Robb House (New York City)

The Robb House at twenty-three Park Avenue stands out for its deliberate departure from the neighborhood aesthetic of its time. While the surrounding streets were filled with rows of uniform brownstones, architect Stanford White designed this five-story residence as an Italian Renaissance-style palazzo. He utilized tawny-orange Roman iron-spot brick, a material that provided a striking visual contrast to the standard brownstone facades common in late nineteenth-century Murray Hill. The building signaled a shift in prestige and architectural ambition for the area.