This from the internet "A View of Cities" site should do
Tudor City
Tudor City is a historic district in Midtown
Manhattan developed in the 1920s by Fred F. French. It comprises 12
buildings in Tudor style.
In the 1920s, the Fred F. French company
started to buy lots on the east side of Midtown Manhattan
for a large housing project.
The run-down area consisted
mostly of tenements and brownhouses, bordered on the
east by a gas company, breweries
and slaughterhouses, causing filth and an unbearable
smell.
Tudor City
In 1925 Fred F French - also known
for the Fred
F. French Building and Knickerbocker village - started
construction of what he called 'The largest project
in Midtown'. The project was named Tudor City.
Completed in 1928, it consisted of 12 apartment
buildings
containing 3000 housing units and 600 hotel rooms. The
design by the architect H. Douglas Ives and his team
was based heavily on the Tudor Style, an architectural
style prevalent during the Tudor Dynasty. Characteristic
for this style is the brickwork and the application
of fine intricate stonework.
Completed in 1928, it consisted of 12 apartment
Tudor City
Attracting the Middle Class
In an effort to attract part of the
middle class that had moved to suburban areas, the buildings
featured many amenities and was well ahead of its time.
It also boasted two private gardens
in the center.
In order to shield the apartments from the slaughterhouses on the east side, the buildings all face inwards towards the parks and have very few windows on the east side.
The slaughterhouses were eventually demolished in the
1940s to make way for the United
Nations Headquarters.
In order to shield the apartments from the slaughterhouses on the east side, the buildings all face inwards towards the parks and have very few windows on the east side.
Apartment Entrance
Tudor City Today
Tudor City currently houses about 5000
people and most of the apartments and hotel rooms are
now co-operative housing projects. It is based on a
plateau that seems to isolate it from the rest of Midtown,
creating a quiet refuge from hectic Manhattan.
A Historic District
The area became a historic district May 17, 1988. It
comprises an area from 40th street to 43rd street between
First and Second Ave.
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