George S. Bowdoin Stable

The George S. Bowdoin Stable looks like a structure pulled from a European fairy tale, yet it sits right here on East thirty eighth Street. Completed in nineteen oh two, this carriage house features a distinctive Dutch Revival design with a high, stepped gable that rises above the street. Architect Ralph S. Townsend added playful, sculptural details to the facade, including two horse heads carved in relief above the first floor and a watchful bulldog sculpted near the top of the gable. These flourishes turned a utilitarian space for horses and carriages into a miniature palace, reflecting the immense wealth of the Murray Hill families who kept their stables just blocks away from their mansions.