West 76th Street Historic District
Why it's listed
West 76th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue holds forty-four row houses erected between 1887 and 1900 on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Speculative builders were drawn to the area in the 1880s as demand for housing grew while the East Side filled in. The earliest rows, put up in 1887-89 for Leonard Beeckman to designs by George M. Walgrove, are brownstones mixing neo-Grec and neo-Italian Renaissance details. Later rows by Cornelius W. Luyster, designed by John H. Duncan, and by James Carlew, designed by Cleverdon & Putzel, show Beaux-Arts and French Renaissance influence. Facades differ in detail and material, yet consistent setbacks, dimensions and general form give the block a unified, dignified character. Built as single-family homes, all the houses have since been divided into apartments, and the form notes no intrusions. The block is listed as a cohesive example of late nineteenth century row house development in the city.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents the block as a quiet, homogeneous streetscape with uniform setbacks, dimensions and configurations, despite varied facades in late nineteenth century styles. The rows were designed by architects such as John H. Duncan, Cleverdon & Putzel, Schickel & Ditmars, G.A. Schillinger and George M. Walgrove, and built by speculative builders. The district reflects the Upper West Side's growth into a dignified upper middle class neighborhood.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 80002728, listed July 24, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | W. 76th St., New York |
|---|---|
| County | Manhattan |
| Listed | July 24, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80002728 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Architects John H. Duncan, Cleverdon & Putzel, Schickel & Ditmars, G.A. Schillinger, George M. Walgrove; builders Cornelius W. Luyster, James Carlew, Alfred G. Nason, Leonard Beeckman (developer) |
| Architectural style | Late nineteenth century styles including Beaux-Arts, French Renaissance, neo-Italian Renaissance, French neo-Grec, Romanesque Revival and Queen Anne |
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition marked good and altered; the row houses were originally single-family homes and have all been divided into apartments. The form reports no intrusions. |
| Acreage | 1.5 |
| Coordinates | 40.77931, -73.97558 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 80002728.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.