# steps down from New York apartment entrances **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 6, 2011, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587 "2011-01-06T05:30:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587/1 "2011-01-06T05:30:04Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587/2 "2011-01-06T05:36:39Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Mornac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Mornac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mornac)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587/3 "2011-01-06T06:08:34Z")
…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. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587/4 "2011-01-06T06:11:26Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Also people paying $2000 a month to live in a broom closet don’t want to climb stairs. This again? People paying $2000 a month live in regular sized apartments. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587/5 "2011-01-06T07:08:33Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > This again? People paying $2000 a month live in regular sized apartments. In Flatbush. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587/6 "2011-01-06T10:27:26Z")
The NY Brownstone has distinctive front steps. [http://blog.nabewise.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/2012465620\_a9c5c5dddf.jpg](http://blog.nabewise.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/2012465620_a9c5c5dddf.jpg) The Brownstone house was practically a character in the Nero Wolfe mysterys. > [@](#): > > In the Audrey Hepburn classic Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), much of the action took place in her brownstone apartment building. > **[Brownstone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownstone)** > > Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. > Brownstone was a popular building material because it is unusually easy to quarry and carve; these qualities also make structures clad in it susceptible to weathering and damage over time. > In the 19th century, Basswood Island, Wisconsin was the site of a qua... ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587/7 "2011-01-06T12:53:12Z")
I thought Rear Window was set in San Francisco. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587/8 "2011-01-06T13:02:00Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587/9 "2011-01-06T13:26:11Z")
Wasn’t Oscar Madison’s apartment like that in tv’s _The Odd Couple_? ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587/10 "2011-01-06T14:25:15Z")
For what it’s worth, Bob Newhart & Suzanne Pleshette’s apartment on _The Bob Newhart Show_ was like this as well. The show, however, was set in Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587/11 "2011-01-06T14:37:13Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Wasn’t Oscar Madison’s apartment like that in tv’s _The Odd Couple_? 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. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587/12 "2011-01-06T15:15:54Z")
FWIW, my house, built in 1959, has a living room like that; one step below the adjoining areas (the dining area and a hallway) ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587/13 "2011-01-06T15:18:17Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587/14 "2011-01-06T15:25:41Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587/15 "2011-01-06T18:57:23Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587/16 "2011-01-06T19:07:55Z")
> [@LurkerInNJ](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587/17 "2011-01-06T20:12:45Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587/18 "2011-01-06T20:21:34Z")
This is exactly the style: > **[Real Estate](https://www.nytimes.com/section/realestate)** > > News on renting, buying, or selling a house, apartment or condo and stories on decorating, interior design, renovation and gardening in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California and beyond. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587/19 "2011-01-06T20:36:35Z")
Every apartment I’ve been in in NYC has the apartment floor level with the hallway – no steps down at any point. But i don’t doubt that they exist. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587/20 "2011-01-07T00:38:47Z")
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. > [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > I thought Rear Window was set in San Francisco. Nope, it’s set in artsy Greenwich Village (hence the dancer, musician & artist in the building across from Jeffries’ place). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steps-down-from-new-york-apartment-entrances/566587.md?page=2)