The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-10-31
THE DRAWING re

w. INV '' h't"N''
brownstone dwellings In New York
with architecture Of Il superior sort IS
II task To the undertaking Of which none
hut Il genius would dream Of applying his
talents. One man. however. had the temerity
to attempt 1t, with the result that he Is now
hailed as the originator of a new order Of city
homes. Frederick Sterner. the architect. made
his reputation in this novel field when he broke
into the ramerc Park section several years
ago and built for himself a home. the charm
of which was such it became the model for n
new type Of domestic architecture.
With naught but the wood and stone OF
were made he wrought such a change In line
and form in his dwelling that people were
filled with amaZement ut the transformation
and came from far and near to view what the
architectural wizard had accomplished. From
Mr.. Sterner's standpoint it was simply IA matter
Of bringing to bear ones aesthetic ideals and
artistic Imagination. All Of which is quite
true. only so few persons possess these very
desirable qualifications. not even the architects
themselves. Hence so much architecture that
Is dull and stupid.
But sometimes It only needs a prophet
to point the way and then Others Will gladly
follow. This is what happened in Mr.. Sterner's
case. and his example proved the renascence OF
that section Of East Nineteenth street that lies
between Irving place and Third avenue. so that
In time it came to he known all over the city as
the Block Beautiful.
To the residents Of the block 1t became an
obsession after a little, the remOdelling Of old
time dwellings, ana soon other blocks In the
immediate vicinity began to look up and take on
an air they hadn't worn since the days when
the Fishes and Stuyvesants and other old New
Workers had lived there. The Block Beautiful
became a centre where art loving folk came to
gather and exchange their views. sure as they
were of n sympathetic understanding of their
ideals ana aspirations, while the neighborhood
itself became the mecca for sightsecrs who pos
scsSe4l the artistic sense to enjoy the beautiful
without possessing the architectural knowledge
to know why 1t thus appealed to them.
For all this Mr.. Sterner was responsible,
and now he Is spreading the gospel OF his archi-
tectural ideals further atield, for he has com
mence4l the Identifying Of the city block In East
Sixty-third street bounded by IcXingf n md
Third avenues, his new home, by the way, oc-
cupying almost the same Identical position or
his former residence in the Gramercy Park sec
ton. Here again his example was contagious.
for no sooner had he remodelled his house than
others followed suit, and there are to-day at
least two others in process Of reconstruction
along similar lines. One of them, planned by
Mr.. Sterncr, is to have n great drawing room OF
haronial proportions and medirval lines, the
like of which will have no counterpart In town.
One experiences no difficulty In distinguish
Ing Mr.. Sterncr'S residence after leaving the
avenue and turning into SiXty-third street. for
the eye Is at once caught by a house OF I'M
usual proportions about the middle Of the block,
which Is succeed over and colorel Il deel
Colonial buff, while the saslies for the small
many paned windows are painted In the blue
green Of primitive New England houses. The
top floor Is broken by II studio light. for the
upper apartments Mr.. Sterner rents out to f,
yorcl friends.
but the thing If all others that strikes the
Od World note ana supplies the key to the rar'