Building: 114 East 36th Street

114 East 36th Street is located between Park and Lexington Avenues on the south side of the street. This landmarked townhouse was built in 1856 as a 25-foot wide, 4-story row house. In 1900 it was converted to a 5-story neo-Georgian townhome by a successful Manhattan clothier and his wife, Elizabeth and William R. H. Martin. A new façade designed by architect Samuel Edson Gage, a prominent architect who also designed homes in the Upper East Side Historic District. His architectural design elements remain intact; limestone detailing, iron balconies and round dormer windows. The house has had several owners, the last of whom was Lanfear B. Norrie, a mining engineer who lived there until the 1970s. In the early 1980s the house was converted into a 6-unit cooperative. Today, there are 4 unit owners; a penthouse duplex with exclusive use of the roof, a full floor 2-bedroom residence on the 4th floor, second floor duplex, and a garden apartment with a separate entrance. The main entrance has an elevator servicing the 3 units. All the residences have spectacular garden views to the south and lovely street views to the North. From the penthouse you can see the Chrysler building to the North. The cooperative has a superintendent and property manager. There is storage in the basement for shareholders. The façade was chosen by New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, March 2004 as the designated property for the front cover of the new MURRAY HILL HISTORIC DISTRICT. In the 1860 Murray Hill was considered “fashionable” attracting notable war heroes, professionals and bankers. Murray Hill takes its name from Robert Murray and his wife Mary who created the “Murray Hill Restrictive Agreement” limiting development to brick or stone dwellings, churches and private stables. Today, Murray Hill is alive and well and fashionable again and attracting a new generation with its wine bars, restaurants and the flagship supermarket “Fairway”.

Description Provided by Mara Flash Blum