10) 32 EAST 74TH STREET TOWNHOUSE
PRICE: 14,000,000
ARCHITECTURE OR ART? WILLIAM LESCAZE
Swiss-born American architect WILLIAM EDMOND LESCAZE (1896-1969) was a pioneer of modernism in American architecture.
Educated at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Zurich in Switzerland, he emigrated to the United States in 1920. He
worked at the architectural firm of Hubbell & Benes in Cleveland, Ohio, before setting up his own practice in New York
City in 1923
Lescaze was a proponent of the "International Style"
and wanted to invent a new architectural medium in which the interior spaces, furniture and even color choices of a building
were all molded by him into a unified whole, free of extraneous decoration.
Lescaze
was the first to use glass bricks in the United States when he built his own townhouse at 211 East 48 Street, designated a
landmark in 1976. The Department of Buildings took several months to see the merits of glass bricks and grant permission
for their use. Using glass bricks, each one a 5-inch square, he created "window walls" that brought light
to the interior, while keeping sound out, maintaining privacy, as well as creating a spectacular effect at night.
"I am convinced that civilization is the real aim of the human spirit and that the arts are a civilizing
force." In his use of different kinds of glass in his interiors, of pale woods, of soothing colors, he was trying
to avail himself of the benefits of all the arts, so that they would "come together as a whole."
For Lescaze, architecture was art - there was no separation - and in creating a building for his own time, he
made a building for all time.
Replacing a brownstone built in 1870 for prominent
developer Winters & Hunt, this townhouse was built in 1934 for department store executive and later United States Colonel,
Raymond C. Kramer (1901-1957). The design is similar to that of the Edward Norman House at 124 East 70th Street as well
as the landmarked Lescaze House at 211 East 48th Street, and was one of the finest examples of the concepts the architect
was developing and perfecting.
The Raymond C. Kramer House comprises approximately
6,800 square feet and offers the possibility of 6 bedrooms and 5 1/2 baths. Except for the front entrance, both the
front and rear walls on every level have 20 foot horizontal windows. The top floor, with soaring ceilings, culminates
in walls of glass both front and rear with a southern terrace. Different kinds of glass - clear, rippled, defused,
and glass bricks creating a kaleidoscope of color - from William Lescaze remain to flood the interior with direct and defused
light. Lescaze's original wooden shelves and storage features remain, a design concept executed by Lescaze to open the
space and minimize the need for furniture. This is a rare opportunity to acquire a townhouse with a truly unique vision
and execution.
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