6. Turtle Bay Gardens is one of the smallest historic districts in NYC
As one of the city’s smallest historic districts, Turtle Bay Gardens consists of 20 rowhouses along 48th and 49th Streets between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. The rowhouses date back to the 1860s and were designed by Clarence Dean in the Italianate style. Most of the buildings are four stories and have rear attics, featuring cast-iron balconies, cartouches, and stucco detailing. The secluded rowhouses were designed such that their dining rooms faced the street and living rooms faced the interior, many of which face the center garden. The garden features a stone walkway and a fountain based on one at the Villa Medici.
The close-knit historic district has attracted many famous residents over the years. Katharine Hepburn and Ruth Gordon lived in one of the homes after 1918 renovations by Charlotte Hunnewell Sorchan. Conductor Leopold Stokowski, who appeared in the film Fantasia, also lived here, as did Henry Luce, founder of Time, Fortune, and Life. E. B. White notably wrote Charlotte’s Web while living on East 48th Street, while composer Stephen Sondheim and actress Mary-Kate Olsen have also called the buildings home.