Lockwood de Forest House

The Lockwood de Forest house, at 7 East 10th Street, has to be one of the most unusual houses in NYC. Click here for more photos. Lockwood de Forest had interests in art and architecture - he studied with Frederic Church and with Louis Tiffany in 1879, cofounded Associated Artists, a very influential decorating company of the 19th century. He had this house built in 1887 - a relatively plain structure. It is the intricately carved teak exterior elements (provided by a woodworking factory he owned in Ahmedabad, India) that are so striking to everyone who passes by it - the doorways, cornice and most noticeably the 2nd floor projecting oriel window with its intricate filigree and relief carvings of birds, flowers and many other details. The interior had large expanses of teak paneling, Indian furniture and a brass ceiling on the 2nd floor. In 1900, a writer for House Beautiful described it as "The Most Beautiful Indian House in America." An interesting note: De Forest met Rudyard Kipling in India - Kipling stayed at 7 E. 10th on at least one occasion. In 1922, the house was sold and much of the interior was sold at auction. The house was purchased in 1994 by NYU for $2.5 million and converted to the Edgar M. Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life. Efforts have been made to preserve the exterior and remaining interior details ...