Sniffen Court Historic District

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = Sniffen Court Historic District

| nrhp_type = hd

| image = Sniffen Court E36 cloudy jeh.jpg

| image_size = 300

| alt =

| caption = (2012)

| locmapin = New York City

| map_alt =

| map_caption =

| coordinates = {{coord|40|44|49|N|73|58|41|W|display=inline,title}}

| location = off East 36th Street
between Third and Lexington Avenues
Manhattan, New York City

| built = 1863-1864

| builder = John Sniffen

| architecture = Early Romanesque revival

| added = November 28, 1973

| designated_nrhp_type =

| refnum = 73001224

| mpsub =

| designated_other2_name = New York City Landmark

| designated_other2_date = June 21, 1966

| designated_other2_abbr = NYCL

| designated_other2_link = New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission

| designated_other2_number =

| designated_other2_color = #FFE978

}}

The Sniffen Court Historic District is a small close-ended mews, running perpendicularly southwest from East 36th Street, between Third and Lexington Avenues in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The district, one of the smallest in New York City,{{cite nycland|page=106}} encompasses the entire alley, which consists of 10 two-story brick stables built in 1863–1864 in the early Romanesque Revival style.{{cite aia5|page=284}} The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated Sniffen Court as a city historic district on June 21, 1966,{{cite web |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/SNIFFEN_COURT_HISTORIC_DISTRICT.pdf |title=Sniffen Court Designation Report |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809003956/http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/SNIFFEN_COURT_HISTORIC_DISTRICT.pdf |archive-date=August 9, 2017 |date=June 21, 1966}} and the district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 28, 1973.{{cite web | title=Federal Register: 44 Fed. Reg. 7107 (Feb. 6, 1979) | publisher=Library of Congress | date=February 6, 1979 | url=http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/fedreg/fr044/fr044026/fr044026.pdf | access-date=March 8, 2020 | page=7538 (PDF p. 338) | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230122005/http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/fedreg/fr044/fr044026/fr044026.pdf | archive-date=December 30, 2016 | url-status=live}}

Description and history

Sniffen Court may have been named after John Sniffen, a local builder,{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=November 10, 1991|title=Streetscapes: Sniffen Court; Mystery Shrouds Naming of Enclave|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/10/realestate/streetscapes-sniffen-court-mystery-shrouds-naming-of-enclave.html|access-date=May 23, 2022|issn=0362-4331}} although The New York Times could not find evidence of his involvement with the alley. As the need for carriage houses lessened, the buildings were converted for other uses. In 1918, two of the stables (#1, also known as 150 East 36th Street, and #3) were bought by the Amateur Comedy Club, which has been in existence since 1884, to be their clubhouse and theatre; they remain there today.{{cite web |url=http://amateurcomedyclub.org/ACCBroch.pdf |title=Amateur Comedy Club brochure |access-date=January 31, 2013}}{{dead link|date=May 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In the 1920s the conversions continued, and by 1966 one of the buildings was in use as an architect's office, the gabled building at #2 (156 East 36th Street) was the home of a noted architect, while the remainder were small private residences.

Two artists associated with the mews were the sculptors Malvina Hoffman and Harriet Whitney Frishmuth, both of whom had studios in the Court.{{cite web |url=http://www.fineoldart.com/browse_by_essay.html?essay=275 |title=Harriet Whitney Frishmuth |website=Fine Old Art |access-date=February 1, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904002008/http://www.fineoldart.com/browse_by_essay.html?essay=275 |archive-date=September 4, 2012}} On the rear of the alley are mounted two sculpted plaques of Greek horsemen by Hoffman.

Notable people

Composer Cole Porter once owned a residence at 2 Sniffen Court as well as the townhouse next door at 4 Sniffen Court in order to discreetly put up his boyfriend at the time, all while he was in residence at the Waldorf-Astoria. In the 1930s, author Pearl Buck resided in what had been Hoffman's home.{{cite news |last=Golson |first=Blair |date=December 23, 2002 |title=Widow's Walk |url=https://observer.com/2002/12/widows-walk/ |work=Observer |access-date=May 22, 2022}} Also, legendary comedian Professor Irwin Corey owned a home on Sniffen Court for many years. Since then, the street has played host to model Claudia Schiffer, musician Lenny Kravitz and, more recently, British talk show host Graham Norton.{{cite web | url=https://www.brickunderground.com/blog/inside_sniffen_court_murray_hills_hidden_civil_war_era_side_street | title=Inside Sniffen Court, Murray Hill's hidden Civil War-era side street | date=March 10, 2016 |last=Smith |first=Virginia K. |website=Brick Underground |access-date=December 26, 2021}}{{cite news |last=Marino |first=Vivian |date=May 2, 2025 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/realestate/graham-norton-manhattan-carriage-house-for-sale.html |title=Graham Norton's Manhattan Carriage House Is Listed for $5.595 Million |work=The New York Times |access-date=May 6, 2025}}

In popular culture

Sniffen Court is used for the cover of the Strange Days album by The Doors, released in 1967.{{cite web |url=http://www.nevermindthebuspass.com/happiness-archive/classic-album-covers/classic-album-covers-strange-days-the-doors/ |title=Classic Album covers : Strange Days – The Doors |publisher=Nevermindthebuspass.com |date=February 2, 2012 |accessdate=August 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220123855/http://www.nevermindthebuspass.com/happiness-archive/classic-album-covers/classic-album-covers-strange-days-the-doors/ |archive-date=December 20, 2014 |url-status=dead }}{{cite book |last=Gaar |first=Gillian G. |year=2015 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xu76CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA46 |title=The Doors: The Illustrated History |location=Minneapolis |publisher=Voyageur Press |page=46 |isbn=9780760346907 |access-date=May 7, 2025 |via=Google Books}}