333 East 57th Street
Circa 1928 // ARCHITECT: Leonard Cox & Arthur Holden Assoc. // BUILDER: John K. Turton & Co., Inc.
Relatively uneventful from the outside, this building is a star on the inside!
333 E. 57th Street is set back a few feet behind the lot-line along East 57th Street to allow for engaged planters to run along the entire front. Located between First & Second Avenues just west of the Sutton Place neighborhood, it appears as a simple building with a three-story stone base (except at each end, where the base only rises two stories) and brick above. This “step up” treatment of the base is unusual, but is employed successfully at 101 Central Park West.
The windows are quite large and have been replaced with “view” windows, i.e. very large single panes. The originals certainly were either casements or double hung sash, both divided into smaller panes. The loss of this texture on an otherwise simple facade diminishes the visual interest of the building. I understand a “view” window to a degree when you are looking at something really special, like Central Park, but not when you are looking across 57th Street at another building.
On a brighter note, almost all the original apartments remain intact. There are just two mirror-image nine-room apartments on each floor. What is quite striking about this arrangement is how little of the lot is actually covered by the building — probably around 60% versus a more typical 80% to 90%. This allows for a large rear garden, and better light for the north-facing rear rooms.
The apartments are entered via a small vestibule giving way to a 12-foot square Entry Foyer which itself leads to four rooms and the bedroom hall. The Living Room is 26’-6” by 14’-8” and has a fireplace. The Formal Dining Room is 22’-0” by 13’-9”. The Library/4th Bedroom is 17’-0” by 10’-0”. The three Master Bedrooms are 22’-0” by 12’-0”, 20’-0” x 12’-0”, and 20’-4” by 11’-0”, and each has an en-suite bathroom, and great closet space. The Service wing is also very spacious, with a Butler’s Pantry, Eat-In Kitchen, and two Maid’s Rooms. The layouts of these apartments are superb!
WHAT A BUYER CAN EXPECT TO PAY: I think this building is one of the best values in NYC. A half floor nine-room will set you back anywhere from $3.5M to $4.5M, with monthly maintenance of over $5,000.
Hello! My name is David Lubell. This is my personal blog, a forum for me to talk about my passion for prewar buildings in NYC and related subjects. If any views are expressed here, they are mine, unless clearly presented as coming from someone else. You can read a little bit more 
Mr. Lubell,
I like reading your blog. I particularly love the A line apartments at 610 WEA. However, this picture on East 57th Street is distrubing! There’s nothing to see and appreciate anything. I personally think you could have done better than that. Just a thought.
Cary