895 West End Avenue at 104th Street
Circa 1912 // ARCHITECT: Gaetan Ajello // BUILDER: Paterno Brothers
This building is the first three buildings built between 103rd and 104th on West End Avenue via collaboration between the Paterno Brothers and architect, Gaetan Ajello. More elaborately detailed than the subsequent buildings, Ajello employs rather unusual casement windows — a special feature that vaguely evokes a French feel to the facade. It should be noted that this building is 12 stories tall, yet reaches the same height as its aforementioned neighbors at 885 and 905 which are each 13 stories, obviously indicating a slight diminution of ceiling heights in the latter two buildings. There are subtle differences in the floorplans as well, even though the overall planning is very similar. In all three cases, Ajello includes his signature open staircase in the lobby while hiding the elevator doors from view. However, after 895, the in-closet shaving sink is no more while the overall closet space was increased.
WHAT A BUYER CAN EXPECT TO PAY: A Classic 7 will cost $2.2M – $2.5M in renovated condition
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 
I’ve lived in 885 WEA for over 50 years and know the apt layouts very well. The “in-closet shaving sink” you refer to (also called a vanity, I believe) was indeed included in the “C” line in this building — not only in 895. They may all have gone by now, but I saw some that were still there in the early 1980′s. In a couple of instances, when a couple of C line apts were cut up in the 1930s, the former bedrooms with the in-closet vanities were turned into kitchens because the plumbing lines were already there.