9. Philip Johnson and other leading architects designed buildings in Turtle Bay
Throughout Turtle Bay are architectural anomalies that stand out from the rather ordinary brownstones and apartment buildings. The Rockefeller Guest House, which stands at just two stories, was designed by Philip Johnson, known for Connecticut’s Glass House, the two restaurants at the Seagram Building, and the Sculpture Garden of the Museum of Modern Art. It was constructed as a guest house for Blanchette Rockefeller, the wife of John D. Rockefeller III, with a first story of dark red brick and a second story of six glass panels divided by steel bars. The home originally hosted some functions of the Museum of Modern Art in its outdoor garden.
The four-story Lescaze House at 211 East 48th Street includes glass block windows and a white stucco facade, making it the first building in the city to employ such glass blocks. Its namesake architect, William Lescaze, also designed Manhattan’s Raymond C. and Mildred Kramer House and Manhattanville Houses. 219 East 49th Street, also known as the Morris B. Sanders Studio & Apartment, is another architectural gem with a dark blue brick facade and rectangular glass block windows providing insulation and privacy. The neighborhood also preserves older architecture, including the wooden rowhouses at 312 and 314 East 53rd Street dating back to 1865. Robert and James Cunningham designed the yellow, white, and black rowhouses, which are two of under a dozen on the East Side above 23rd Street. Residents have included New York City Ballet co-founder Lincoln Kirstein and literary critic Edmund Wilson.