New York is a cultural spectrum of many interesting neighborhoods. One of these is Tudor City which is a historic area in Midtown Manhattan built during the 1920s. It was created by Fred F. French and is made of 12 structures fashioned in Tudor style.

The magnificent Tudor City did not start so majestic at all. It was actually a notorious and dirty neighborhood consisting of brownhouses and tenements flanked by slaughterhouses, breweries and a gas company which generates smut and foul odor.

The transformation of this area began in the 1920s when the Fred F. French company began acquiring lots on this eastern part of Midtown Manhattan in preparation for an extensive housing endeavor. Fred F. French is also known for his work on the Knickerbocker Village and the Fred F. French Building. In 1925, French commenced the building on what he dubbed as ?The largest project in Midtown? called Tudor City. It was finished in 1928 and was composed of twelve apartment structures which hold 600 hotel units and 3000 residential accommodations. The project was spearheaded by the guru H. Douglas Ives who, together with his team, have been extensively trained using the Tudor Style which is a design school of thought which was dominant at the peak of the Tudor Dynasty. A trademark of this design principle is the brickwork and the complex and masterfully crafted stonework.

In an attempt to win back some of the middle class who transferred to suburban residential developments, several amenities were included in the project and the concept of the neighborhood is arguably forward looking. Tudor City also features a couple of private and exclusive gardens found at the middle of the historic district. In order to avoid the gruesome view of the slaughterhouse found on its east side border, the apartments in Tudor City is all oriented inwards with vistas of the greeneries and windows on the east side were employed very scarcely. But eventually, these slaughterhouses were taken down in the 1940s. The space is now occupied by the United Nations Headquarters.

Today, Tudor City serves as the home of 5,000 residents and majority of the hotel accommodations and apartments are co-operative housing properties. Tudor City stands on a plateau that appears to be separated from the rest of Midtown Manhattan and offers tranquility and quiet to jaded New Yorkers.

Tudor City was granted a historic district status on May 17, 1988 and spans from 40th street to 43rd in the middle of First Avenue and Second Avenue.