White Glove Building (1983?)

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The real estate section of today's NY Post mentions "white glove building" and hints that it's a term used on the west side (e.g., Central Park West). HDAS? OED?
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http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=122614
Re: white-glove building



There are two possible interpretations.

First, white gloves have historically been considered "proper" attire for ladies. (And for U.S. Marines. But I don't want to go there.

So using white-glove may mean "formal" or "proper."

Second, somewhat related to the first, there is the story of the inspector: commanding officer, mother-in-law, whatever. In this apocryphal tale, the inspector would wear white gloves when checking the cleanliness of a room. Any dirt or dust that was missed would show up on the gloves, making the inspection a nightmare for whoever was responsible for cleaning.

So your building could be formal, rigid, ruled by etiquette, or it could be very, very clean.

=Austin
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Re: white-glove building



A boring bit of Googling turned up many, many ads for apartments, including this little gem:

Quote:
This great 2bed 1bath is in a white glove building that has a real nice tenant lunge,

but more important to this thread, this definition:

Quote:
White Glove Building - A luxury doorman building usually with concierge. Often offers more services and elegance than a typical luxury building. The doorman's uniforms would include white gloves, hence the term "White Glove".

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(GOOGLE GROUPS)
Medical Office Sublet Available   Subtenant has their own street entrance in a white glove building facing Central
Park. Two large examination rooms and a large consultation room. ...
nyc.market.housing - Jun 1 1995, 2:48 am by Applied Economics Corp. - 1 message - 1 author

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Classified Ad 11 -- No Title
New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Oct 19, 1983. p. B20 (1 page)
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Up With Their Rents! Albany Aims at the Rich; CITY Up With Their Lowly Rents! Taking Aim at Rich Tenants
By DEBORAH SONTAG. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: May 2, 1997. p. A1 (2 pages)
First page:
In a white-glove building on Fifth Avenue, it was his three-bedroom home of 18 years.
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Substation at Park Entrance Called Substandard, Visually; A transformer, though beautified, is likely to stay.
JANET ALLON. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Sep 14, 1997. p. CY8 (1 page)
To many residents of Central Park West's white-glove buildings, local historic preservationists and ordinary park enthusiasts, the electrical transformer that was installed at the 86th Street entrance to the park 18 months ago is a visual affront.
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RESIDENTIAL RESALES
New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Dec 11, 1997. p. F11 (1 page)
Two miles north and three blocks west, Leslie Wexner, the chairman of Limited clothing company, has signed a contract to buy a 16-room co-op duplex at 834 Fifth Avenue, the super-white-glove building on 64th Street, for $9 million, brokers familiar with the deal say.

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