875 Park Avenue
875 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10075
- Year built
- 1912
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 50
- Floors
- 12
- Landmark
- Designated
- Pets
- Confirm directly with management
- Subletting
- Restrictive (typical of tier-one Lenox Hill pre-war co-ops)
875 Park Avenue is among the most architecturally distinctive of the George and Edward Blum brothers' Park Avenue commissions — a 1912 12-story neo-classical apartment building whose decorative facade is more ornamental than the classical-revival norm of pre-WWI luxury Manhattan apartment construction. The Blum brothers' Park Avenue portfolio (555, 591, 830, 840, 875, 940, and 1075 Park) represents one of the more cohesive single-firm bodies of work in pre-war Park Avenue inventory, and 875 Park — at the southeast corner of Park and 78th Street — is among the firm's most architecturally accomplished buildings.
The signature decorative element is what the architectural historian Christopher Gray called the building's "haunting hieroglyph-like medallions" — ornamental detailing inset into the beige brick body of the facade that draws explicitly from Egyptian Revival and other pre-WWI eclectic decorative traditions. The combination of restrained beige brick mass, a more substantial limestone two-story base, and the hieroglyphic medallions produces a facade reading that is unusual within the broader Park Avenue corridor (most of which is more dogmatically classical or Art Deco). For buyers attentive to architectural detail, 875 Park is among the more memorable Park Avenue facades.
The 1948 cooperative conversion places 875 Park among the earliest Park Avenue rental-to-co-op transitions — predating the major mid-century conversion wave at peer buildings by approximately a decade. The early conversion produced an institutional culture that has stabilized across nearly 80 years of cooperative occupancy. The 50-apartment scale produces an institutional density between the smallest tier-one Lenox Hill pre-wars (820 Fifth: 13; 998 Fifth: 17; 944 Fifth: 15) and the larger Carnegie Hill buildings (1185 Park: 164; 1040 Park: 85).
The building's positioning at 78th and Park places it at the geographic heart of the Park Avenue / Carnegie Hill / Museum Mile triangle. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is six blocks west; the Cooper Hewitt and Guggenheim museums are concentrated on Fifth Avenue between 88th and 91st; the Frick Collection is six blocks south at 70th and Fifth; the broader Park Avenue tier-one cooperative canon (740 Park, 778 Park, 1185 Park, others) extends north and south along the corridor.
For buyers, 875 Park represents a particular tier of Lenox Hill / Carnegie Hill transition Park Avenue inventory: pre-WWI architectural pedigree from a distinguished firm with a coherent body of work, 50-apartment scale producing moderate inventory turnover, and Park Avenue tier-one positioning at price points materially below the Candela apex of 740 Park or 778 Park.
Architecture and unit composition
The 50 apartments span configurations from approximately 1,800 sf 2BRs to substantial 4,000+ sf 4BRs, with some duplex configurations and combined apartments distributed across the 12 floors.
Blum brothers' pre-WWI signatures throughout: 10–11 foot ceilings in primary rooms (lower than 1920s Candela 11–12 foot ceilings but generous by 1912 standards), formal entry galleries, library-living-room combinations, primary suites with substantial closet infrastructure, service wings characteristic of 1912-era luxury apartment design.
Park Avenue-facing apartments on the building's western flank look across to the Park Avenue median plantings and beyond to the buildings on the avenue's west side. 78th Street-facing apartments have cross-street exposures with stable residential side-street views. The building's positioning at the corner produces good light access for corner apartments.
Building operations
875 Park operates as a full-service pre-war cooperative with full-time doorman, attended elevator, on-site superintendent, and private storage. The 50-apartment scale produces an institutional density characteristic of the mid-tier pre-war Park Avenue inventory.
Specific policy details (financing posture, flip tax structure, sublet policy specifics, pied-à-terre allowance) should be confirmed directly with property management during due diligence. The building's policy posture follows tier-one Lenox Hill pre-war norms — rigorous financial review, strong personal references, primary-residence intent the working assumption — but specific policies vary building-by-building.
Recent sales
Last 5–10 closed sales at 875 Park Avenue (replace this section with current ACRIS data — pull at publication time and refresh quarterly):
[Recent sales table to be populated from ACRIS]
Sales context at 875 Park:
- Inventory turnover is moderate given the 50-unit scale — typically 4–8 transactions per year.
- Pricing spans a range — 2BRs in the $2M–$5M range; 3BRs in the $4M–$8M range; larger 4BRs and combined configurations in the $7M–$15M range.
- Public listing through StreetEasy and Compass private exclusive is standard.
What to know if you’re buying
The architectural distinctiveness is real. Among Park Avenue pre-wars, 875 Park's Blum brothers facade — with its hieroglyph-like medallions and decorative detailing — is among the more visually memorable buildings on the corridor. Buyers attentive to architectural detail will respond.
Confirm specific policies directly with management. Financing posture, flip tax structure, sublet specifics, and pied-à-terre allowance should be obtained directly during the contract review process.
Board approval follows Park Avenue Lenox Hill norms. Strong financial profile, professional accomplishment, and primary-residence intent are central criteria.
Pricing is more accessible than tier-one peer buildings. 875 Park's 1912 vintage and somewhat earlier architectural era produce more accessible per-square-foot pricing than the 1929–1931 Candela tier-one peers (740, 778 Park). This is structural and worth modeling carefully.
Renovation is constrained by historic district status and pre-WWI character. The board reviews scope and quality with attention to preservation of original detail.
View permanence is excellent. Park Avenue corridor is built out; 78th Street is a residential cross-street with stable building heights.
What to know if you’re selling
The architectural pedigree is a marketing asset. Listing copy should reference the Blum brothers, the building's place within the firm's Park Avenue portfolio (555, 591, 830, 840, 940, 1075 Park), and the distinctive hieroglyph-medallion facade detail.
Pricing requires apartment-level comparable analysis. The 50-unit scale produces meaningful variation; floor altitude, exposure, configuration, and renovation history all matter.
Closing timelines are co-op standard. 6–10 weeks from contract signing to closing.
The Roebling Team at 875 Park
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in Central Park West, the Upper East Side, and the broader Park-facing Manhattan market. We publish this building profile because Park Avenue buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — architecture, board culture, transactional mechanics, and pricing at the apartment level — not generic market commentary.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at 875 Park, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.