WEST STREET BUILDING, 90 West Street and 140 Cedar Street (Aka 87-95 West Street, 21-25 Albany Street, and 136-140 Cedar Street), Borough of Manhattan

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

WEST STREET BUILDING, 90 West Street and 140 Cedar Street (Aka 87-95 West Street, 21-25 Albany Street, and 136-140 Cedar Street), Borough of Manhattan Landmarks Preservation Commission May 19, 1998, Designation List 293 LP-1984 WEST STREET BUILDING, 90 West Street and 140 Cedar Street (aka 87-95 West Street, 21-25 Albany Street, and 136-140 Cedar Street), Borough of Manhattan. Built 1905-07; architect, Cass Gilbert. Landmark Site: Borough of Manhattan Tax Map Block 56, Lot 4. On March 10, 1998, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on the proposed designation as a Landmark of the West Street Building, and the proposed designation of the related Landmark Site (Item No . 1) . The hearing had been duly advertised in accordance with the provisions of law. Five persons, including a representative of the owner and representatives of the New York Landmarks Conservancy and the Municipal Art Society, spoke in favor of designation. There were no speakers in opposition to designation. A statement supporting designation has been received from Council Member Kathryn Freed. Summary The West Street Building, one of three major Downtown office buildings designed by Cass Gilbert, was built in 1905-07 for the West Street Improvement Corporation, a partnership headed by Howard Carroll. Carroll was president of two asphalt companies and vice-president of his father-in-law's Starin Transportation Company, which had major river shipping interests. Although today separated from the Hudson River by the landfill supporting Battery Park City, the site of the West Street Building originally had a highly visible location facing the waterfront along West Street. Carroll conceived of his project as a first-class skyscraper office building for the shipping and railroad industries. In addition to Carroll's companies, the building soon filled up with tenants including major companies in the transportation industry. The building's top floor was occupied by "The Garret Restaurant," which advertised itself as the highest restaurant in New York and boasted of its panoramic river and city views . Cass Gilbert was one of the most prominent architects in New York in the first decade of the twentieth century. His succession of early skyscrapers helped pave the way for the great romantic skyscraper towers of the 1920s and beyond . His West Street Building may be considered transitional from the "base-shaft-capital" arrangement of the late-nineteenth-century office buildings conceived as analogous to a classical column , -- and perhaps best epitomized by his own design for the Broadway-Chambers Building -- to the romantic tower exemplified by his design for the Woolworth Building. While the West Street Building is tripartite in configuration, its upper floors are a romantic mansarded design. The building's Gothic vocabulary is an early instance of its use in American skyscraper design, anticipating the Woolworth Building. The clustered piers in the tower's middle section anticipate the verticality stressed in later skyscraper design. The West Street Building was one of many office buildings erected in lower Manhattan during the first decade following the consolidation of the City of Greater New York, but its handsome design set it apart, and it won widespread critical acclaim. Today, its exterior survives largely intact, and the building remains in commercial office use. DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS Carroll's dock-side skyscraper for the shipping trade Gilbert was born the son of an engineer in The West Street Building was conceived and Zanesville, Ohio, a town laid out in part by his built by the West Street Improvement Company, a grandfather. While still a child, he and his family syndicate of downtown business interests headed by moved to St. Paul, where he completed his Howard Carroll that included John Peirce, who secondary education. In 1876 he entered the office served as the building's general contractor. 1 The of A.M. Radcliffe, a local architect. Two years company initially maintained its offices in the later he went east to study at the architecture school Broadway-Chambers Building, also designed by of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, then Cass Gilbert. headed by William R. Ware; his teacher was a Born in Albany, New York, and educated in Frenchman, Eugene Letang. 