Beginning in June 2026, the rooftop of the historic David N. Dinkins Municipal Building in Lower Manhattan will open to the public for free guided tours. For more than a century, the building has towered over the area near City Hall, but its uppermost vantage point has largely been closed off to the public, until now.
Western Heights -- southwest of Koreatown and bounded today by Washington Boulevard, the Santa Monica Freeway and Arlington and Western avenues -- began modestly, when the first cottage was built in 1903 or '04. In addition to the wealthy local professionals who built there and in similar neighborhoods nearby, business titans from the Midwest and East Coast who liked to summer in Southern California built there too.
Home Savings & Loan president Howard F. Ahmanson, the financier, philanthropist and art collector, moved with his family into the spacious house in 1958. His second wife, Caroline Leonetti Ahmanson, gained full title to the house in 1971; it was sold in 1975. Howard Ahmanson supported, among many local institutions, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Music Center's Ahmanson Theatre.
A distinguished little studio at Abingdon Court, an Art Deco co-op on the corner of Bank and Bleecker. For a studio, it has a smart layout: A nicely sized foyer creates space for storage and a good amount of separation from the rest of the apartment, and the kitchen (a totally serviceable galley with a good amount of storage) is completely walled off from the living area - no waking up to look at your oven.
Stepping into 2800 Pacific Ave. is like taking a trip back in time, arriving in San Francisco's Gilded Age, when architects like Ernest Coxhead were creating opulent mansions to enshrine the city's elite. In this Georgian abode, we are presented with a carefully preserved example of Coxhead's work, as well as a particularly rich slice of local history. And though 2800 Pacific Ave. has been called SF's "most iconic" mansion by Chronicle columnist Herb Caen,
McDonald's locations in the United States tend to be pretty staid and uniform in design, but head abroad and things start to change. While there are a few American McDonald's that don't feature the traditional golden arches aesthetic, in historic international cities, you'll frequently find the burger chain housed in beautiful old stone and masonry buildings - with only a small McDonald's sign offering any hint of what's inside.
Designed by the celebrated mannerist architect Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, construction of the first sections of the late Renaissance Palazzo Borghese began in the 1560s. The Palazzo was among Vignola's many other important projects (he became the principal architect for St. Peter's Basilica following Michelangelo's death). It was later expanded by Cardinal Camillo Borghese, who bought it in 1596 (in 1605, he was named Pope Paul V).
There's a three-story turret, a front porch the size of some one-bedrooms, and a private driveway (with a porte cochere, no less). Wave-shaped dormer windows overlook the Spanish-tile roof. Inside, there's parquet for miles, wood paneling, stained glass, beamed ceilings, and a classical frieze of men in togas. Out back, there's a pergola and a small pond. "They don't build them like that anymore," says broker Joe Brikman,
Casa de Sierra Nevada beautifully strikes that same balance across its six historic manors dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries. The first luxury hotel to open in San Miguel de Allende, the jigsaw puzzle estate is teeming with centuries-old Easter eggstiled fountains and romantic balconies, family crests and staircases carved in stone. Though it's a Belmond Hotel, the Casa de Sierra Nevadalike all of the brand's properties around the worldis unique.
5. Columbia County Federal With Charm-Filled Interior, Barn Asks $1.9 Million In Columbia County, an extensive landscape of 67 acres ranges from secluded woods to rolling lawns and includes a 19th century brick main house filled with lovingly cared for period details and enough outbuildings to hold guests and a multitude of hobbies. With an address of 3 Pratt Road, the house on the market is in the small hamlet of Malden Bridge near the Kinderhook Creek.
On Christmas Eve 1895, George Vanderbilt welcomed family and friends to his new home for the first time. What they saw no doubt astounded them, even by the wealthiest echelon's standards of the era. The Gilded Age heir - a grandson of one of the richest men in US history - had built a 175,000-square-foot, 250-room French Renaissance Revival-style mansion that was a marvel of modern innovation, with 35 bedrooms, dozens of bathrooms with indoor plumbing, and two electric elevators.
In the past, not that many hotels planted their roots in Miami's North Beach, where private homes, condos, and low-rise buildings have kept the neighborhood's residential vibe. As someone accustomed to buzzy South Beach, North Beach felt like the unaffected counterpart, quieter and far less commercialized, with the beach steps away. So, as I arrived in Maison Felix, it was like stepping into a tucked-away gem.
Aiming to be the Sean Dyche-style safe pair of hands to Victor Garvey's calamitous Big Ange tenure, Hawksmoor feels like a perfect fit, immediately at home in this space. And what a space it is, by the way. The Grade I-listed dining room designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1873 is surely one of London's most beautiful, with soaring ceilings, decorative mouldings, huge windows, and polished wooden floors.
The ornate fireplace is just the icing on the cake for this historic studio apartment that comes flush with vintage accents and an overhead fan to help you beat the swampy humidity in NOLA. The small size is ideal for a couples' getaway or solo trip. And with such a central location on St. Charles Avenue, all of its restaurants, cafes, bars, and shops will be right at your fingertips.
Visitors of last spring's Pasadena Showcase House of Design will recognize the Bauer Estate and Gardens. This 1928 Monterey Colonial-style mansion and carriage house on 5 acres belonged to the late TV writer Stephen J. Cannell. Now, it's on the market for $22 million. If the property meets the asking price, it could surpass the City of Roses' most expensive home ever sold.
