167 East 78th Street

Rogers and Poor designed the building as a studio house for artists, and the program shaped everything. The exterior is a confident pre-war composition — a limestone base giving way to red brick, original multipaned windows lending texture and authenticity, and a ceremonial entrance surround topped by its signature stone eagles. Ten stories hold 38 apartments, a low enough density to keep the building intimate.

The residences are the draw. Many feature double-height living rooms with the tall studio windows the building was designed around, often paired with an upper level or balcony — a layout type that ranges from charming one-bedrooms to larger, more dramatic homes. The volume, the light, and the original detail make these apartments distinctive in a market full of conventional pre-war boxes, and they reward sympathetic renovation that preserves the double-height character.

For a 38-unit co-op, the Morgan Studios is genuinely full-service: a 24-hour doorman, a live-in resident manager, a gym, a central laundry room, and private storage. That level of staffing and amenity in a boutique building is part of what sustains its standing. The cooperative is pet-friendly, and its policies are clearly defined: the building permits financing up to 60%, charges a 3% flip tax paid by the purchaser, and allows pied-à-terre use on a case-by-case basis with board approval. Buyers should plan around the 60% financing cap — a higher down payment than some co-ops require — as part of their underwriting.

Recent sales

Recent transfers at this building, curated by The Roebling Team research desk. Apartment-level facts are independently verified before publishing; sale prices reflect the recorded transfer amount at the NYC Department of Finance.

Market read. Most recent trades (2024) cleared a median $1,142/sf across 3 sales. Median listing discount 8.6% from the last ask — a recurring negotiation gap worth pricing into any offer or listing strategy.

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01413-0027) and verified listing data. Apartment-level facts (line, condition, asking-price context) curated and cross-verified by The Roebling Team research desk. Not all transactions cross-verify with ACRIS records — sponsor and LLC purchases sometimes record at stipulated values rather than market price; square footage on co-ops is not officially recorded, figures shown are approximate.

Expect a co-op board package and interview, and underwrite to the building's stated rules: 60% financing means a minimum 40% down payment, a 3% flip tax is paid by the purchaser at closing, and pied-à-terre use is considered case by case with board approval. The reward for that diligence is one of the more distinctive apartment types in the neighborhood — a double-height studio in a full-service, pet-friendly, doorman building. Evaluate each home on its volume, light, and how well its upper level or balcony works for your needs, since these layouts vary considerably unit to unit. The Lenox Hill location puts Third and Lexington retail, the 6 and Q trains, and Central Park all within easy reach.

The architecture is the entire story. A double-height artist studio in a 1928 building with a 24-hour doorman, a gym, and those landmark stone eagles over the door is a property that markets on character, not square footage — lead with the volume, the light, and the original detail. Set expectations on the buyer side around the 60% financing cap and the 3% purchaser-paid flip tax, which shape the qualified pool, and benchmark against the small set of comparable studio-layout and full-service pre-war co-ops in Lenox Hill. Because these homes are unlike standard inventory, a well-photographed apartment that conveys its double-height drama tends to find the right, motivated buyer.

If you're considering The Morgan Studios, these nearby Lenox Hill pre-war cooperatives form a useful comparison set:

• 170 East 78th Street — the matched sister studio building across the block
• 151 East 76th Street — pre-war co-op a couple of blocks south
• 175 East 77th Street — Lenox Hill pre-war cooperative
• 136 East 79th Street — pre-war co-op nearby
• 201 East 77th Street — pre-war cooperative on the 77th Street corridor

The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in the Upper East Side, Lenox Hill, and the city's distinctive pre-war cooperatives. We publish this profile because buyers and sellers at architecturally unusual buildings deserve building-specific intelligence — the real layouts, the staffing and amenities, the financing and flip-tax rules, and where value sits against the surrounding stock.

If you're considering a purchase or sale at 167 East 78th Street, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.