9 After two years of New York and abroad, Howard Carroll (1854-1916) study, Gilbert went to Europe; he had hoped to worked as a journalist at the New York Times. He work for an English architect but was unable to find later joined the Starin Transportation Company, a employment. After traveling briefly through France large firm with river transportation interests, owned and Italy, chiefly to see Gothic cathedrals, he was by his father-in-law, John Henry Starin obliged to return to the United States later the same (1825-1909).2 By 1905, when Carroll formed the year. In New York he joined the firm of McKim, West Street Improvement Company, he had become Mead & White, which had been formed barely a the Starin Company's vice-president. He also had year earlier in September 1879. separate business interests unconnected to Starin, as Unlike many major American architects of his president of both the Sicilian Asphalt Paving era, Gilbert did not study at the Ecole des Beaux­ Company and the Asphalt Company of Canada. Arts in Paris. His architectural education, however, Carroll's West Street Improvement Company reflected the American interpretation of Beaux-Arts conceived the West Street Building as a high-class ideas as promulgated through academic institutions office building specifically targeting the shipping and architectural apprenticeships. Eugene Letang industry. Though the site today is several blocks had been an Ecole student; William R. Ware was inland from the waterfront, West Street in 1905 ran one of the five architects who had studied in the along the shore of the Hudson River, and the new New Yark atelier of Richard Morris Hunt, the first building rose directly across the street from the American to attend the Ecole. McKim, who was an docks. 3 At the time West Street was lined with Ecole student, and White, who was not, had both ferries and warehouses of the railroad and steamship worked in the office of the second American to companies.4 In the words of a rental brochure for attend the Ecole, H.H. Richardson. the West Street Building, it "commends itself Returning to St. Paul in 1882, Gilbert set up his particularly to railroads, engineers, dock builders, own practice. Mead had suggested he open a St. contractors, lawyers, shippers, and machinery and Paul branch of McKim, Mead & White, 10 but electrical trades. " 5 instead Gilbert formed a partnership with fellow Carroll commissioned a design for the West M.l. T. graduate James Knox Taylor, which lasted Street Building in April 1905 from architect Cass eight years. During the last two decades of the Gilbert. 6 century he built a solid reputation in St. Paul designing residences, churches, and office buildings; Cass Gilbert (1859-1934)7 most of his designs were in the Shingle Style or the Cass Gilbert's commissions include several of Richardsonian Romanesque. 11 When John Welborn New York City's major landmarks; the two most Root died in 1891, Mead wrote to Gilbert from New important of these, the U.S. Custom House and the York urging him to go to Chicago to become Daniel Woolworth Building, are of national significance. 8 Burnham's new partner; Gilbert, however, chose to Gilbert was a Midwesterner who trained and remain in St. Paul. He became president of the later practiced in the East. His career falls roughly Minnesota chapter of the A.I.A., and was invited to into two parts: a local practice in St. Paul, sit on various architectural juries -- he was the only Minnesota, in the 1880s and 1890s, and a national Westerner on the jury for the New York Public practice, based in New York, from 1900 until his Library competition. death in 1934. 2 In 1895, Gilbert won the competition for the disregard nothing of the past that may guide new Minnesota state capitol, a commission that us in doing so . 15 established his national reputation. 12 Clearly reflecting the impact of the 1893 Chicago Columbian Gilbert also believed, however, that his Exposition, Gilbert's design was an elegant Beaux- approach to skyscraper design was based on Arts building, which, m its monumental structural expression and the aesthetic treatment of compos1t1on, classical style, and elaborate materials. He argued that since commercial decoration, laid the groundwork for his 1899 buildings required thin surfaces, these had to be winning entry in the New York Custom House treated decoratively, and that a thin, decoratively competition. 13 In 1900, Gilbert moved permanently treated surface expressed the structural fact that the to New York. skyscraper was a steel-cage structure, clearly not Throughout his later careeer, Gilbert produced supported by its terra-cotta or stone cladding. One Beaux-A11s-inspired governmental buildings, of the devices he used in this decorative treatment including the Federal Courthouse in New York was proportion; another was color. All these (1934) , the Detroit Public Library (1914), the West aspects of design came to be embodied in the West Virginia state capitol in Charleston (1928-32), and Street Building. the Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C . (1933-35) among many others. These public The West Street Building and Its Design monuments, which comprised a major portion of his During the first decade of the new century, national work, were lavishly decorated with following the 1898 consolidation of the City of sculpture and murals. Greater New York, the lower Manhattan business Gilbert's other major contribution to architecture district experienced a boom in office building was in the field of skyscraper design. As a construction, with 40 new buildings in the financial Midwestern architect working during the last two district alone.
