It’s unusual to see one-or-two-story, freestanding houses in Manhattan, but there are a pair of surviving ones on East 58th Street just east of 2nd Avenue. High-rise buildings cluster nearby, the Queensboro Bridge went up in 1909 a block away, and an automobile approach ramp was built in 1930 an apartment building away to the east, but here they still are, protected by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1967 for #311 and 1970 for #313.

The pair were built in an Italianate style in the late 1850s and must have been among the first buildings on East 58th, as the cross street had only recently been laid out at that time. Both are brick with stone trim and have basements; only #313 has retained a porch.

#311 is home to antiques store Phillip Colleck, Ltd., while #313 at last check was home to painter John Ransom Phillips after a stint as the Czech Pavilion Restaurant.

12/13/14