What’s happening at the Windmere at 57th St?

Pretty much as long as I can remember, the huge apartment building on the corner of 9th Avenue and 57th St has stood abandoned and in severe neglect. That building, seen above in a recent photo, is the Windmere, an early apartment-style building complex built in 1880. The building has landmark status with historical significance in the late 19th century for housing young women and female artists at a time when housing for single women was not common.

The Windmere has quite a storied past with tenants fighting each other, cats overtaking the place, and the Ninth Avenue elevated train tracks crossing right on front of the building.

Today, the building remains closed and work on its renovation has been slow-going but consistent. Maybe one day in my lifetime this building will be open and available for rent again.