Recommended publications
  • Read Where Architecture Expert Paul Goldberg Comments on the History of New York's Famous Skyscrapers. As You Do So, Complete
    Can you identify any of these buildings? What do they all have in common? Which one do you like best? Read where architecture expert Paul Goldberg comments on the history of New York’s famous skyscrapers. As you do so, complete the following tasks: · In New York buildings are not only buildings, they become ___________________ · New York took over Chicago as regards skyscrapers in ___________________. · The Woolworth building was the tallest building worldwide for _________________. · The _______________ defined the Manhattan skyline. · They are trying to keep a memory of the people who were lost and also to show New York’s ______________________________. · New York stands out from the other cities as the embodiment of ____________________. Woolworth Building; Empire State Building; Chrysler Building; Flatiron; Hearst Tower The Woolworth Building, at 57 stories (floors), is one of the oldest—and one of the most famous—skyscrapers in New York City. It was the world’s tallest building for 17 years. More than 95 years after its construction, it is still one of the fifty tallest buildings in the United States as well as one of the twenty tallest buildings in New York City. The building is a National Historic Landmark, having been listed in 1966. The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark Art Deco skyscraper in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. Like many New York building, it has become seen as a work of art. Its name is derived from the nickname for New York, The Empire State. It stood as the world's tallest building for more than 40 years, from its completion in 1931 until construction of the World Trade Center's North Tower was completed in 1972.
    [Show full text]
  • New York City Adventure “One If by Land, and Two If by Sea”
    NYACK COLLEGE HOMECOMING NEW YORK CITY ADVENTURE “ONE IF BY LAND, AND TWO IF BY SEA” 1 READE S T REE T WASHINGTON MARKET C PARK H G CIV I C T E URC W REE E C E N T E R O ROCKEFELLER C H A M B ERS S T REE T R PARK T E T R K R S RE A T S P N H L WE N W O N R W A RRE N S T REE T S DIS O A A M I C H E R P T T S H R I RE T 2 V E TRI B E C A N E R D AVEN W E T E N K F O R T S T R E CITY O F R A MSURRA YB ST REE T T E HALL BR E T SP W T R O RR PARK R K R O KLY ASHI A L RE O P A U N A P A R K P L A C E S P R U C E S B E D O V E R C RID N A E N G A E S T E MURR A Y S T REE T G T RE RE D D E T E T T T E T 3 Y O E W E N B T B A RCL A Y STREE T E T RE E E LL K M A E T A A N T S S T E RE E RE TRE Y T T S RE M T S R L A P E A I A C K S L L E E L H P I L D I P V ESEY S T REE T E R S T R E T A N N S T R E E T O T W G B EE A T N 4 K W W M A N ES FUL T O N STREE T FRO FU 5 H T C L D E Y T T W O RLD W O RLD T R A D E O S FINA N C I A L C E N T ER SI T E DU F N F T C E N T E R J O H N T S T R E CLI RE E T E T S O U T H S T R E E T T C O R T L A N D T Y E E E S E A P O R T Pier 17 A E M J O T A IDEN E PL H N S T A T T R W S T R R RE N O R T H L E T E E A N T T C O V E D E PEARL STRE T S A T S L I B ERT Y S T REE T LIBER FL W GREENWICH S E R T O T C H Y E R Pedestrian A U S T Bridge S I RE E T H N M CEDA R CED A R S T REE T A I M N BR AID I A S G E T N I T C E L S D A O Y T H A M E S A R S T N L R E E N E T T B AT T E R Y A S L A L B A N Y S T REE T T P O E S RE I PA R K N P U I N E S T T L R E E T T RE E P I N W E CIT Y H A E T T E RE CARLISLE S T REE T T
    [Show full text]
  • Improving the Technical Knowledge and Background Level in Engineering Training by the Education Digitalization Process
    E3S Web of Conferences 273, 12099 (2021) https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202127312099 INTERAGROMASH 2021 Improving the technical knowledge and background level in engineering training by the education digitalization process Konstantin Kryukov, Svetlana Manzhilevskaya*, Konstantin Tsapko, and Irina Belikova Don State University, 344000, Rostov-on-Don, Russia Abstract. The modern technical education digitalization implies an increase in the role of the information component in the training of students. At the same time there is a certain gap between the modern technologies training and the understanding of the fact that construction industry is the mixture of historically formed features and the current state of the industry. Nowadays construction industry is under continuous technical development. The main danger of an insufficient attention to the special aspects of the construction development is the neglect of the preservation of cultural background and architectural heritage, which can be observed in the modern life. The article deals with the issues of improving the effectiveness of the educational process of students by introducing into the educational training process not only modern methods of designing building structures, but also the issues of understanding the history of the emergence of individual construction objects. The construction object can't appear out of nothing. All constructive solution is preceded by a historical situation the situation of cultural and architectural heritage. However, there is no discernible connection between technical education and the humanities and social sciences. The authors use historical examples to justify the need for the use of elements of the humanities by a teacher of a higher technical educational institution with the introduction of the capabilities of modern digital information modeling technologies.
