River House (New York City)

Apartment building in Manhattan, New York

River House

General information
Type| Housing cooperative
Architectural style| Art Deco
Address| 435 East 52nd Street
Town or city| New York, NY
Country| US
Coordinates| 40°45′17″N 73°57′47″W﻿ / ﻿40.754613°N 73.963000°W﻿ / 40.754613; -73.963000
Construction started| 1930
Completed| 1931
Technical details
Floor count| 26
Design and construction
Architecture firm| Bottomley, Wagner & White[1]

River House is a co-op apartment building located at 435 East 52nd Street in Manhattan, New York City.[2]

## History[edit]

The 26-story River House was constructed in 1931 on the site of a former cigar factory and designed by William Lawrence Bottomley in the Art Deco style.[3][4][5] Designed for cooperative ownership, the building featured 78 apartments with 12 rooms, 6 baths, and two fireplaces.[6] Originally, the building featured a pier where residents could dock their yachts, but that amenity was lost with the construction of the FDR Drive. The building has a gated cobblestone courtyard featuring a fountain.[3]

During the Great Depression, residents defaulted on mortgage interest payments and the court ruled the property could be sold as a foreclosure in 1941.[7] In 1948, the building was bought by Tishman Realty & Construction who wanted to split the suites into 170 smaller apartments.[8] Tenants opposed the renovations and sought legal counsel to retain their apartments intact.[9]

Historically, the co-op board was notorious for turning away applicants who failed to meet strict liquidity requirements or those whose "comings and goings would attract unwelcome publicity to the River House". Famously, Gloria Vanderbilt was rejected by the board in 1980.[3] She accused the board of racism (she was in a relationship with African-American singer Bobby Short), while the board claimed she had been rejected on her merits.[10] Other celebrities alleged to have been rejected by the board include Richard Nixon, Joan Crawford, Diane Keaton,[3][10] and in 2014, the French Ambassador to the United Nations, François Delattre.[11][12]

## The River Club[edit]

Parts of the lower levels of the building are leased to the River Club, a private club that counts slightly more than half of the building's shareholders among its 900 or so members.[3][5] It was the first social club with well-known members to accept both men and women. It featured a swimming pool, a terrace overlooking the East River, tennis courts, and a ballroom.[6]

As of 2013[update] the members, who include David H. Koch and Aerin Lauder, pay approximately $10,000 in annual membership fees. The club includes a restaurant, an indoor pool and tennis courts.[3]

After several years of negotiations where the club attempted to negotiate the purchase of its space, the co-op board listed the club's space for sale as a private residence. Featuring approximately 62,000 square feet (5,800 m2), five floors and a private entrance, the board set an asking price of $130 million. If the asking price is met, it would be Manhattan's most expensive residence.[5]

## Notable residents[edit]

* Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, businessman, film producer, philanthropist, polo player, government official, and owner of thoroughbred racehorses.[13]
* Edwin Howard Armstrong, inventor of FM radio[2]
* Helen Bonfils and George Somnes, Broadway producers[14]
* Catherine "Deeda" (Gerlach) Blair, wife of ambassador William McCormick Blair, Jr.[3]
* Donald M. Blinken, ambassador[3]
* Philip Bobbitt, author, academic[15]
* Barbara Taylor Bradford, author[3]
* Ferdinand Eberstadt, investment banker[6]
* Greta Garbo, Actress
* Walter Hoving, businessman and former chairman of Tiffany & Co.[6]
* Henry Kissinger, United States Secretary of State[3]
* Isabel Leighton, actress and writer[16]
* Joshua Logan, writer and director[10]
* Malcolm Muir, magazine industrialist[6]
* Alexandra Penney, author and magazine editor[3]
* Holly Peterson, author[3]
* Peter George Peterson, businessman and United States Secretary of Commerce[3]
* Kermit Roosevelt, explorer and son of Theodore Roosevelt[3]
* Robert Rosenkranz[citation needed]
* Quentin Reynolds, journalist[6]
* Uma Thurman, actress[3]
* Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, businessman[17]
* William Roberston Coe, businessman[18]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "William L. Bottomley (1883-1951)". Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library. Columbia University Libraries. Archived from the original on May 10, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
2. ^ a b Adams, Michael Henry (November 11, 2009). "Great Houses of New York: River House, the Best Address, Part IV". The Huffington Post. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Bernstein, Jacob (November 6, 2013). "Roiling the Waters at River House". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
4. ^ Rubinstein, Dana (March 24, 2010). "The Has-Been". Observer. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
5. ^ a b c Barbanel, Josh (September 26, 2013). "A View and a Price, Both Astounding". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
6. ^ a b c d e f "River House: An Intimate Co-op With 18-Room Flats" (PDF). The New York Times. May 15, 1966. p. 90\. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
7. ^ "River House Sale Ordered by Court; Foreclosure of Big East Side House and River Club to Follow Mortgage Default" (PDF). The New York Times. July 15, 1941. p. 35\. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
8. ^ "Luxury Dwellers Face Moving Crisis; River House Sold, Buyers Set to Split Up 79 Apartments to Double the Capacity" (PDF). The New York Times. May 28, 1948. p. 25\. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
9. ^ "River House Tenants Organize to Oppose Eviction From Their Luxury Apartments" (PDF). The New York Times. May 29, 1948. p. 17\. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
10. ^ a b c Burns, Cherie (June 9, 1980). "Gloria Vanderbilt Charges Bigotry, but a Co-Op Says She Was Snubbed on Her Merits". People. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
11. ^ Barbanel, Josh (July 24, 2014). "Manhattan Co-op Review Foils French Buying Bid". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
12. ^ Roseberg, Zoe (July 24, 2014). "River House Co-Op Review Upends Sale of Sad Pad to France". Curbed New York. Vox Media. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
13. ^ Hellman, Geoffrey T. (June 13, 1941). "The Man Who Is Not His Cousin". The New Yorker. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
14. ^ Riley, Marilyn Griggs (2006). High Altitude Attitudes: Six Savvy Colorado Women. Big Earth Publishing. ISBN 1555663753.
15. ^ Rosenblum, Constance (January 24, 2014). "Co-ops Chill, Condos Don't". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
16. ^ "Isabel's Divine Party for 'Only You, Dick Daring'". Daily News. October 7, 1964. p. 20. Retrieved January 12, 2022 - via newspapers.com.
17. ^ Kruk, Marynia (February 25, 2016). "Board approved: Who are the distinguished residents of River House?". Luxury Listings NYC. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
18. ^ ""William R. Coe, 85, Sportsman, Dead"". The New York Times. March 16, 1955. p. 30. Retrieved November 30, 2023.

