Television shows and even movies (I’m watching a bit of “An Affair to Remember” tonight on TCM) nearly always show Manhattan apartments as having two steps descending from the hallway door into the living room. In “Rear Window” it’s even a part of the plot.
I’ve never noticed it for shows set anywhere but a Manhattan apartment, so presumably it’s not merely a dramatic device allowing shots to be framed in a certain way. Yet I’ve never seen an actual apartment building constructed like that (though I’ve only been in a couple of NYC apartment buildings). Is this in fact common in New York, and what purpose does it serve?
I’ve seen a few buildings like that. But it’s very common to see a street level or below street level entrance because many of the streets have been raised since the building was originally put up. Sounds like dramatic effect, and maybe a building front on a studio lot.
Also people paying $2000 a month to live in a broom closet don’t want to climb stairs.
…perhaps they ran utilities like plumbing, electricity, heating, etc. under the hallway floor. Why this would have happened in Manhattan during a certain construction period is beyond me though.
I think what you are thinking of is a sunken living room, where the living room is one or two steps down from the entrance foyer or dining area.
It’s an architectural feature commonly found in higher-end pre-war (i.e. before WWII) apartments. It has the effect of dividing up a large room into two distinct areas, increasing the perceived size and usability of the apartment. The more modern trend is to keep large rooms on one level and divide them by furniture placement.
IIRC, both apartment sets (the early one and the one from later seasons) had a kind of landing (complete with rail) just inside the door, then a couple of steps down into the apartment itself.
Yep: Enter from hallway into apartment. Make use of coat rack or closet next to entry door from hall, which is set on the ‘landing’ level at the door. Walk towards the living room and step down 1-2 steps.
It works on TV to elevate the actors, which tends to work in a variety of TV sets. TV set makers like levels. Dining areas behind the living room are often raised, as are areas where one might find a desk, etc.
Set designers/makers prefer: Levels, columns, bookcases and a plethora of junk.
No doubt these kinds of apartments exist in New York but they are not the norm. I am thinking of six New York apartments and they are all on one level with no steps inside the apartment.
It’s not the most common set-up in NYC, but it’s not extremely rare either. I remember an entire building that had that same design feature; two steps down into the living room, flanked with mediterranean style railing. This was a good thirty years ago, but I still see variations on the style.
Do you remember what part of town? It probably doesn’t matter, but I’ve been in hundreds of NYC apartments and I can’t recall seeing a sunken living room.
I grew up in the East 50’s (back in the 1960’s and 1970’s), and it wasn’t far from home.
If you do a NYT advanced residential real estate search for keyword sunken, you will get 134 results, most of them with photos.
When I was a kid through my early 20’s, seeing a window that tilted inward over an apartment door was very common. Not so much any more, but you can still find them here and there.
On another note, I haven’t seen a bathtub in a kitchen since 1993 or so.
FWIW, my sister had an apartment that was “sunken” off the main hallway, two steps down complete with a wrought iron railing. This was on St. Mark’s Place (East 8th St) between 1st Ave. and Avenue A (IIRC). Also had a working fireplace, lucky gal.
$2K will get you a good-sized studio or a smallish (but not shoebox-sized) 1 bedroom in the marginally less desirable – but not icky – sections of NYC. And if you’re lucky and have rent stabilized places, you get a really good deal. I’m paying under $1K for a large studio with doorman near Bloomingdale’s.
Nope, it’s set in artsy Greenwich Village (hence the dancer, musician & artist in the building across from Jeffries’ place).