New York City
1983

Both the major amenity and the major disadvantage of this pre-war apartment was the number of rooms (four bedrooms, but a dark maze of serving spaces, pantries, etc.). In an effort to tailor the unit to its new owners' needs, the master bedroom wing was reorganized around a periscope-theory dressing hall. And a new circulation axis was carved through the back rooms, ordering space to either side, while providing for modern kitchen and laundry amenities. The new hall, blocked by an immovable bathroom, ends in trompe l'oeil views of Central Park.

Recalling details of bygone years, the hall is a bit of theater in an otherwise solid, if not staid, old world apartment.