues. Charles Mason Hall and his wife Ella Louise True moved into the building. However, he did not join them. Ella later explained that he had an infatuation for another woman.
The preservation of The Cornwall is remarkable. In 2013, John Ziegler moved out of his ninth-floor apartment. He had lived there since 1978. Mark Thompson, president and CEO of New York Times Company, bought it.
Mark Maurer, a Times columnist, noted the apartment had four sets of French doors. It also had a nonfunctioning gas fireplace and stained-glass windows. The remarkable state of preservation isn’t guaranteed. The Cornwall is not a designated landmark structure.
The Cornwall stands as a rare example of Art Nouveau Manhattan architecture. It is a gem worthy of landmark status. It stands as a testament to a gilded age. It is right here on the Upper West Side.