River House

One of Anne's New York addresses - 435 E. 52nd St.

Built in 1931 by Bottomley, Wagner and White, River House was said to be "...simply reeking with exclusivity and glamour" (1).

River House had it's own pool, gardens, tennis courts, dining facilities and yacht club. Until the 1940's, when the FDR Drive was built, tenants and members of the River Club would be seen mooring their yachts at the dock.

River House was an Art Deco masterpiece. Rising 30 stories above the water, its 73 apartments ranged from 37,000 to 275,000 - a princely sum at the time. An average aerie boasted 12 rooms, two fireplaces, six baths and a view of the East River.

In the beginning, River House was bordered by tenements, and this striking juxtaposition of haves and have-nots inspired Sidney Kingsley to pen his famous play, "Dead End". Starring the famous "Dead End Kids", real kids cast from New York boys' clubs, the play showed how criminals are born from economic devastation. "Dead End" became a film starring Humphrey Bogart and the "Dead End Kids".

Notable neighbors that might have sashayed past Ann in the lobby included the likes of Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney.

"Living It Up: A Guide to the Named Apartment Houses in New York" by Tomas Norton and Jerry Patterson. McMillan Publishing Co. 1984