888 Grand Concourse

178 East 161st Street | also 888A Grand Conc, 172 East 161st Street, 180 East 161st Street | Concourse Village | built 1937

Open on the map3 entries

The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1937

    Emery Roth & Sons design an Art Deco apartment house at 888 Grand Concourse

    Emery Roth & Sons designed this Art Deco apartment house in 1937, the firm's work within the Grand Concourse Historic District. Roth, orphaned at 13 in Hungary and sent to America, had drafted for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago before designing the San Remo and Beresford on Central Park West. His son Richard joined the firm in 1932, and his son Julian later.

    “Within the Grand Concourse Historic District, Emery Roth & Sons designed the Art Deco style apartment building at 888 Grand Concourse.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  2. 1937

    Three rounded bays and a gold mosaic vestibule mark the corner of 888 Grand Concourse

    The corner of the building curves out in three rounded bays with rounded wrap-around windows, cast-stone surrounds rising from the second to the sixth floor and a stylized capital crowning the center bay. A circular metal canopy marks the corner, and the concave entry vestibule is lined with beige and gold mosaic tile, terrazzo floors and black granite. The Landmarks Preservation Commission called it a fine example of an Art Deco apartment house; the first owner was P. & A.D. Rubin, Inc.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  3. 1958

    A one-story store is built into the building's north light court

    Roth's apartment house had no shops when it opened. Around 1958 a one-story store was built inside the light court on the north side, and it was later enlarged and altered. The other storefronts were also added at some point after 1941, and awnings and commercial signs now line the ground floor.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

Nearby

All 85 buildings with stories in Concourse Village