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Landmarks
128 West 44th Street (Former Lambs’ Club), between 6th and 7th Avenue, An Individual landmark
WHEREAS, The former Lambs’ Club is a handsome brick and marble neo-Georgian structure, opened in 1905 as a clubhouse for actors and theatre people and is enlivened by graceful loggias and fine decorative detail, and was designed by the world famous architect, Stanford White; and
WHEREAS, It is owned by Hampshire Hotels with the Church of the Nazarenes as a tenant; and
WHEREAS, McKim, Mead and White were all members of the Club, originally founded in 1874 and named after the Lambs’ Club in London; and
WHEREAS, George A. Freeman’s 1915 extension matched White’s façade and doubled the width of the building; and
WHEREAS, The application is for a certificate of appropriateness to make changes to the exterior façade and convert the building into a hotel and restaurant; and
WHEREAS, Many alterations and additions are proposed among them; attaching a canopy across the entire façade; retaining the existing flagpole bracket on the façade and adding a new flagpole with the Lambs Club Hotel banner; removing one riser from each of the two entrances – leaving two – so the doors can open out; replacing original wood doors with decorative metal doors; increasing the height of the doors; attaching three new nickel wall plaques; and remove existing access door to basement; and
WHEREAS, The proposed canopy, made of stainless steel and glass 55’10” by 11’10” is totally inappropriate and unharmonious to the façade of this distinguished and beautiful landmark and will be over-powering, detracting from the simplicity and grace of this famous building; and
WHEREAS, Removing the original doors and replacing them with ultra-modern metal doors with grill inserts would not be appropriate and instead, Community Board Five would prefer the simple original doors be replicated so as to retain the same look of the entry that White designed; and
WHEREAS, Alternate designs should be explored which wouldallow for accessibility without creating the proposed unbalanced façade; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five is reluctant to encourage such significant alterations and additions to a building designed by an important and significant architect; therefore be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends denial for a certificate of appropriateness to make changes to the exterior façade and convert the building into a hotel andrestaurant, and would not like to see such inappropriate changes made to the façade of a Stanford White Building.
Tthe resolution passed with a vote of 20 in favor, 8 opposed, 4 abstentions.