Louis Sherry Restaurant, New York

The large plate-glass windows were planned to draw the attention of passersby to the elaborate displays of gourmet foods sold in what was called the "table luxury shop". Behind the store were a tea room and ice cream parlor and a balcony restaurant.

Louis Sherry Restaurant, New York                                                                              McKim, Mead & White, Architects

   New York Times March 21, 1928 - A two-story building to be occupied by Louis Sherry, Inc., will be erected by the Henry Phipps estate on its property at the north-east corner of Madison Avenue and East Sixty-second Street. McKim, Mead & White are the architects. The site has been leased by the restaurant concern for twenty-one years, at an aggregate rental of over $1,000,000. The plot fronts 60 feet on the avenue and 68 feet on the street, with an ell in the rear, comprising approximately 5,000 square feet. Douglas L. Elliman & Co. were the brokers.

   The main Sherry establishment is at 300 Park Avenue, between Forty-ninth and Fiftieth Streets. There are two shops on Fifth Avenue, at Fifty-eighth and Thirty-fifth Streets, and two branches in Paris, France, Sherry's is a subsidiary of the Boomer-Dupont Corporation, which owns the Waldorf-Astoria and other hotels.

Louis Sherry died aged 71 on the 9 June 1926 but his business and legacy carried on. Many unique items were sold such as cavier, olive oil, pate, coffee and foie gras. 
Louis Sherry Restaurant, New York                                                                              McKim, Mead & White, Architects

   New York Times April 18, 1937 -  The two-story building at the northeast corner of Madison Avenue and Sixty-second Street, formerly occupied by Sherry's, has been sold by the Henry Phipps Estates to an investor, it was announced yesterday. It is assessed at $445,000 and has been vacant for several years. The structure, which recently was involved in negotiations for a moving picture theatre, fronts 60.8 feet on the avenue and 68 feet on the street. It will be offered for rent for stores or restaurant purposes, according to Pease & Elliman, Inc., broker in the transaction.

   The Phipps interests bought the property in April, 1923, at which time it consisted of old remodeled dwellings. Louis Sherry, Inc., the famous restaurant, leased it in May, 1928, for twenty-one years and the present building was erected, at a cost of more than $150,000 from plans by McKim, Mead & White, architects. The George A. Fuller Company was the builder. Later this lease was canceled. 

   New York Times April 22, 1937 -  Porter's, a ladies' wearing apparel shop now at Broadway and Eighty-first  Street,  has  leased a large corner store and the entire second floor in the building at 691 Madison Avenue, northeast corner of Sixty-second Street, formerly Sherry's. The lease was arranged by Alfred N. Williams & Co., Inc., and Pease & Elliraan, Inc., and reveals Major Edward Bowes, radio entertainer, as the buyer of the property in a recent deal with the Phipps estate.

   Pease & Elliman, Inc., brokers in the recent sale to Major Bowes, said the building would be reconstructed, the proposed changes to feature a modern type of glass structural work. Plans for the alterations were drawn by Douglas P. Hall, architect, and the construction work will be done by the O'Day Construction Company. The reconstructed building will be air-conditioned.
   

Monthly rent is reputed to be $425,000.

   Called the "Matrons' Art Deco" and a Madison Avenue anachronism into the 1980's the building was taken over by The Limited, who added the greenhouse-like addition. In 2000 Hermès opened their flagship store HERE.

Upper East Side Historic District Designation Report - Erected in 1928 by McKim, Mead & White.

Style - stylized neo-Classical

Elements - Two-story commercial building; two-story shopfronts with glass block in second story windows; stone piers and bands between and above windows; band of gilded foliage above second floor windows; stylized carved baskets of fruit above gilded cornice.

Alterations - 1950 changed to stores and manufacturing use; new store front built by Oscar I. Silverstone for Morris and Henry Luskin.


History - Replaced three residences on Madison Avenue and one on 62nd Street. Originally built as a store and restaurant for Louis Sherry.

"FARNSWORTH" The Estate of Mr. C. K. G. Billings at Locust Valley, Long Island

  "FARNSWORTH" The Estate of Mr. C. K. G. Billings at Locust Valley, Long Island GUY LOWELL, ARCHITECT

 IN the estate of Mr. C. K. G. Billings is seen one of the most beautiful of the larger places on the North Shore of Long Island. This dignified house, which suggests in its design the best traditions of the Georgian period, stands midway between Oyster Bay and Piping Rock, commanding a distant view of Long Island Sound. Surrounding it are wooded stretches, lawns and gardens that are remarkable, not only for their beauty, but for the fact that they were brought to a state of completion in nine months after the ground had been broken to build the house. The house was also completed within this time—a remarkable achievement, for it gave no impression of the rapidity with which it had been constructed when it was first occupied in the summer of 1915. The red brick exterior, with its portico, cornice and trim of limestone, has great dignity and is in perfect harmony with its setting. 

