Charlie Parker Residence
Charlie Parker Residence | |
{{{designated_other1_name}}} #06101.007022
| |
New York City Landmark #2032 | |
 151 Avenue B in 2011 | |
     | |
| Location | 151 Avenue B Manhattan, New York, US |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°43′36″N 73°58′50″W / 40.72667°N 73.98056°W Fatal error: The format of the coordinate could not be determined. Parsing failed. |
| Built | circa 1849 |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| NRHP reference # | 94000262 |
| {{{DESIGNATED_OTHER1_ABBR}}} # | 06101.007022 |
| NYCL # | 2032 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | April 7, 1994[3] |
| Designated {{{DESIGNATED_OTHER1_ABBR}}} | January 25, 1994[1] |
| Designated NYCL | May 18, 1999[2] |
The Charlie Parker Residence is a rowhouse at 151 Avenue B in the East Village of Manhattan in New York City, New York, US. From 1950 to 1954, jazz musician Charlie Parker lived with Chan Berg on the ground floor of the house. The Gothic Revival building, which was built around 1849,[4] was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994[5] and was designated a New York City landmark in 1999. Avenue B between East 9th and East 10th Streets was given the honorary designation "Charlie Parker Place" in 1992.[6]
Description
The Charlie Parker Residence is located at 151 Avenue B in the East Village of Manhattan in New York City, New York, US.[7][8] It is on the east side of the street, directly opposite Tompkins Square Park.[9] The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) as the onetime residence of Charles "Bird" Parker Jr. (1920–1955),[5] an American jazz musician from Kansas City, Kansas.[10][11] Parker, who moved to New York City in 1938 or 1939, was a highly influential figure in the development of bebop, a subgenre of jazz.[12] The adjacent section of Avenue B is designated as Charlie Parker Place in his honor.[13][14]
The house is built in the Gothic Revival style.[15] It is part of a group of three mid-19th-century brick and brownstone rowhouses at 149–153 Avenue B, along Tompkins Square Park's eastern boundary.[16] 151 Avenue B is the most substantially intact of these houses.[15] A 1999 LPC report was unable to ascertain the identity of the house's architect but wrote that the house's Gothic Revival decorations may have been inspired by the nearby St. Brigid Roman Catholic Church.[16]
Exterior
The Charlie Parker Residence consists of three stories above a raised basement and is three bays wide, a commonplace massing for New York City rowhouses of the time. The facade is made of brownstone and is painted.[15] The basement has two at-grade windows shielded by grilles, in addition to a landmark plaque.[17] The raised first floor is accessed by a stoop, the only one remaining on the block.[9] The stoop has handrails, and there is an entrance to the basement beneath the stoop. There is also an iron fence running along the sidewalk, which is interrupted by the stoop.[17]
At the first floor, the stoop leads to a carved Gothic Revival pointed arch doorway with paired colonettes on either side and a hood molding above.[7] The wood-paneled doors have either trefoil[9] or quatrefoil motifs.[18] The year 1849 and the address number 151 are placed on plaques next to the entrance. There is a pair of one-over-one sash windows on the first floor to the south (right) of the entrance.[9] The second and third stories have one-over-one sash windows, similar in width to those on the first floor, albeit shorter.[9] These are also topped by Gothic hood moldings.[19] The facade is topped by a painted box cornice with decorative moldings,[9] described as Gothic Revival in style.[19] A penthouse is recessed from the roofline and is hidden from view of the street.[9]
Interior
The interior was originally used by one family, but in the 20th century was subdivided into one apartment per floor.[18] As built, the first floor has an entrance foyer with ornamental moldings, Next to it is a curved stairway with a carved wood balustrade, railing, wainscoting, and arched wall niches.[19] There are parlors in the front and back, connected by a hallway on one side of the house.[20] These rooms retain details such as decorative plasterwork, wall pilasters, moldings, and a fireplace in the dining room.[19]
Parker's basement apartment has four rooms arranged from front to rear, along with a bathroom and a kitchen, all accessed by a hallway running on one side of the house. The layout has been slightly altered since Parker's occupancy; for example, the main room has been subdivided to create an alcove with closets.[19] When Parker's family lived there, the rear room was used as a bedroom facing a backyard.[21] In addition, the Parkers had decorated their apartment with wallpaper from the Steinberg Company, along with blond furniture.[22]
History
The house at 151 Avenue B was constructed c. 1849[15] and was initially a single-family house.[18] Parker moved into the house in 1950 at age 30 and lived there until 1954.[10]
The building was placed for sale in 2015 for $9.25 million.[13] By 2025, the building was again placed for sale.[8]
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan below 14th Street
- List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan below 14th Street
References
- ↑ "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. November 7, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
- ↑ "Charlie Parker Residence Designation Report" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 12, 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2011. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Parker, Charlie, Residence" on the NRHP database
- ↑ New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission; Dolkart, Andrew S.; Postal, Matthew A. (2009). Postal, Matthew A., ed. Guide to New York City Landmarks (4th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-470-28963-1. Search this book on
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Charlie Parker: The Charlie Parker Residence, NYC". Charlieparkerresidence.net. Archived from the original on July 19, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2011. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ The Charlie Parker Residence.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 National Park Service 1994, p. 3; Landmarks Preservation Commission 1999, p. 5.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Velsey, Kim (2025-12-04). "Charlie Parker's Townhouse Is for Sale". Curbed. Retrieved 2026-08-18.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 Landmarks Preservation Commission 1999, p. 5.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 National Park Service 1994, p. 7; Landmarks Preservation Commission 1999, p. 2.
- ↑ Haddix, Chuck (2013). Bird: The Life and Music of Charlie Parker. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-09517-7. Search this book on
- ↑ National Park Service 1994, p. 7; Landmarks Preservation Commission 1999, pp. 2–3.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Schulz, Dana (2015-10-22). "Historic Charlie Parker Townhouse in Alphabet City Hits the Market for $9M". 6sqft. Retrieved 2026-08-18.
- ↑ National Park Service 1994, p. 11.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 National Park Service 1994, p. 3; Landmarks Preservation Commission 1999, p. 4.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Landmarks Preservation Commission 1999, p. 4.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Landmarks Preservation Commission 1999, pp. 5–6.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 National Park Service 1994, p. 3.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 National Park Service 1994, p. 4.
- ↑ National Park Service 1994, pp. 3–4.
- ↑ National Park Service 1994, p. 5.
- ↑ National Park Service 1994, p. 5; Landmarks Preservation Commission 1999, p. 3.
Sources
- Charlie Parker Residence (PDF) (Report). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. 1999.
- Shaver, Peter D. (1994). National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Charlie Parker Residence (PDF) (Report). National Park Service.
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- 1840s architecture in the United States
- 1849 establishments in New York (state)
- Houses completed in 1849
- Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan
- East Village, Manhattan
- New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan
- New York State Register of Historic Places in New York County
