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Presidential Listings: NYC buildings and listings in honor of past U.S. presidents

The office of the President of the United States is frequently associated with Washington, D.C., but the nation’s first capital was New York City. The first president, George Washington, took the oath of office at Federal Hall, which served as the first City Hall in what is now the Financial District. This building was demolished in 1812, shortly after the Residence Act established Washington, D.C. as the nation’s capital, but the current Federal Hall stands on the site as a national memorial. It is a model of Greek Revival architecture and a commemoration of the events that occurred at the previous structure.

Centuries later, New York has not lost its affection for presidential history. Several buildings, streets, and even full neighborhoods have been named in honor of past presidents. In anticipation of the Presidents’ Day federal holiday on Monday, February 19, we look at listings that will appeal to history buffs as well as savvy buyers.

262-Central-Park-West-01 D.C. for the rare win

Approximately 230 miles north of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, The White House offers a commanding presence and majestic views of Central Park on the Upper West Side.

View from The White House Washington Heights got its name from before George Washington was president, indeed before the United States was even a country. One of the general's forts wer built at the highest point of Manhattan, to serve as a lookout for British armies during the Revolutionary War.

The Riviera, #1J (Sothebys International Realty)

President from 1797-1801, John Adams was the first president to have signed the Declaration of Independence. Over 150 years later, a postwar co-op in Greenwich Village was named in his honor.

The John Adams, #11R (Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales LLC)

Before commencing his terms as the nation's third president from 1801 to 1809, Thomas Jefferson was the first president to be inaugurated in Washington, D.C., and the reason why the capital was moved from New York City. In 2021, a statue of Jefferson was removed from City Hall, but a Brooklyn avenue still bears his name and another of our Founding Fathers.

Jefferson Hancock, #3A (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)

Before becoming the United States’ first president from New York, Martin van Buren was an accomplished politician at all state levels. A street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn has been named in his honor. It is lined with timeless rowhouses, but the boutique condo building boom has made its way here. William Henry Harrison served the shortest tenure as president in American history, but his name lives on in a narrow Tribeca street. Ephemeral New York notes that this stretch has gone from residential to commercial to residential again over the decades.

Abraham Lincoln was the first United States president to be photographed at his inauguration, and his name lives on in New York. It cannot be confirmed whether the Lincoln Center performing arts center, and the Lincoln Square neighborhood that preceded it, was named after him.

Lincoln Spencer Arms, #121A (Leven Real Estate)

Before becoming president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson’s academic and political careers largely took place in New Jersey. However, that did not prevent a full-service Art Deco building in Crown Heights from being named in his honor.

The Roosevelt family was one of New York's most prominent and prestigious throughout the Gilded Age. The Gramercy birthplace of Theodore Roosevelt is a National Historical Site, and an island in the East River, once used mainly for hospitals, was named after Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1973. More recently, the island has seen increased residential development and the FDR Four Freedoms State Park opened in 2012.

The Island House, #1312 (Corcoran Group)

Barack Obama Morningside Heights By Official White House Photo by Pete Souza - P120612PS-0463 (direct link)https://web.archive.org/web/20160227060205/https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president-obama (Official White House page - direct link), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23956389 In 2019, activists petitioned to change the name of the strip of Fifth Avenue at 57th Street to President Barack H. Obama Avenue. This did not come to pass, but Obama nevertheless has a connection to New York City: After he graduated from Columbia University, he moved to a fourth-floor walk-up in Morningside Heights. More recently, that apartment has sold for $1,295,000.

622 West 114th Street, #53 (Corcoran Group)

Many buildings, streets, and neighborhoods were named after presidents long after their terms ended. However, the reverse happened for developer-turned-president Donald Trump: Over the course of his presidency, his branded New York City buildings became the site of protests against his most unpopular policies. This resulted in their prices and value taking a hit to a point where some boards have voted to remove the name from the facade altogether.

200 Riverside Boulevard, #27C (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)

Although there are plenty of Joe's around the city (pizza!), Joesph and Biden are two difficult names to find on an apartment building. So we turn to his endearing middle name, Robinette. Since Biden is no spring chicken, we found an Upper West Side building that fits the bill.

Robin Court, #2F (Sothebys International Realty)

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Arica Deslauriers

Update: 2024-05-21