What's in a name

In 1908, the beautifully-rendered three-window-wide Beaux-Arts 'Bownette Apartment Building' opened up on the north side of West 81st Street, across from the American Museum of Natural History. It's façade is a joy, leading up to a Second-Empire pitched slate roof with copper flashing and a row of petite dormer windows.

In 1935, the planetarium at the museum was named for Charles Hayden, a banker who funded the completion of the structure. Three years later, the Bownette was renamed for him and Hayden House was christened. 

Then, in 2000, the Hayden Planetarium was demolished to make room for the largest glass box ever constructed and housing the newly named Rose Center for Space and Earth. 

Today, Hayden House is still whimsically pretty, but stares all day at its lovely reflection in a glass box that replaced its namesake.