    [Show full text]
  • Historic Lower Manhattan
    Historic Lower Manhattan To many people Lower Manhattan means financial district, where the large buildings are designed to facilitate the exchange of money. The buildings, streets and open spaces, however, recall events that gave birth to a nation and have helped shape the destiny of western civilization. Places such as St. Paul's Chapel and Federal Hall National Memorial exemplify a number of sites which have been awarded special status by the Federal Government. The sites appearing in this guide are included in the following programs which have given them public recognition and helped to assure their survival. National Park Service Since its inauguration in 1916, the National Park Service has been dedicated to the preservation and management of our country's unique national, historical and recreational areas. The first national park in the world—Yellowstone—has been followed by the addition of over 300 sites in the 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. National Park areas near and in Manhattan are: Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site, Fire Island National Seashore, Gateway National Recreation Area, Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, Hamilton Grange National Memorial, and General Grant National Memorial. National Historic Landmarks National Park Service historians study and evaluate historic properties throughout the country. Acting upon their findings the Secretary of the Interior may declare the properties eligible for designation as National National Parks are staffed by Park Rangers who can provide information As the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Department of the Historic Landmarks. The owner of such a property is offered a certif­ to facilitate your visit to Lower Manhattan.
    [Show full text]
  • Old Buildings, New Views Recent Renovations Around Town Have Uncovered Views of Manhattan That Had Been Hiding in Plain Sight
    The New York Times: Real Estate May 7, 2021 Old Buildings, New Views Recent renovations around town have uncovered views of Manhattan that had been hiding in plain sight. By Caroline Biggs Impressions: 43,264,806 While New York City’s skyline is ever changing, some recent construction and additions to historic buildings across the city have revealed some formerly hidden, but spectacular, views to the world. These views range from close-up looks at architectural details that previously might have been visible only to a select few, to bird’s-eye views of towers and cupolas that until The New York Times: Real Estate May 7, 2021 recently could only be viewed from the street. They provide a novel way to see parts of Manhattan and shine a spotlight on design elements that have largely been hiding in plain sight. The structures include office buildings that have created new residential spaces, like the Woolworth Building in Lower Manhattan; historic buildings that have had towers added or converted to create luxury housing, like Steinway Hall on West 57th Street and the Waldorf Astoria New York; and brand-new condo towers that allow interesting new vantages of nearby landmarks. “Through the first decades of the 20th century, architects generally had the belief that the entire building should be designed, from sidewalk to summit,” said Carol Willis, an architectural historian and founder and director of the Skyscraper Museum. “Elaborate ornament was an integral part of both architectural design and the practice of building industry.” In the examples that we share with you below, some of this lofty ornamentation is now available for view thanks to new residential developments that have recently come to market.
