‘Don’t Forget to Look Up!’: The Broadway You Haven’t Seen…Part 5, Lincoln Center to Columbia University

Picking up where I left off last week  at the Lincoln Center on ‘Don’t Forget to Look Up‘, I walked up the entire Upper West Side until I finally reached Columbia.    On the 2.7 mile stretch I was bombarded by beautiful building after beautiful building. As a result I had to be selective, so here are my top picks of the Upper West Side!

The first stop was 2014 Broadway for the intricate ornamentations climbing up the building:

2014 Broadway

The little balconies and pedimented windows on 2030 Broadway bring back some of the Italian inspiration to Broadway architecture.

2030 Broadway

The rather flamboyant Beaux Arts architecture of ‘The Dorilton’ by Janes & Leo is unmissable on the lower part of the Upper West Side.

The Dorilton, Janes & Leo

The Ansonia at 2101 Broadway built in the Beaux Arts style, was originally intended as a residential hotel at the turn of the last century (it was also the first hotel in the city to be airconditioned!) With the turrets, mansard roof and heavy ornamentations the building drew me to it from a mile away!

The Ansonia, 2109 Broadway, Paul E.M. Duboy

The entrance to the Ansonia from W73rd Street

The smiling face of this woman above the doorway of 2175 was an unobserved detail on the Upper West Side:

2175 Broadway

The corner of 79th and Broadway has this bizarre piece of architecture-The First Baptist Church…from afar one wonders is there a castle coming up? or some islamic architecture? Apparently it is based on biblical symbolism!

79th and Broadway-the First Baptist Church, George M. Keister

The façade of the small 2301 Broadway is covered in reliefs making it architecturally unique and eye catching:

2301 Broadway

Another small building is 2307 with the main feature of its façade being this tiny balcony with a coffered archway. Romeo & Juliet of New York?! Well it’s a few blocks up from the setting of West Side Story!

2307 Broadway

2420 Broadway looms tall and large over Broadway. The overhanging roof is what caught my eye, and standing below it I noticed how much detail the architect was able to work into it.

2420 Broadway

2447 Broadway literally appears ‘crowned’ by the decoration crowning its top.

2447 Broadway

The unique roof of 2518 Broadway is definitely eye catching and modern for the architecture below.

2518 Broadway

The architecture at 2660, 2720 and 2745 give a sample of how diverse, interesting and unique the architecture at the top of the buildings on the Upper West Side…at least along Broadway on the Upper West Side!

2660 Broadway

2720 Broadway

2745 Broadway

The details above a local deli at 2786 Broadway are definitely worth a look up with the details of shells, cherub heads and arches around the windows make grocery shopping all the more interesting.

2786 Broadway

The top of 2807 with its mansard roof has pedimented windows incorporated into it further draw your eyes up to the very top.

2807 Broadway

2841 Broadway was my final stop before finally reaching Columbia, again displaying those little details high above the Upper West Side stretch of Broadway.

2841 Broadway

 And finally reaching Columbia up in Morningside Heights even the architecture here watches the students passing by…

Stay tuned for the conclusion of ‘Don’t Forget to Look Up!‘