Building of the Day: 7200 Ridge Boulevard
The BOTD is a no-frills look at interesting structures of all types and from all neighborhoods. There will be old, new, important, forgotten, public, private, good and bad. Whatever strikes our fancy. We hope you enjoy. Address: 7200 Ridge Blvd, between 72nd and 73rd Streets Name: Flagg Court Neighborhood: Bay Ridge Year Built: 1933-1936 Architectural…
The BOTD is a no-frills look at interesting structures of all types and from all neighborhoods. There will be old, new, important, forgotten, public, private, good and bad. Whatever strikes our fancy. We hope you enjoy.
Address: 7200 Ridge Blvd, between 72nd and 73rd Streets
Name: Flagg Court
Neighborhood: Bay Ridge
Year Built: 1933-1936
Architectural Style: Moderne
Architect: Ernest Flagg
Landmarked: No
Ernest Flagg was one of the early 20th century’s pre-eminent architects. Born in 1857, he lived until the age of 90, dying in 1947. This apartment complex is his last major work, designed when he was 76.
It shows the innovation of a man who made his fame and fortune designing mostly Beaux-Arts style buildings for the industrialists and self-made men of the Gilded Age. A cousin by marriage to Cornelius Vanderbilt II, he received his formal education at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, sponsored by Vanderbilt.
Coming back to NYC, he opened a firm with several partners, and began designing the classically inspired buildings that brought him fame and fortune. Among them, the original St. Luke’s Hospital, two buildings and a mansion for Charles Scribner, book publisher, including the beautiful building at 597 5th Ave, between 48th and 49th St.
He designed the Corcoran Art Gallery in Washington, DC, and designed several important buildings for the Singer (sewing machine) family, including the Singer Building, now demolished, for a while the tallest building in the world, the Little Singer building, still on Broadway in Soho, and the Towers, a huge “castle” for the Singer family on an island in the St. Lawrence, one of the 1000 Islands.
Throughout his career, Flagg was an advocate for intelligent zoning restrictions. He believed that setbacks, and restrictions on height were necessary for light and air to reach all parts of a building.
This concept is most excellently illustrated in Flagg Court. The six contiguous buildings in the complex are grouped around a large central court, and every apartment’s large windows either face the street or the courtyard.
The apartment windows were designed with reversible fans under each window, and outside window shades that could be drawn against the heat, both long gone. He also designed the apartments with concrete ceiling slabs, now an everyday practice.
The complex also had an auditorium of vaulted concrete. Today, Flagg Court is a very successful co-op, and is still a beautiful example of intelligent urban multi-family living. Flagg’s principles have been copied in countless examples since, including in public housing, but these buildings, in spite of their density and repetition, maintain a lightness that public housing, in particular, does not share. Theories?
[Photos by Suzanne Spellen]
Sorry Brownstoner, Flagg Court might be a beautiful concept, but it is far from a “very successful co-op.” It is only about 30% sold, granted that is up from 10% when I began in real estate 6 years ago, and is far more successful as a rental. Try and get a bank to finance this building and you will find that most banks won’t touch it. I work rentals in this building, and it is super easy to rent, but not sales because I don’t want to take my clients to a teetering on the edge of death co-op … unless of course they have all cash and just want an investment.
Give it a rest, Big Jugs. I never featured more than one Crown Heights building per week. Never. Deal with it.
Wow! Another building not located in Crown Heights. Keep it going!
would be nice to see some old photos of the exterior – pre window replacement. Mopar, I bet you are right.
Window replacement probably ruined this building as it has so many countless other red brick apartment buildings in New York. I don’t know what the architect originally intended, but multi-panes black iron windows may have been a big part of the look.
BoD, yes the building is Co-op BUT there is a high percentage of apartments as rentals.
Every so often there is a burst of apts for sale by sponsor.
I’ll add that the entrances to the buildings are shabby and the corridors are bleak. When you see cinder blocks as wall, it’s kinda depressing. I really wish the public spaces were better cause some of the apts were nice.
I would also like to add, are we sure this complex is entirely Co-op? Recently when I was doing a apartment rental search in the area, there were MANY apts in Flagg Court listed as “vacant and available”…hmmmmm
My friend had an apt. on the top floor of this place. All I know is that for 1700 she had a nice 2 bedroom pre-war apt with harbor views. It had two balconies. On top of this the apt came with a parking spot and on site storage. There are also tennis courts which need re-surfacing.
When I visited her I thought that this complex has some potential if the owners wanted to fix it up. Then again if they did my friend would probably not be able to afford to live here.
Reminds me a bit of the Garden City type complex I grew up in- Hillside Homes- in the Bronx. But that was designed by Clarence Stein. Fascinating bit of history- especially that Flagg also designed the Corcoran.