Built 1915–16 Designated NYCL June 19, 1984 Added to NRHP 20 July 1989 | NRHP Reference # 89000946 Opened 1915 Architect Ogden Codman Jr. | |
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Location 15 East 96th Street
Manhattan, New York City Architectural style Renaissance Revival architecture Similar Edith Fabbri House, New York City Police Museum, Bryant Park, Marcus Garvey Park, William Tecumseh Sherman | ||
The Lucy Drexel Dahlgren House is a historic home located at 15 East 96th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues on the border between the Carnegie Hill and East Harlem neighborhoods of the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. It was built in 1915-16, and was designed by Ogden Codman, Jr. in the French Renaissance Revival stye for Lucy Wharton Drexel Dahlgren, a daughter of financier Joseph William Drexel and his wife Lucy Wharton Drexel.
The limestone house is a companion to Codman's own residence down the street at 7 East 96th Street, which he designed for himself and had built in 1912-13. The AIA Guide to New York City describes the Dahlgren house as "magisterial" and "disciplined." It features "gentle restications and bas-reliefs."
The extremely wealthy and socially prominent Dahlgren spent little time in the house. It was later occupied for many years by Pierre Cartier, the founder of the Cartier's jewelry store. Apparently, Dahlgren rented the house to Cartier from 1922 on, until she sold it to him in 1927. In 1945, on his retirement, Cartier sold the house to the Roman Catholic Church of St. Francis de Sales, which used it as a convent for the nuns who taught at the church's parochial school. In 1981 the church sold the house to a private owner, who restored it.
The house was designated a New York City Landmark in 1984, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. It is located within the Upper East Side Historic District.