{"nrhp_refnum":"05000167","name":"Building at 304 Park Avenue South","other_names":["Building at 44 East 23rd Street"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"304 Park Ave. S","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.740156153000044,"lon":-73.98691085199994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-03-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An 11-story office building at the southwest corner of Park Avenue South and East 23rd Street in Manhattan, built in 1903-04 as 44 East 23rd Street, with two rooftop penthouse additions from 1916 and 1925-26.","why_significant":"The nomination argues significance under three criteria. The 1925-26 penthouse \"Tiger Room\" was a political retreat for Governor Al Smith and Tammany Hall figures, built by contractor William F. Kenny. The 1916 penthouse was the studio of muralist Jules Guérin, who painted the Lincoln Memorial murals there. The building is also a largely intact office design by Clinton & Russell.","narrative":"Rising eleven stories at the southwest corner of Park Avenue South and East 23rd Street, this office building was constructed in 1903-04 as a speculative venture of the U.S. Realty and Construction Company. Clinton & Russell designed it in brick, stone and terra cotta, using an Italian Renaissance base-shaft-capital arrangement with heavy rustication, decorative swags and an ornate cornice. Two rooftop additions give it added importance. In 1916 a two-story penthouse was built as a studio for painter Jules Guérin, who created the large Lincoln Memorial murals there and kept the space until his death in 1946. In 1925-26 contractor William F. Kenny added the Tiger Room, a private gathering place for Governor Al Smith, Tammany Hall politicians and businessmen, where campaign financing was arranged. Its paneling, fireplace and vaulted ceiling remain largely original. The exterior survives largely intact, while interior office floors and the lobby have been updated.","period_of_significance":"1903-04; 1916-1946","architect_builder":"Clinton & Russell; Starrett & Van Vleck","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Italian Renaissance","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Still in commercial office use. Office floors and lobby have been updated, the exterior survives largely intact, and the Tiger Room survives remarkably intact though its tiger ornaments are gone.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:54.079518-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/05000167.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000167/9d8d58f386-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000167/9d8d58f386-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Americasroof at English Wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:304park-south.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Americasroof at English Wikipedia</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:304park-south.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319327","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5484279"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/building-at-304-park-avenue-south-05000167/"}