Granada Towers

The architectural firm Lang & Rosenberg designed Granada Towers and several buildings in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx in the late 1920s. They also designed a Gothic Revival style commercial building at 101 East 161st Street in the Bronx, with a single story curving along a street corner with a decorative parapet wall. The names of the principals seems to have been lost. There was an architect named David S. Lang who designed a proposed five-story apartment building in the Bronx, according to a 1921 newspaper article. The building was proposed for the northwest corner of Briggs Avenue and 196th Street. Lang drew up plans for another five-story apartment building in the Bronx in 1922; the building was to be 112 by 94 feet, on the east side of Aqueduct Avenue, 25 feet south of 181st Street. Lang's office address was listed as 110 W 34th Street in a 1921 news article on a six-story brick tenement planned for the west side of Fox St. in the Bronx.

Improvements to the Long Island Railroad brought an additional main track tfrom East Rockaway to the Reynold's Channel; in 1927, double track service was begun to Long Beach. This made Long Beach easily reachable for the masses of New York City folks. The building permit for Granada Towers was filed on May 9th 1929 for an "apartment hotel" projected to cost $200,000 to build. The building opened on October 22nd 1929. Granada Towers literally stands out from its surroundings, with most buildings in the commercial district along busy Park Avenue being low-rise. It was built at the height of the development of the new resort community of Long Beach. The apartment building's upkeep began to decline in the 1950s, according to former residents. Granada Towers was vacant from 1975 to 1984, when a developer, Grenada Associates, purchased it with plans for renovations.

The building's Spanish colonial style is reflected in exterior and interior details; interest in the style grew after the 1915 Panama-California Exhibition at San Diego. The main entrance to Granada Towers is in the center of the Riverside Boulevard facade; the original entrance was a bronze double door flanked by bronze "electric lanterns" (wall-mounted urn shaped lamps). Terra cotta pilasters flank the doorway, supporting an arch with a bronze plaque reading "Granada Towers." Ornamentation of the two towers flanking the main entrance includes terra cotta urna and gargoyles. The facade above the main entrance is recessed between the two towers; the one-story enclosed entrance hall is twenty feet long. The building has a 100-foot by 100-foot square footprint. Six of the seven stories occupy the entire lot; the seventh - the penthouse - is smaller. The lobby now features exposed ceiling beams and a lounge with a fireplace. Condominiums for sale in 2021 include a 1 bedroom, 1 bath unit at 620 square feet, listed for slightly over $300,000. Rental units lease for around $2,000 per month.

Anonymous. "Plan Large Apartments for Sites in Bronx." New York Tribune (New York, NY) October 25th 1921. Real Estate sec, 9-9.

Anonymous. "$200,000 Apartment and 13 Dwellings Planned for Bronx." New York Tribune (New York, NY) August 13th 1921. Real Estate sec, 10-10.

Anonymous. "Plan New Bronx Flats." New York Herald (New York, NY) December 7th 1922. 25-25.

Egbert, Michael . Granada Towers, LBHomes. January 1st 2021. Accessed April 18th 2021. http://www.lbhomes.com/long-beach-condos/granada-towers.htm.

Most, Jennifer L. Betts, Mary Beth. Grand Concourse Historic District: Designation Report. New York, NY. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, 2011.

O'Brien, Austin. Florio, Patricia. NRHP Nomination of Granada Towers, Long Beach, N.Y.. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1984.