312 and 314 East 53rd Street

You are standing in front of two of the rarest buildings in Manhattan. These twin wood-frame houses at 312 and 314 East 53rd Street were built in 1866, just months before the city passed strict fire safety laws that effectively banned any new wooden construction. Because they were finished in that narrow window of time, they were grandfathered in and allowed to remain standing while most other structures of their kind were demolished and replaced with masonry. They represent a vanishing architectural era when wooden houses were still a practical choice for residential development in this part of the city.