The Cliff Dwelling, ca. 1990.

Herman Lee Meader’s 1916 apartment building is known as the “Cliff Dwelling” for its narrow, near-triangular lot overlooking the Hudson River and Riverside Drive’s 96th Street underpass. Meader’s floorplans embraced the lot’s irregular shape: he designed all rooms to have windows on the Riverside Drive or 96th Street exposures.

The building’s terra cotta ornamentation depicts figures that evoke the American West — buffalo, snakes, spears, cow skulls, etc. — as well as Mayan and Aztec-influenced geometric brickwork.

In 1979, the Cliff Dwelling was converted to a co-op building, and has undergone significant refurbishments since then.