Emery Roth’s Forgotten Art Deco Bronx Apartment Building

Architect Emery Roth designed some of the most famous apartment buildings in New York City. Roth’s Beresford, Eldorado, Normandy, and San Remo embody the Art Deco style that was favored between the world wars. While most of Roth’s oeuvre can be found in Manhattan, especially on the Upper West Side, one of his Art Deco gems can be found on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx.

The Grand Concourse, affectionately known as the Boulevard of Dreams, was completed in 1909 and was modeled on Paris’ Champs-Élysées. Although completed in 1909, it was take another two decades before most of the buildings alongside the street were completed. Many of the apartment buildings therefore feature the curved walls, streamlined form, and abstract decorative detailing characteristic of Art Deco and Art Moderne, and the Grand Concourse is one of the best places in New York City to see this architecture.

888 Grand Concourse, located the southeast corner of 161st Street, was constructed in 1937 and designed by Emery Roth. The six story apartment building contains rounded bays and a unique concave entrance vestibule with gold mosaic tiling. The real gem is the lobby, which retains its original Art Deco geometric compass pattern on the floor, centered around a back and gold modern art sculpture that likely once served as a fountain.

Next, check out 10 other beautiful apartment building entrances in the Bronx. Learn more about The San Remo and other NYC Buildings Inspired by Greek Architecture.