* v
* t
* e

East Midtown (34th–59th Sts, east of Lexington Ave) and Turtle Bay

Manhattan, New York City

Buildings

| 34th–42nd Sts|

* 146 East 38th Street
* 152 East 38th Street
* 333 East 38th Street
* Allerton 39th Street House
* Civic Club / Estonian House
* The Copper
* The Corinthian
* Daily News Building
* George S. Bowdoin Stable
* Jonathan W. Allen Stable
* Kips Bay Brewing Company
* Manhattan Place
* Socony–Mobil Building
* Tudor City

|

42nd–51st Sts|

* 50 United Nations Plaza
* 219 East 49th Street
* Amster Yard
* Beaux-Arts Apartments
* Beekman Tower
* Edgar J. Kaufmann Conference Center
* Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice
* Lescaze House
* Luxembourg House
* One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza
* Trump World Tower
* Tudor City
* Turkish House
* Turtle Bay Gardens
* United Nations headquarters
* Dag Hammarskjöld Library
* Conference Building
* General Assembly Building
* Secretariat Building

51st–59th Sts|

* One Sutton Place South
* 23 Beekman Place
* 252 East 57th Street
* 300 East 57th Street
* 303 East 51st Street
* 312 and 314 East 53rd Street
* 599 Lexington Avenue
* 731 Lexington Avenue
* 919 Third Avenue
* Citigroup Center
* Lipstick Building
* Modulightor Building
* River House
* Rockefeller Guest House
* The Sovereign

Former|

* East Side Airline Terminal
* Kips Bay Generating Station
* Waterside Generating Station

Culture

| Shops, restaurants, nightlife|

* Mischa
* P. J. Clarke's
* Sarge's Deli
* Shun Lee Palace
* Sparks Steak House
* Sushi Amane
* Sushi Yasuda
* Tempura Matsui
* Townhouse Bar

|

Museums/venues|

* The ImaginAsian
* Japan Society
* Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre
* Trygve Lie Gallery

Hotels|

* DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Metropolitan New York City
* Millennium Hilton New York One UN Plaza
* The Westin New York Grand Central Hotel

Former|

* Café Nicholson
* Caesar's Retreat
* Christ Cella
* Cloud Club
* Convivio
* El Morocco
* The Embers
* Lafayette
* Le Cirque
* Le Club
* Lutèce
* Murray Hill Theatre
* Museum of the Peaceful Arts
* Tulsi
* Vong

Other points of interest

| Green spaces|

* Amster Yard
* Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza
* East River Greenway
* Greenacre Park
* MacArthur Playground
* Peter Detmold Park
* Ralph Bunche Park
* Robert Moses Playground
* St. Vartan Park
* Trygve Lie Plaza

|

Education|

* Cathedral High School
* High School of Art and Design
* Lyceum Kennedy International School
* P.S. 135
* Stern College for Women

Religion|

* Church Center for the United Nations
* Church of the Covenant
* Church of the Holy Family
* St. Agnes Church
* St. Boniface Church
* St. Gabriel Church
* St. John the Evangelist Church
* St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral
* Sutton Place Synagogue

Transportation

| Subway stations|

* Grand Central–42nd Street
* Lexington Avenue/51st Street
* Lexington Avenue/59th Street

|

Railroad, ferry|

* Grand Central Madison
* Grand Central Terminal
* East 34th Street Ferry Landing

Streets|

* First Avenue
* Second Avenue
* Third Avenue
* 34th Street
* 42nd
* 47th
* 50th
* 51st
* 52nd
* 53rd
* 54th
* 55th
* 57th
* 59th
* Beekman Place
* Lexington Avenue
* Sutton Place

Related topics

* Murray Hill
* Sniffen Court Historic District

See also: Manhattan Community Board 6
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