Because Brooklyn used to be a far less expensive place to live - for those among us who are Manhattan snobs - it comes as a shock that houses "way over there" can now cost as much as examples in gentrified parts of Harlem. Some housing in sections that have become almost exclusively white, like Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights, costs far more.
The First Unitarian Church of San Jose is one of the city's oldest and most picturesque houses of worship, with the Romanesque building overlooking St. James Park originally constructed in 1891. And today, after a $2 million renovation, the building is looking better than ever. The congregation and its church building have had a long and storied history in San Jose, with its members speaking out on social causes.
Near Prospect Park, this top-floor Windsor Terrace co-op has a roomy layout with six closets, parquet, and a renovated kitchen and bath. For those looking to spread out, this Windsor Terrace apartment has six closets, two bedrooms, and a roomy layout. The roominess does come with a price, but the unit at 71 Ocean Parkway also has a renovated kitchen and bath, wood floors, and some treetop views.
Cincinnati has arguably one of the most culinary exciting scenes in the Midwest, too. The city has long been known for Cincinnati chili, which is spiced with cinnamon and Mediterranean herbs and typically served with spaghetti, but the dining scene offers so much more. The city is peppered with James Beard-nominated eateries such as Wildweed and The Aperture, and is also home to international hotspots like Nepali restaurant Bridges and the Japanese izakaya Kiki-pretty impressive for a city of just over 300,000 residents.
And in the case of this beautiful 1900s Victorian-style home in Boston, the redone bathroom was giving turn-of-the century time capsule - just not the right century. "The bathroom had last been renovated in the early 2000s (think: lots of beige, white, and travertine tile)," says Elana Gaines, founder and designer at Afternoon Creative. "Overall, the space felt dingy and uninspired, out of step with the charm and craftsmanship of the rest of this early 1900s Victorian home."
Marilyn Morawetz stares at the crumbling walls of a historic cafeteria building, still finding beauty in its prairie-style architecture. They're almost never seen in an industrial kind of setting like this, she said. If it goes down, our real fear is that everything will go down and that would be an incredible shame. The 100-year-old building closed in 2008 and sits in disrepair alongside five other heritage buildings that once formed Camp 30, on the edge of the Town of Bowmanville, Ont.
Not to-be-missed tours this Saturday, October 11 - Noon and 2pm at @2blocksofart_sf: Historic Building Walks - Discover Market Street's cinematic past during the historic building walking tours led by famed architecture & design firm @pageturnbull The tour will include notable historic structures and information on their original and current use in what was once the central cinematic corridor of San Francisco.
I found this apartment after a long-term breakup, when I was splitting my time between Greenwich Village in NYC and Charleston, SC. I had just missed the open house (that was attended by 40 other hopeful people), but I put down a deposit sight unseen and submitted my application anyway. Once it was accepted and I finally walked inside, I knew it was exactly what I had been looking for,
Are you ready to be charmed? You might not have to travel far, if you live in California. HGTV recently focused its big lens on a pint-sized subject town centers in America and came away with a basketful of California recommendations. In its story, The 40 Most Charming Small Downtowns in America, the cable channel cites not one but three hidden gems in the state: Pacific Grove, Carmel-by-the-Sea and that Dutch-inspired wonder, Solvang.
The North Wing at St Bartholomew's Hospital has opened following a 9.5m restoration project. The Grade I-listed building contains the Hogarth Stair, part of architect James Gibbs' 1730s redesign, which is surrounded by the large scale paintings The Pool of Bethesda and The Good Samaritan. Pro Charles Knight, chief executive of the hospital, said the renewal work stood "as a lasting legacy of our recent 900th anniversary, connecting centuries of medical excellence with our rich heritage."
Bespoke millwork, soaring ceilings, and light-filled spaces create an elegant, stately feel as you swan from room to room. Starting at the garden level, a wrought-iron gate takes you through a landscaped courtyard garden and into a marble vestibule. Just inside, the chef's kitchen sports a custom banquette and flows into the formal dining room, with hand-painted wallpaper and a wood-burning fireplace. French doors along one of the walls spill open to the red-brick rear garden, which includes mirrored trellises and a fireplace-warmed pergola.
Housed in a National Register of Historic Places-listed, red-brick mansion that dates back to 1886, the hotel is a glaring departure from the contemporary gray buildings that line Grant Street in the city's Capitol Hill district. Inside, the walls are lined with original burgundy wallpaper and ornate Bavarian woodwork. And the staircase, with its intricate carvings of flowers, gargoyles, and swans all across the balustrade, took my breath away.
"Tupper & Reed have ventured into a most startling departure in the beautiful and artistic building. ... They have departed widely from the stereotyped style of store building, the structure having more the appearance of an old-world dwelling than of a modern place of business. ... W.R. Yelland, the architect, describes the building as rural European. It has all the appearance of northern Europe."
Uniquely situated on a vertiginous Russian Hill lot, 1135 Green St. is one of three homes that make up "Greencliff" and is a historic property created by an influential San Francisco architect in 1908. For sale now at $2.995 million, this Tudor-inspired condo offers vintage appeal as well as modern innovations - including a striking underground garage that could easily accommodate the Batmobile.
Designed by the architecture firm Buchman & Deisler in 1898, this neoclassical townhouse features a limestone facade and original wrought-iron grille, protected from alterations.
