Hudson View Gardens is a cooperative apartment complex located at 116 Pinehurst Avenue in the Hudson Heights neighborhood of the Washington Heights section of the New York City borough of Manhattan, overlooking the Hudson River to the west and Bennett Park, Manhattan's highest natural point, to the east. The complex was constructed as a housing cooperative from 1923 to 1925.
At a time when some believed that only the wealthy or poor could afford to live in Manhattan, affordable urban housing was viewed a solution to the problem of the middle-class flight to the suburbs. Dr. Charles V. Paterno, a real estate developer, purchased land on Pinehurst Avenue and Cabrini Boulevard, between West 182nd and 186th Streets, across the street from his estate atop a ridge above the Hudson River. His plan was to create a "garden community" of cooperative apartments to attract those who wanted the comforts of the new suburbs but wanted to reside within the confines of New York City.
The project was designed by George F. Pelham, one of the leading architects in New York City. Pelham's fifteen buildings in the complex occupy 40% of the 3.869-acre (15,660 m2) site. The nine six-story elevator buildings and six four-story walk-ups were situated to make use of the open space and the expansive views of the Hudson River and Bennett Park to the west. Its use of Tudor-style architectural elements in the facade came two years before the construction of Tudor City, the other major Tudor complex in Manhattan. Although the style is popularly referred to as Tudor, the American Institute of Architects describes it as Collegiate Gothic.
Pelham also designed another apartment building in the neighborhood, The Pinehurst, which was built in 1907 at the corner of Fort Washington Avenue and West 180th Street. Pelham's son, George F. Pelham Jr., was the architect of Castle Village, a Hudson Heights neighbor of Hudson View Gardens across Cabrini Avenue, in 1938.
At the time of its construction, Hudson View Gardens was the largest housing cooperative in New York and one of the earliest aimed at the middle class. Today it is known throughout Hudson Heights as the home of beautifully manicured gardens, its own children's playground, and U.S. mail delivered directly to each apartment. Community events are hosted in the Hudson View Lounge, many of which are free and open to the public.
Read more about Hudson View Gardens: Neighborhood Education
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