    [Show full text]
  • Feature Property
    Woolworth Building An early skyscraper, National Historic Landmark since 1966, and New York City landmark since 1983, the Woolworth Building was the tallest building in the world upon completion in 1913 until 1930. 233 Broadway New York, NY Neo-Gothic Style Façade Architectural Details Straight lines of the “piers” ascend upwards to the over-scaled pyramidal cap Top Portion of Building 57th Floor Observation Deck until 1940 Building Use Transition U-Shaped Portion- 29 Stories Tall Top 30 Floors Conversion to Luxury Residential Condominiums Lobby Details Marble Finishes Vaulted Ceiling Mosaics Stained-Glass Ceiling Light Bronze Fittings PROJECT SUMMARY Project Description A classic early high-rise architectural landmark incorporating Gothic themes with the modern idea of a skyscraper. The 1913 Gothic Revival building featured gargoyles, arches and flying buttresses. Bordered by Broadway, Barclay Street, Church Street, and Park Place, the building is located in New York City’s Financial District. Building Description 57 floor, Neo-Gothic designed, steel-rigid frame structure with light gray, limestone-colored, glazed, terra-cotta façade Official Building Name Woolworth Building Location 233 Broadway, New York City, NY Construction Start - 1910 | Completion- 1913 History Tallest building in the World 1913 - 1930 Named the “Cathedral of Commerce” upon completion Construction Cost $13.5 million LEADERSHIP | PROJECT TEAM | DESIGN | CONSTRUCTION U.S. President Woodrow Wilson New York City Mayor William Jay Gaynor Building Owner 1913 F.W. Woolworth Company Developer F.W. Woolworth Company & Irving National Exchange Bank Architect Cass Gilbert Structural Engineering Gunvald Aus Company Primary Contractor Thompson-Starrett & Company Current Use Office | Residential (top 30 floors) BUILDING CONSTRUCTION & AMENITIES SUMMARY Size 1.3 Million GSF Height 792 Feet | 241 Meters Number of Floors 57 (above ground) Design 57 floor, Neo-Gothic architectural style, featuring gargoyles, arches and flying buttresses.
    [Show full text]
  • Gwendolyn Wright
    USA modern architectures in history Gwendolyn Wright REAKTION BOOKS Contents 7 Introduction one '7 Modern Consolidation, 1865-1893 two 47 Progressive Architectures, ,894-'9,8 t h r e e 79 Electric Modernities, '9'9-'932 fau r "3 Architecture, the Public and the State, '933-'945 fi ve '5' The Triumph of Modernism, '946-'964 six '95 Challenging Orthodoxies, '965-'984 seven 235 Disjunctures and Alternatives, 1985 to the Present 276 Epilogue 279 References 298 Select Bibliography 305 Acknowledgements 3°7 Photo Acknowledgements 3'0 Index chapter one Modern Consolidation. 1865-1893 The aftermath of the Civil War has rightly been called a Second American Revolution.' The United States was suddenly a modern nation, intercon- nected by layers of infrastructure, driven by corporate business systems, flooded by the enticements of consumer culture. The industrial advances in the North that had allowed the Union to survive a long and violent COll- flict now transformed the country, although resistance to Reconstruction and racial equality would curtail growth in the South for almost a cen- tury. A cotton merchant and amateur statistician expressed astonishment when he compared 1886 with 1856. 'The great railway constructor, the manufacturer, and the merchant of to-day engage in affairs as an ordinary matter of business' that, he observed, 'would have been deemed impos- sible ... before the war'? Architecture helped represent and propel this radical transformation, especially in cities, where populations surged fourfold during the 30 years after the war. Business districts boasted the first skyscrapers. Public build- ings promoted a vast array of cultural pleasures) often frankly hedonistic, many of them oriented to the unprecedented numbers of foreign immi- grants.
