3. Normandy Apartments

OHNY Hudson River Architectural Tour NYC The Normandy apartments

Built in 1938 and designed by the esteemed architect Emery Roth, the Normandy is a great example of pre-War residential architecture. The Italian-inspired towers at the top of the building hide a pair of water tanks that supply the building with running water. At the time, the most valuable property in Manhattan was on Park Avenue, far from the noise and stench of the working waterfront, but the Normandy was built as a luxury apartment complex on Riverside Drive and attracted famous residents. Its name was supposedly taken from the French oceanliner, the SS Normandie, which was seized by the U.S. during WWII and sunk in the Hudson River.