Karen L. Jacobson Architects Studio

West 80th Street

An ad hoc group, who met the day before the closing, bought a deteriorated brownstone on Manhattan’s upper Westside. With little money, and not much in common, the group successfully divided up the building so that each member owned an apartment. The center of the building, containing the bathrooms and kitchens, was completely demolished, but the center stair and the woodwork around the windows and doors was salvaged and restored.

A penthouse, mimicking a rural cottage with a series of pitched roofs, added a bathroom and bedroom to the top floor apartment. This was one of the first brownstone penthouses in NYC, and was featured in The New York Times, Metropolis, and House Beautiful.