    [Show full text]
  • Manhattan N.V. Map Guide 18
    18 38 Park Row. 113 37 101 Spring St. 56 Washington Square Memorial Arch. 1889·92 MANHATTAN N.V. MAP GUIDE Park Row and B kman St. N. E. corner of Spring and Mercer Sts. Washington Sq. at Fifth A ve. N. Y. Starkweather Stanford White The buildings listed represent ali periods of Nim 38 Little Singer Building. 1907 19 City Hall. 1811 561 Broadway. W side of Broadway at Prince St. First erected in wood, 1876. York architecture. In many casesthe notion of Broadway and Park Row (in City Hall Perk} 57 Washington Mews significant building or "monument" is an Ernest Flagg Mangin and McComb From Fifth Ave. to University PIobetween unfortunate format to adhere to, and a portion of Not a cast iron front. Cur.tain wall is of steel, 20 Criminal Court of the City of New York. Washington Sq. North and E. 8th St. a street or an area of severatblocks is listed. Many glass,and terra cotta. 1872 39 Cable Building. 1894 58 Housesalong Washington Sq. North, Nos. 'buildings which are of historic interest on/y have '52 Chambers St. 1-13. ea. )831. Nos. 21-26.1830 not been listed. Certain new buildings, which have 621 Broadway. Broadway at Houston Sto John Kellum (N.W. corner], Martin Thompson replaced significant works of architecture, have 59 Macdougal Alley been purposefully omitted. Also commissions for 21 Surrogates Court. 1911 McKim, Mead and White 31 Chembers St. at Centre St. Cu/-de-sac from Macdouga/ St. between interiorsonly, such as shops, banks, and 40 Bayard-Condict Building.
    [Show full text]
  • Empire-State-Bldg.Pdf
    I{est Dominating the westward foreground is the dramatic black spike of ()ne Penn Plaza rising above the Madison Square Garden sports entertainment complex, and to its immediate right, the sprawling Jacob Javits Convention Center. Just beyond, the retired World War Il aircnaft carrier, Intrepid, houses the Air and Space Museum. From this area ferry services Iink Manhattan with New Jersey in minutes, while fleets of excursion craft stand by for sightseeing trips and dinner cruises around the island, or for day-long trips up the Hudson. Across the Hudson the New Jersey landscape stretches out past Newark lnternational Airport to the gently rolling hills of the Ramapo Mountains and beyond to the resort and vacation playgrounds of Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains, South To the south the City takes on a Iess lofty character, where many of its historical buildings are dwarfed by the soaring Wall Street structures. Visible in the center foreground is the appropriately- named Flatiron Building, and south from there the elegant Woolworth Building, once the tallest building in the world at only 60 floors. To the right in Upper New York Bay stands the Great Lady herself, the Statue of Liberty, and the adjoining EIIis Island, where millions of immigrants first stood on American soil. To the lower left, the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges appear as miniatures against the backdrop of the majestic span of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge joining the boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten lsland. I Ncrth Far below in the foreground to the right stands the shimmering Chrysler Building, the impressive Metlife Building (formerly the Pan Am Building) bordering nearby.
    [Show full text]
  • Frank Furness Printed by Official Offset Corp
    Nineteenth Ce ntury The Magazine of the Victorian Society in America Volume 37 Number 1 Nineteenth Century hhh THE MAGAZINE OF THE VICTORIAN SOCIETY IN AMERICA VOLuMe 37 • NuMBer 1 SPRING 2017 Editor Contents Warren Ashworth Consulting Editor Sara Chapman Bull’s Teakwood Rooms William Ayres A LOST LETTER REVEALS A CURIOUS COMMISSION Book Review Editor FOR LOCkwOOD DE FOREST 2 Karen Zukowski Roberta A. Mayer and Susan Condrick Managing Editor / Graphic Designer Wendy Midgett Frank Furness Printed by Official Offset Corp. PERPETUAL MOTION AND “THE CAPTAIN’S TROUSERS” 10 Amityville, New York Michael J. Lewis Committee on Publications Chair Warren Ashworth Hart’s Parish Churches William Ayres NOTES ON AN OVERLOOkED AUTHOR & ARCHITECT Anne-Taylor Cahill OF THE GOTHIC REVIVAL ERA 16 Christopher Forbes Sally Buchanan Kinsey John H. Carnahan and James F. O’Gorman Michael J. Lewis Barbara J. Mitnick Jaclyn Spainhour William Noland Karen Zukowski THE MAkING OF A VIRGINIA ARCHITECT 24 Christopher V. Novelli For information on The Victorian Society in America, contact the national office: 1636 Sansom Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215) 636-9872 Fax (215) 636-9873 [email protected] Departments www.victoriansociety.org 38 Preservation Diary THE REGILDING OF SAINT-GAUDENS’ DIANA Cynthia Haveson Veloric 42 The Bibliophilist 46 Editorial 49 Contributors Jo Anne Warren Richard Guy Wilson 47 Milestones Karen Zukowski A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS Anne-Taylor Cahill Cover: Interior of richmond City Hall, richmond, Virginia. Library of Congress. Lockwood de Forest’s showroom at 9 East Seventeenth Street, New York, c. 1885. (Photo is reversed to show correct signature and date on painting seen in the overmantel).