Caen stone patio showing marble Cupid fountain by Bela Pratt

  In the interior of the house, the owner evidently wished to have expressed all of the out-of-door elements of country life, combined with a lived-in feeling, and this plan has been well carried out by the architect. As is often found in houses in southern countries, the various rooms are grouped around a central patio or court, with a loggia of goodly proportions at one end, used in this instance as a music-room. 

Loggia with Italian frescoed decorations opening of the patio

   This room, which is one of the most important in the house, is essentially Italian in the treatment of its frescoed sidewall decorations. The floor of the loggia is marble, and the room is so furnished as to lose none of its dignity and spaciousness. From the group of windows facing the north stretches out an expansive view of wooded land and in the distance the gray-blue waters of the Sound may be seen.

Hall and patio showing overdoors used as outlet for the music of the echo-organ

   
  The overdoor treatment in the loggia and patio is in a perforated, semicircular design, corresponding with the general scheme of decoration, and is used as an outlet for the music from the echo-organ, which is installed in an adjoining room especially built for this purpose. These overdoors are a distinct feature throughout the first floor of the house. 

   As in the loggia and terrace, the floor of the patio is of marble—of great beauty of color and veining. In the center of the patio stands a marble fountain, surmounted by a graceful figure of Cupid by Bela Pratt. Under the skylight, which covers the patio, draperies composed of different colored fabrics hang across the glass to soften the light that filters down upon the patio and adjoining loggia. These give a delightful effect of color.

Georgian living room, overlooking sunken gardens, with fireplace at each end

  
 Opening from the patio at the left is a long Georgian living-room with a fireplace at each end, which is intended for more informal use than the rooms just described. Adjoining this is the trophy room that was planned to hold the many valuable trophies which have been awarded to Mr. Billings as the breeder of fine horses. Through spacious windows, access is given to the broad porch overlooking the sunken gardens and pool.

A view from the covered porch looking toward the sunken gardens

  
 The outbuildings include a large stable, two garages and dwelling houses of consistent architecture for the various employees and the superintendent of the estate, likewise a central heating and lighting plant.

Click HERE for more on Billings and his Long Island Gold Coast mansion "Farnsworth".

The Long Island Residence of Ward Cheney at Peacock Point

    The Long Island residence of Ward Cheney at Peacock Point commands the open Sound—a distinctive modern plan of cinder blocks and railings painted gray and white.

   Above is shown the direct view of the principal bay and entrance from the garden. The walls are tinted a fresh pale blue-gray—trim and cast iron railings are in pure white. Striking in simplicity, the building is an original combination of the classical and modern styles.    

   Below, the furniture plan of the beige living room. Furniture by George Stacey. In the plan of the room, dining and lounging spaces have been successfully arranged for. A charming vista of the garden is seen through the doorway.

MONOTONE SCHEME IN BEIGE OVERLOOKING WATER AND GARDEN

OCTAGON LIVING ROOM ON DIRECT AXIS OF GARDEN AND WATER VIEW.
SPARKING REGENCY CRYSTAL WITH NEUTRAL WALLS AND FURNITURE. 
TAYLOR AND LOW, DECORATORS

   

WHITE, CRYSTAL AND SILVER, PAINTED FLOOR

   

The bedroom shown above makes delightful use of baroque details. There are silver commodes and Venetian mirrors in formal placement. Here white predominates. The floor is painted in gray with rococo borders in off-whites. Sharp accents in shrimp pink appear on the white antique satin upholstery. 

THE LONG ISLAND RESIDENCE OF WARD CHENEY AT PEACOCK POINT

THE LONG ISLAND RESIDENCE OF WARD CHENEY AT PEACOCK POINT

  
   THE drawings above show the unusual floor plans. The main rooms give immediate access to the water side. The isolated master bedroom, having the visibility of a lighthouse and roof terraces for sun bathing is of particular interest. The children's and service quarters are as far as possible separate entities. The site is the H. P. Davison estate, facing on the one side Mrs. Davison's beautiful garden to which approach was given on axis of the entrance, and on the opposite side Long Island Sound. The house takes full advantage of the splendid setting in its wide view of open water.

