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Mulberry House

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Mulberry House demonstrates how architects can play zoning restrictions to circumvent the intent of community planning boards. Here, zoning restrictions were written to preserve the character of the neighborhood. (Mulberry House is directly across the street from the landmark Puck Building.) But as the architects described in ArchDaily:

“Making a literal interpretation of code written for classical ornamentation allowed us to project our enclosure over the property line at 10% intervals for every 100 square feet. Maximizing the amount of projected area, while minimizing the overall depth of the enclosure became key criteria for our design. When coupled with material properties and fabrication constraints, these criteria began to define an approach that was a contemporary reinterpretation of brick detailing. By customizing a standard precast brick panel system, we were able to achieve maximum effect at minimum cost. The building then becomes veiled by an textured wrapper around the street walls in contrast with the simplicity of the inner core.”

Whether you like SHoP Architects’ design or not, you have to admire the texture of the brickwork and its construction. Look up along the building’s southern edge on Mulberry Street, to see the brick-on-concrete panels.* And if you like to see how things are made, Mulberry House’s construction is richly documented on line – browse the Recommended Reading links below for very detailed views and explanations.

Alas, the original developer bailed out on this condo project when the real estate market tanked; the new developer has reconfigured Mulberry House as a rental building. The eight full-floor apartments start at $10,500/month; the one triplex penthouse is reportedly $25,000/month.

* In most modern construction, a steel and/or concrete frame supports the building; brick is only a decorative/protective skin that is attached to the frame.

Mulberry House Vital Statistics
  • Location: 290 Mulberry Street between E Houston and Prince Streets
  • Year completed: 2013
  • Architect: SHoP Architects
  • Floors: 13
  • Style: Postmodern
Mulberry House Recommended Reading

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Fashion Center Building

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Fashion Center Building, in the words of The New York Times, “is hardly a traffic-stopping landmark.” But its entrance and its terra cotta decoration are noteworthy – someone was paying attention to details.

The Seventh Avenue entrance was restored in 1994 to close to its original state – the ornate wrought iron grill had been removed and the vestibule had been enclosed with a line of modern doors. The restoration architect, George Ranalli, added modern touches in the floor, lighting and lobby desk, but otherwise preserved the spirit of the original.

Fashion Center Building Vital Statistics
  • Location: 525 Seventh Avenue at W 38th Street
  • Year completed: 1922
  • Architect: Henry Ives Cobb
  • Floors: 22
  • Style: Romanesque Revival
Fashion Center Building Recommended Reading

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Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Philadelphia, , , , , , , ,

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is the oldest art museum and school in the United States, dating back to 1805. The Furness-Hewitt Building, completed in 1876, replaces the Academy’s first buildings on Chestnut Street, which the museum outgrew. The structure is widely regarded as architect Frank Furness’ masterpiece, and was controversial when built.

Contrast and color, as much as form, make PAFA’s museum so striking. The white limestone arches rest on brownstone bases; the brick infill is patterns of red and black.

The Furness-Hewitt Building interior is as grand and ornate as the exterior: The central staircase rises through an opulent four-story atrium ringed by marble arches, columns, statuary and gilt-on-red floral patterned walls, under a cerulean blue ceiling sprinkled with silver stars. Much of the opulence had been covered up in the first half of the 1900s, but the building was restored to its original glory for its centennial, in 1976.

(In 2005 PAFA opened adjacent Samuel M. V. Hamilton Building, a converted former federal building and automobile factory.)

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Vital Statistics
  • Location: 118 N Broad Street, Philadelphia
  • Year completed: 1876
  • Architect: Frank Furness and George Hewitt
  • Floors: 4
  • Style: Neo-Gothic
  • National Register of Historic Places: 1971
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Recommended Reading

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One Kenmare Square

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One Kenmare Square is a modern addition to SoHo, with a wavy brick and glass face that breaks the building line – as if its towering form and made-up address wasn’t enough to make it stand out. (Kenmare Square no longer exists – the park of that name was renamed in 1987.)

Except for the undulating Lafayette Street facade, the design is minimalist: No decoration softens the industrial-grey brick. The ribbon windows are reminiscent of the Starrett-Lehigh Building (warehouse/office complex) in West Chelsea.

