Behind the Knights at 36 Gramercy Park East
The Gramercy Park Block Association recently featured 36 Gramercy Park East, offering a fascinating look at the history behind one of the neighborhood's most distinctive buildings—and the restoration work that helped preserve its extraordinary terra-cotta façade.
Completed in 1910 and designed by architect James Riely Gordon, the Gothic-inspired building is distinguished by pointed arches, shields, sculptural ornament, and the pair of armored knights that guard its entrance. Look more closely and there is even more to discover: more than 120 putti among the terra-cotta figures decorating the street façade.
CTA led a major restoration of the building, beginning with a detailed investigation of its extensive terra-cotta exterior. Individual units were surveyed, sounded with a mason's hammer, and numbered to document their condition. Ultimately, thousands of terra-cotta pieces were repaired, reset, or reproduced.
Historic research played an important role in accurately recreating the building's elaborate ornament. Original drawings by Gordon, along with modern scanning and photographic measurement techniques, helped guide the fabrication of replacement pieces.
The restoration received a 2016 Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award from the New York Landmarks Conservancy.
The Gramercy Park Block Association's story goes well beyond the restoration, exploring the building's unusual beginnings as the Gramercy Park Club House, its remarkably modern amenities for 1910, and some of the notable New Yorkers who once called it home.