- Year built
- 1916
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 63
- Landmark
- Designated
680 West End Avenue is among the earliest of the great pre-war apartment houses on its stretch of the avenue — a building begun in 1916 and completed in 1918, predating the heavier 1920s wave that filled in most of West End Avenue's residential wall. Designed by Rouse & Goldstone in a refined Neo-Renaissance idiom and clad in buff brick with stone and terra-cotta trim, it replaced a row of five-story houses with a twelve-story luxury apartment building, anchoring the corner of West 93rd Street with a real sense of permanence.
The building's appeal is in its bones. With only 63 apartments across twelve floors — roughly 2,400 square feet of building area per home — these are large, gracious pre-war residences: the classic seven-, six-, and five-room layouts of the era, with maid's rooms, entry foyers, and expansive living and dining rooms, many retaining their original moldings and wood floors. For buyers who want generous pre-war scale on a quiet block one step from Riverside Park, 680 delivers exactly that, without the price of the avenue's marquee names.
Architecture and unit composition
The façade is a confident piece of late-1910s design — a twelve-story Neo-Renaissance composition in buff brick over a stone base, with terra-cotta ornament and the proportioned windows of the period. Inside, the apartments are laid out at pre-war scale: "Classic 7s," "6s," and "5s," nearly all with maid's rooms, gracious foyers, and separately defined living and dining rooms. Original architectural details — moldings, hardwood flooring, and high ceilings — survive in many homes.
At just 63 apartments, the building is intimate and family-scaled. Upper-floor and western lines pick up open light toward the Hudson one block to the west; avenue-facing apartments carry the stable, low-rise residential outlook that defines this stretch of West End Avenue.
Building operations
680 West End Avenue operates as a full-service pre-war cooperative with a full-time doorman, an elevator, and a live-in superintendent. In-unit washers and dryers are permitted, and there is a central building laundry as well as a bike room. Pets are allowed. The building runs on the standard pre-war co-op model: a proprietary lease, monthly maintenance, and a board-approval process for purchasers. As a contributing building in the historic district, exterior and window work is subject to district oversight, while interior alterations follow the board's process.
Facade safety — Local Law 11
An active hazard: the building must keep a sidewalk shed up and make repairs now — expect construction, disruption, and a likely special assessment. We’d get you the repair scope and the building’s funding plan up front, so you go in knowing exactly what’s underway and what it’s likely to cost.
QEWI = Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector — the licensed engineer the city requires to sign the report (the independent expert, not the managing agent). Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library.
See the full facade history →Recent sales
The /sales tab below draws live from the building's tax lot. As a 63-unit cooperative, 680 West End trades infrequently — typically just a few closings in an active year, a function of both the small unit count and the tendency of owners in large-layout pre-war buildings to stay put. Pricing tracks the upper West End Avenue pre-war market, where the building's large classic-six and classic-seven layouts command a clear premium; light, floor, and renovation condition are the principal swing factors on any individual home.
What to know if you’re buying
This is a board-approval cooperative, so a complete, well-documented purchase application matters. The product here is space and pre-war character: classic six- and seven-room homes with maid's rooms and original detail are increasingly scarce in the neighborhood, and they reward buyers who want to renovate to their own taste. Pets and in-unit laundry are both permitted, which broadens the appeal. We help buyers assess the line and exposure, evaluate the financials and the scope of any renovation, and prepare a board package that clears cleanly.
What to know if you’re selling
The selling case is scale and provenance: a 1918 Rouse & Goldstone building with large classic layouts, full-time doorman service, and a prime corner one block from Riverside Park. Buyers pay for that combination. Price to the building's own comparable set — recent closings in similar lines and floors here and at the neighboring pre-war co-ops — and lead with what's scarce: original detail, room count, light, and the quality of any renovation. With so few apartments, internal precedent is thin, which makes a corridor-level pre-war comparable analysis the right tool.
Comparable buildings
If you're evaluating 680 West End Avenue, also look at these nearby pre-war Upper West Side cooperatives:
- 685 West End Avenue — 1928 Sugarman & Berger co-op, immediate neighbor at 93rd Street
- 670 West End Avenue — 1927 West End pre-war peer
- 790 West End Avenue — full-service West End Avenue co-op to the north
- 300 Riverside Drive — pre-war Riverside Drive co-op a block west
The Roebling Team at 680 West End Avenue
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in the Upper West Side, West End Avenue, and the pre-war cooperative market along Central Park West and Riverside Drive. We publish this profile because buyers and sellers on West End Avenue deserve building-specific intelligence — architecture, the rules, and where the pricing actually sits. If you're considering a purchase or sale at 680 West End, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
Get the full picture on this building.
Current availability including off-market, the full comp set, and the board & financials read most listings don't show.