300 East 57th Street is a 19âÂÂstory apartment building on the southeast corner of East 57th Street and Second Avenue in the Midtown East neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Designed by architect Emery Roth for the Rudin family in 1944, the building was completed in November 1947. It was among the first luxury highâÂÂrise residences constructed in Manhattan during the postâÂÂWorld War II housing boom.
The building was one of the last projects personally designed by Roth before his death in 1948. It reflects the transition from the ornate prewar apartment houses for which Roth was best known to the more restrained postwar style. The 19âÂÂstory tower is clad in buff brick with minimal ornamentation, emphasizing vertical lines and setbacks that comply with the 1916 Zoning Resolution. Interiors originally featured hardwood floors, marble bathrooms, and modern kitchens, marketed as combining prewar luxury with postwar efficiency.
300 East 57th Street was developed by the Rudin family, who would become one of New YorkâÂÂs most prominent real estate dynasties. Its location at the eastern end of 57th Street placed it within the emerging Sutton Place district, which was gaining popularity among affluent tenants in the 1940s. The building opened with 163 rental units and a fullâÂÂservice staff, including a doorman and liveâÂÂin superintendent.
Only months after the building opened, a gas explosion in January 1948 killed theater producer Max Jelin in his apartment.
The building is also notable as the last known New York residence of author J. D. Salinger before he withdrew from public life and moved to Cornish, New Hampshire.
Over the decades, 300 East 57th Street has attracted numerous prominent tenants, including: