by Elizabeth Jarnagin

Created on: May 28, 2011

A guide to Tudor City

Manhattan’s Tudor City is more than your average apartment complex. It is the world’s first residential skyscraper complex with a storied history and numerous film and television credits to its name.

Developer Fred F. French bought up lots on the east side of Midtown Manhattan in the 1920s. His aim was to replace the area’s tenement slums with a middle-class mini Utopia with gardens, parks and even a down-sized golf course. Construction went from 1926 to 1930, adding 3,000 apartments to Midtown Manhattan. The end result was one hotel and numerous large apartment houses, many with British sounding names like “Windsor” and “Essex House.” They range in height from 11 to 32 stories.

The neighborhood has changed for the better over the years. When construction began, the property was amid breweries, slaughterhouses, and a gas works plant, all of which had oppressive odors. Now Tudor City’s closest neighbors are the United Nations headquarters and related missions and consulates. Few of Tudor City’s apartment windows face the UN, however. Most face west due to the aforementioned former industrial neighbors.

So what attracted French to that area? New York’s middle class was fleeing to the outer boroughs. The row houses they left behind some became tenements. French reasoned that constructing attractive and affordable housing for urban office workers would keep some middle class people in Manhattan. A “city within a city;” better yet, a village within a city was the goal. French wanted to foster a sense of community among residents. He wanted the project to appeal to “people who appreciate the importance of environment,” according to a 1939 sales brochure.

The buildings, designed by architect Douglas Ives, can best be described as neo-Gothic. Limestone embellishments abound, often with English motifs such as the Tudor rose and heraldic arms. Original windows feature stained and leaded glass. Two gardens grace the grounds in the center of the complex. The North Garden often hosted concerts by the Julliard Brass Quartet in the complex’s early years. Convenient shopping was also part of the original master plan so a grocery store, pharmacy, dry cleaners, and restaurants are all on site.

All three Spider-Man films, along with Splash, Taxi Driver, Scarface, The Godfather III, and the Bourne Ultimatum include Tudor City scenes. The television shows Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Ugly Betty have shot brief exterior scenes at Tudor City.

Tudor City’s historical importance was recognized when the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission declared the area a historical district in May, 1988. Commissioners described Tudor City as “an early and eminently successful attempt to implement the principles of Garden City planning in a high-density urban environment.”

Tudor City, now primarily co-op housing, sits on a plateau. This keeps it a little separated from the rest of Manhattan. The property has been through several owners, including the Helmsley Corporation in the 1970s and 1980s.

Due to its landmark designation and unique features, Tudor City will no doubt remain part of Manhattan’s landscape and skyline for many years to come.

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