Historic NYC Buildings: Landmarks to Know and Their Stories

By Solomon Rokowsky

A guide to the historic buildings of New York City, from Manhattan skyscrapers and landmark hotels to colonial houses in the Bronx and Staten Island. Each building has its own article covering who built it, how it changed and who owns it today, with sources and credited photos. Use this page to find the landmarks to see, or to start research on New York City architecture history.

Manhattan

The Ansonia: A Soundproof Home for Musicians on Broadway - Solomon Rokowsky traces the Ansonia, W.E.D. Stokes's 1904 Beaux-Arts apartment hotel with a rooftop farm, thick walls and a famous basement, now a condominium.
The Apollo Theater: From Harlem Burlesque House to Black Music’s Great Stage - How George Keister’s 1914 burlesque theater became the Apollo, the Harlem stage that shaped Black American popular music, and who runs it today.
Carnegie Hall: The Concert Hall New York Almost Tore Down - Solomon Rokowsky traces Carnegie Hall, from Andrew Carnegie and Walter Damrosch's 1891 Music Hall to Isaac Stern's 1960 rescue and city ownership today.
The Chrysler Building: A Machine-Age Crown for Midtown - Solomon Rokowsky explores the Chrysler Building's Art Deco design, race for height, stainless-steel crown, and place in New York history.
Cooper Union's Foundation Building: The Free School That Pointed Toward the Skyscraper - Solomon Rokowsky traces Cooper Union's Foundation Building, from Peter Cooper's wrought-iron beams and Lincoln's 1860 speech to the free school that still owns it.
The Dakota: The Upper West Side Apartment House That Came First - Solomon Rokowsky traces the Dakota at 1 West 72nd Street, from Edward Clark's 1880s gamble on Central Park West to its tenant buyout and co-op life today.
The Empire State Building: A Depression-Era Gamble That Became a Symbol - Solomon Rokowsky traces the Empire State Building, from the Waldorf-Astoria site and Al Smith's leadership to its record height, lean years and 1945 crash.
Federal Hall: The Greek Revival Custom House on Washington’s Inaugural Site - How Town & Davis’s Greek Revival Custom House replaced the building where Washington took his oath, and how it became a National Park Service memorial.
The Flatiron Building: How an Awkward Plot Became a New York Landmark - Solomon Rokowsky traces the Flatiron Building's history, architecture, steel frame, and place in New York City culture.
Fraunces Tavern: The Lower Manhattan House Where Washington Said Farewell - The story of Fraunces Tavern, from Etienne De Lancey’s 1719 house to Washington’s 1783 farewell and the Sons of the Revolution’s 1907 restoration.
Grand Central Terminal: How an Electric Railroad Built a Midtown Monument - Solomon Rokowsky traces Grand Central Terminal, from the Vanderbilt depot and William Wilgus's electric plan to the landmark fight and MTA ownership today.
The Hotel Chelsea: From Victorian Cooperative to Artists’ Landmark - How Hubert, Pirsson & Co.’s 1884 cooperative apartment house became the Hotel Chelsea, home to writers and artists, and what its owners have done since.
Jefferson Market Courthouse: The Village Gem That Became a Library - Solomon Rokowsky traces Jefferson Market Courthouse, from a Tweed-era scandal and Frederick Withers's Victorian Gothic design to its rescue as a beloved public library.
The Manhattan Municipal Building: A Skyscraper Built for City Hall - How William M. Kendall gave New York a monumental government building with a street beneath it, a subway station at its base, and Civic Fame above.
The Morris-Jumel Mansion: Manhattan’s Oldest House, from Washington’s Headquarters to City Museum - How Roger Morris’s 1765 country house became Washington’s headquarters, Eliza Jumel’s home and a city-owned museum, and who runs it today.
The New York Life Building: Cass Gilbert’s Gold-Crowned Tower - The story of 51 Madison Avenue: two Madison Square Gardens, Cass Gilbert’s insurance skyscraper, and the gold-toned roof above the park.
The New York Public Library: A Marble Palace on an Old Reservoir - Solomon Rokowsky traces the New York Public Library's Fifth Avenue building, from the Croton Reservoir site and Carrère & Hastings to its lions and owners.
The Plaza Hotel: A French Chateau Beside Central Park - Solomon Rokowsky traces the Plaza Hotel, from Henry Hardenbergh's 1907 chateau on Grand Army Plaza to Donald Trump, the condo conversion and Qatari ownership today.
The Puck Building: How a Satirical Magazine Built a NoHo Landmark - Solomon Rokowsky traces the Puck Building, from Joseph Keppler's color-cartoon weekly and Albert Wagner's brick arches to Kushner ownership and NYU today.
Radio City Music Hall: How a Failed Opera House Became the Showplace of the Nation - How the Metropolitan Opera’s abandoned site became Rockefeller Center’s Radio City Music Hall, the 1978 fight that saved its interior, and who holds the lease.
The St. Regis New York: John Jacob Astor’s Fifth Avenue Hotel - The St. Regis New York, from John Jacob Astor and Trowbridge & Livingston to its 1927 expansion and the hotel’s present owner.
The Tweed Courthouse: How a Palace of Graft Became a Civic Treasure - Solomon Rokowsky traces the Tweed Courthouse, from Boss Tweed's nine-million-dollar swindle and its 20-year construction to the restored home of the Department of Education.
The Woolworth Building: A Five-and-Dime Fortune Becomes a Skyscraper - Solomon Rokowsky traces the Woolworth Building, from Frank Woolworth's race for height and Cass Gilbert's Gothic tower to its condos and offices today.

The Bronx

Poe Cottage: A Small Bronx House at the End of a Literary Life - The modest Bronx farmhouse where Edgar Allan Poe spent his final New York years, and how it survived through relocation and preservation.
Van Cortlandt House: The Bronx’s Oldest House and the Labor Behind It - The Bronx’s oldest house, its Georgian architecture, Revolutionary War history, and the enslaved labor behind the estate.

Brooklyn

Brooklyn Army Terminal: A Concrete Machine for Moving a Nation - Cass Gilbert’s vast Sunset Park terminal, from military logistics and wartime embarkation to today’s industrial, office, studio, and service uses.
The Philip Howard Apartments: A Vertical Neighborhood on Flatbush Avenue - Solomon Rokowsky traces the Philip Howard Apartments at 1655 Flatbush Avenue, from its 1960s development to life in the building today.

Queens

The New York State Pavilion: Queens’ Space-Age Ruin Moves Toward Renewal - Solomon Rokowsky traces the New York State Pavilion from the 1964 World's Fair through decades of decline and its ongoing Queens restoration.
The TWA Flight Center: When an Airport Learned to Fly - Solomon Rokowsky explores Eero Saarinen's TWA Flight Center, its expressive design, airline-age history, preservation, and reuse as the TWA Hotel.

Staten Island

Conference House: The Staten Island Manor Where Peace Talks Failed - The seventeenth-century Staten Island manor where British and American delegates held failed peace talks in September 1776.
Sailors’ Snug Harbor: From Mariners’ Home to Staten Island Cultural Campus - How a home for retired mariners became Staten Island’s landmark cultural campus, from its Greek Revival row to its preservation and reuse.

Visit these NYC landmarks

These buildings from the list have public areas, museums or tours. Each article has a Visiting section with the address and what the official source says about access. Hours change, so check before you go.