THE LONG ISLAND RESIDENCE OF WARD CHENEY AT PEACOCK POINT

THE LONG ISLAND RESIDENCE OF WARD CHENEY AT PEACOCK POINT

    Ward Cheney's family was prominent in the silk business. He married Frances Davison, daughter of banker Henry P. Davison.

wikimapia.org location. BING.

An Architects City Home - The Apartment of Thomas Hastings, Esq. on the Roof of a New York Office Building

THE IMPORTANT FEATURE IN THE PLAN OF THIS APARTMENT IS THE FIFTY-FOOT LIVING-ROOM BUILT IN STUDIO FASHION WITH OPEN CONSTRUCTION AND A WELL-SIMULATED BEAMED CEILING, ALTHOUGH BOTH ROOF AND WALLS ARE OF REINFORCED CONCRETE TO  COMPLY WITH THE   FIRE  LAWS. A DECORATIVE PIECE OF SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY FRENCH TAPESTRY HANGS ON THE SOUTH WALL HARMONIZING DELIGHTFULLY WITH AN ANCIENT NORMANDY WARDROBE OF THE SAME PERIOD, A CURIOUS OCTAGONAL TABLE OF ITALIAN DESIGN, AND CHAIRS OF PETIT POINT. CARVED-WOOD PANELS FLANK THE WINDOW GROUP. 

   A MAGNIFICENT HAND-CARVED AND GILDED ITALIAN FIREPLACE OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY FORMS ONE OF THE NOTABLE FEATURES OF THE LIVING-ROOM. ONCE THE PROPERTY OF STANFORD WHITE, IT CAME INTO THE POSSESSION OF MR. HASTINGS A DECADE AGO. OF IMPOSING DESIGN, IT FITS INTO THE SETTING TO FORM AN INTERESTING COMPOSITION IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE TWO EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY VENETIAN CHAIRS IN RICH UPHOLSTERY OF BLUE  AND GOLD STRIPED SATIN.

   ANOTHER CORNER OF THE LIVING-ROOM. THE WALLS OF SOFT GRAY STUCCO SERVE AS AN EXCELLENT BACKGROUND FOR THE OLD FRENCH TAPESTRY, WHILE STRIPS OF HAND-CARVED WOODWORK OF ANCIENT ITALIAN ORIGIN ARE INGENIOUSLY WROUGHT INTO THE DECORATIVE TREATMENT. THE ENTIRE ROOM IS FURNISHED WITH A RARE COLLECTION  OF ANTIQUES.

   IN THE TWENTY-BY-THIRTY-FOOT DINING-ROOM, PAINTED ENGLISH FURNITURE IS USED AND A CORNER CUPBOARD OF INTERESTING DESIGN IS PAINTED TO MATCH THE OTHER PIECES. THE GATE-LEGGED TABLES, SILVER LAMPS AND SIDE LIGHTS, DESIGNED WITH MIRROR REFLECTORS, ARE QUITE IN KEEPING WITH THE PERIOD AS ARE ALSO THE PUTTY-COLORED PANELED WALLS HUNG WITH FAMILY PORTRAITS.

Click THIS LINK for more on Hasting's apartment on the roof of 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, N. Y.

MISS MILLICENT ROGERS AT "BLACKPOINT"

MISS MILLICENT ROGERS
HARPER'S BAZAAR
1923

   
   Miss Rogers, who spent the early summer at Tuxedo, is now prominently identified with the social activities of Southampton, where her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Rogers, who have a beautiful estate with extensive gardens, delightfully adopted to entertaining.

  Who knew “Miss Moneybags” would have her own wikipedia site, her own museum, a book - Searching for Beauty - The Life of Millicent Rogers and was on the list for best dressed women in the world from 1940-1946.
 

MILLICENT ROGERS
Photograph by Horst P. Horst
 Vogue, February, 1949

    
  “Millicent was seductive beyond discipline.” - Diana Vreeland

  Overview of the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos, New Mexico.

   An interview with the author of Searching for Beauty - The Life of Millicent Rogers. 

   Open since June of this year an exhibit of her life can be seen at "Planting Fields", the Coe estate at Oyster Bay, New York. An overview of a  previous exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum from 2010 can be found HERE. 

Click THIS LINK to view all past post on "Blackpoint". Millicent Rogers at 21 Sutton Place, New York, N. Y.