    [Show full text]
  • FRAUNCES TAVERN BLOCK HISTORIC DISTRICT, Borough of Manhattan
    FRAUNCES TAVERN BLOCK HISTORIC DISTRICT DESIGNATION REPORT 1978 City of New York Edward I . Koch, Mayor Landmarks Preservation Commission Kent L. Barwick, Chairman Morris Ketchum, Jr., Vice Chairman Commissioners R. Michael Brown Thomas J. Evans Elisabeth Coit James Marston Fitch George R. Collins Marie V. McGovern William J. Conklin Beverly Moss Spatt FRAUNCES TAVERN BLOCK HISTORIC DISTRICT 66 - c 22 Water DESIGNATED NOV. 14, 1978 LANDMARKS PRESERVATION., COMMISSION FTB-HD Landmarks Preservation Commission November 14, 1978, Designation List 120 LP-0994 FRAUNCES TAVERN BLOCK HISTORIC DISTRICT, Borough of Manhattan BOUNDARIES The property bounded by the southern curb line of Pearl Street, the western curb line of Coenties Slip, the northern curb line of Water Street, and the eastern curb line of Broad Street, Manhattan. TESTIMONY AT THE PUBLIC HEARING On March 14, 1978, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on this area which is now proposed as an Historic District (Item No. 14). Three persons spoke in favor of the proposed designation. There were no speakers in opposition to designation. -1­ FTB-HD Introduction The Fre.unces Tavern Block Historic District, bounded by Fearl, Broad, and Water Streets, and Coenties Slip, stands today as a vivid reminder of the early history and development of this section of Manhattan. Now a single block of low-rise commercial buildings dating from the 19th century--with the exception of the 18th-century Fraunces Tavern--it contrasts greatly with the modern office towers surrounding it. The block, which was created entirely on landfill, was the first extension of the Manhattan shoreline for commercial purposes, and its development involved some of New York's most prominent families.
    [Show full text]
  • New York: the Ultimate Skyscraper Laboratory
    Tall Building Locations in New York City Tall Buildings in Numbers The recent skyscraper boom has been characterized by an increase in luxury residential construction, an increase in slenderness aspect ratios, and substantial construction in new locations away from Lower and Midtown Manhattan, in areas once considered “fringe,” such as Brooklyn, Queens and Jersey City. The research below examines the function and location of tall New York: The Ultimate Skyscraper Laboratory buildings over 100 meters, recently completed or under construction,3 in the New York City region4, with supertall buildings represented by larger dots. When construction of 111 West 3 4 57th Street (438 m) completes A timeline of skyscraper completions in New York uncannily Study of 100 m+ buildings in the New York City regionQueens – 20 in 2018, it will challenge the (2%) resembles the boom and bust cycles of the United States in QueensJersey – 20 City – 21 VIA 57 WEST (142 m), planned boundaries of engineering with Jersey City – 21 (2%) (3%) Bronx – 10 for completion in 2015, is a a width-to-height ratio of almost Upon completion in the 20th and early 21st centuries. The most active year was Hotel – 52 Other – 8 (3%) Brooklyn – 33 Bronx – 10 (1%) housing project designed as a 1:25, using 15,000 PSI concrete 2015, 432 Park Avenue hybrid between the European (426 m) will become the Hotel – 52 (6%)Other – 8 (1%) Brooklyn – 33 (4%) (1%) and a pendulum damper to 1931, when the fi nal excesses of the Roaring ‘20s were thrown perimeter block and a world’s tallest residential (6%) (1%) (4%) achieve this feat.
    [Show full text]