480 Park Avenue: Before and After

The Entrance Hall of an apartment at 480 Park Avenue, New York City, after improvements by John Tackett Design and furnishings by Bunny Williams.

During my tenure at Parish-Hadley during the 1980s, there were many dozens of projects decorated by Bunny Williams where we worked as a team and I supplied the architectural services.  Such was the case for this project after we had each gone out on our own.


The old padding of the wall-to-wall carpet that had previously covered the terrazzo floor in the Entrance Hall. Photo:  Billy Cunningham for Architectural Digest.

John Tackett Design has the greatest appreciation for interior designers who understand and value good architecture, and there is no one today that excels in that category more than Bunny Williams.  She understands that a total package of good design requires more in her profession than just selling things.


The Living Room 'Before' improvements at 480 Park Avenue, New York City. Photo:  Billy Cunningham for Architectural Digest.

There was a construction boom in Manhattan during the second half of the 1920s with high-rise residential buildings making up the bulk of the activity.  Since profits could be higher in luxury construction, real estate investors sank their money into apartments and apartment-hotels that contributed to the trend that turned Manhattan into an enclave for the rich.  Park Avenue, with the railroad tracks sunk out of sight, became a prime area for these apartment buildings as new technology allowed relief from the vibration of the trains.


The Living Room 'After' renovation by John Tackett Design and furnishing by Bunny Williams. Photo:  Billy Cunningham for Architectural Digest.

Real estate developer Sam Minskoff had completed several projects with Emery Roth before commissioning him to design the luxury building at 480 Park Avenue.  Constructed 1928 to 1929 with an exterior skin of buff brick and limestone with cast terra-cotta ornament, the building is a prime example of the Renaissance Revival style so popular at the time.  The upper floors step back to allow light and air in addition to creating opportunities for terraces high above Park Avenue as well as East 58th Street.  Wood-burning fireplaces and relatively high ceilings were also featured.  The water tower is concealed in the form of a small but picturesque palazzo.  Although the larger apartments contain rooms for live-in staff, maid and butler services were originally available to all tenants, and meals could be taken in an elegant restaurant for the tenants.


Architect's rendering of 480 Park Avenue. Image from MANSIONS IN THE CLOUDS.

480 Park Avenue is a nineteen-story building with original apartment sizes ranging from three to thirteen rooms in both simplex and duplex plans.  Lucrative rental income from the ground floor and first floor allow relatively low maintenance rates for the apartments, now a co-operative building.


Another view of the Living Room 'After' improvements by John Tackett Design and furnishings by Bunny Williams. Photo:  Billy Cunningham for Architectural Digest.

For a Florida-based couple with two young daughters, the apartment at the southeast corner with two terraces, three bedrooms, and two maid's rooms that could be combined to create a guest room fit the bill.  But little had changed in terms of decoration in more than thirty years.


The original Dining Room was the largest room in the apartment, but it was featureless other than a pair of French doors to a small terrace. Photo:  Billy Cunningham for Architectural Digest.

Limited investigation by the owners before purchase revealed wood floors in bad shape under the old wall-to-wall carpet.  The Entrance Hall and Foyer (not shown in these photographs) had not been checked, however, and imagine the surprise when I pulled back a corner to reveal the terrazzo floor inlaid with a classic design with brass strips.  There was some damage around the perimeter where the "tackless" strips had been nailed into the floor, but that was repaired by a craftsman brought out of retirement by the general contractor for the project, Ron Metell. 


A bookcase cabinet that holds a TV was added to the original dining room along with pine paneling to create a Library. Architectural detailing by John Tackett Design, furnishings by Bunny Williams. Photo by Billy Cunningham for Architectural Digest.



The long blank wall of the original dining room is shown 'in progress' as the paneling by John Tackett Design is being installed. Fabrication by Craz Woodworking Associates, Inc. Photo by Billy Cunningham for Architectural Digest.



That same view of the original dining room 'After'.  Architectural detailing by John Tackett Design.  Furnishings by Bunny Williams. Photo by Billy Cunningham for Architectural Digest.

Most of the architectural improvements by John Tackett Design are not really evident in these photos published in the February, 1994, issue of Architectural Digest magazine.  An exception is the transformation of the original dining room, the largest room in the apartment.  The new out-of-town owners were looking forward to sampling the New York City restaurants when they visited and did not need a formal dining room, so this space was reinvented as a cozy Library with the addition of custom made pine paneling, expertly fabricated to my design by Peter Craz.  The true beauty of the wood and the excellent execution of the millwork are not fully evident in the photos, I must add.


The Master Bedroom 'Before'. Photo:  Billy Cunningham for Architectural Digest.

The Master Bedroom 'After'. Photo:  Billy Cunningham for Architectural Digest.

While all the bedrooms received improvements such as air-conditioning that allowed the window units to be removed, all the bathrooms were given a complete make-over (not shown in the published photographs).


The third bedroom 'Before'. Photo:  Billy Cunningham for Architectural Digest.



The third bedroom 'After'. Photo:  Billy Cunningham for Architectural Digest.

In the third bedroom, a pair of bookcases that had flanked a niche for the bed were removed, but the pair flanking the door (from the Entrance Hall) were retained and given some detailing.

In addition to the combining of staff rooms to create a Guest Room and bathroom, the old servant's hall was completely renovated to serve as a Breakfast Room (not shown in the published photographs) for the family and finished with custom glass-door cabinetry in the style of a 1920s pantry.  Also, improvements were made to update the kitchen.

To read more about the work of the building's original architect, see MANSIONS IN THE CLOUDS: THE SKYSCRAPER PALAZZI OF EMERY ROTH by Steven Ruttenbaum.  The archives of the firm were donated to Columbia University's Avery Library and the holdings of the files for this building may be viewed there by appointment.

To see more of the wonderful interior design by Bunny Williams, her charming store Treillage, Ltd., and her inspiring lines of furniture and home furnishings at Bunny Williams Home, click on her website bunnywilliams.com.

More examples of my work featured on earlier blog posts by be seen by clicking on John Tackett Design Portfolio under LABELS in the right hand margin of the web version of The Devoted Classicist.