Apartment Buildings at 131-135 East 66th Street and 130-134 East 67th Street

Two large apartment houses stand side by side near Lexington Avenue on Manhattan's Upper East Side, at 131-135 East 66th Street and 130-134 East 67th Street. Built in 1905 and 1907, both rise eleven stories, use U-shaped plans around small rear light courts, and follow the three-part layout of an Italian Renaissance palazzo, with a rusticated base and limestone upper floors. Charles A. Platt designed the 66th Street building, and Rossiter & Wright designed the 67th Street building, which closely echoes Platt's design. Developer William J. Taylor was a pioneer of cooperative apartment buildings, which encouraged higher design and construction standards than speculative rentals. The pair were influential in encouraging similar luxury apartment houses on the East Side. Early residents included Platt himself and the painter Kenyon Cox. Features include monumental cornices, Ionic and Greek-style entrance porticos, and duplex apartments, some with double-height windows. Most interiors have been modernized but retain their original layouts.