One Kenmare Square Vital Statistics
  • Location: 210 Lafayette Street at Kenmare Street
  • Year completed: 2005
  • Architect: Gluckman Mayner Architects
  • Floors: 12
  • Style: postmodern
One Kenmare Square Recommended Reading

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Langham Place

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Langham Place (formerly Setai Fifth Avenue) is a towering grid of limestone, concrete and glass with emphatic vertical lines that mimic the nearby Empire State Building.

The 57-story building is a mix of retail (floors 1-3), 214-room hotel (4-26), and 164 condominium apartments (28-56). The 10-story limestone base has a rounded corner; a 46-story sheer concrete tower sits atop that. Unusual floor-to-ceiling windows – two panes angled with the bottom pane facing down, top pane facing up – are paired in columns all around. On the residential floors, corner apartments have wrap-around windows. The windows give Langham Place’s facade a unique faceted texture – quite striking from nearby.

The two-story flared stainless steel crown hides water tanks and other mechanical details, and elevator machinery. The crown is illuminated at night.

Among other notable projects in New York City, Gwathmey Siegel & Associates designed the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, W New York Downtown, and Astor Place Tower.

Langham Place Vital Statistics
  • Location: 400 Fifth Avenue at W 36th Street
  • Year completed: 2010
  • Architect: Gwathmey Siegel & Associates
  • Floors: 57
  • Style: Postmodern
Langham Place Recommended Reading

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275 Madison Avenue

Manhattan, , , , , , , , , ,

275 Madison Avenue (originally known as 22 E 40th Street) is an Art Deco landmark in midtown Manhattan. Its polished black granite and silver base continues to be a striking presence more than three quarters of a century after construction. (If only mere mortals had such staying power!)

In contrast to other commercial buildings of the day, 275 Madison had almost no decoration above the base. The tower was promoted as a “shadowless” skyscraper (because there were no projecting cornices, sculptures or other features to cast shadows), though some critics say the lack of ornament was simply a cost-saving measure dictated by the stock market crash. The building’s vertical lines are accentuated by dark columns of windows against a white-brick background.

Architect Kenneth Franzheim is best known for his work in Houston, for Houston-based developer Jesse Jones. It was Jones’ New York-based firm, Houston Properties Corporation, that developed 275 Madison Avenue with New York Trust as the prime tenant. (The bank owned two of the five lots used to build the tower.) In 1933, Johns-Manville Corporation leased 14 floors, so the structure is sometimes called the Johns-Manville Building. However, Johns-Manville already had its own building a block away, on Madison Avenue at E 41st Street.

Despite 275 Madison Avenue’s address, the tower’s main entrance is actually on E 40th Street – and the building was originally known as 22 E 40th Street.

At this writing, 275 Madison Ave. is owned by RFR Realty.

275 Madison Avenue Vital Statistics
  • Location: 275 Madison Avenue at E 40th Street
  • Year completed: 1931
  • Architect: Kenneth Franzheim
  • Floors: 43
  • Style: Art Deco
  • New York City Landmark: 2009
275 Madison Avenue Recommended Reading

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Stewart Building

Manhattan, , , , , , , ,

Stewart Building, in the shadow of Langham Place, narrowly missed being under an office tower; landmark designation saved it, and the Wedgewood-like terra cotta still owns the corner of Fifth Avenue and W 37th Street.

(See The 1914 Stewart Building; A Delicate Work of Ceramic in the Path of a Tower for the full story.)

Architecturally, the Stewart Building’s claim to fame is the unusual mix of Chicago School style and neo-Classical design. The neo-Classical side brings the building’s blue-gray terra cotta cladding. The Chicago Style attributes include the three-part “Chicago Windows,” steel frame, and base-shaft-crown vertical design.

The Stewart Building was originally owned by Robert Walton Goelet – part of one of New York’s wealthiest families, with real estate holdings second only to the Astor family. Architects Warren & Wetmore also designed New York landmarks New York Central Building (aka Helmsley Building), the Heckscher Building, and Steinway Hall, among others. The builder was the George A. Fuller Company, which built thousands of buildings in New York and elsewhere – including the Plaza Hotel, United Nations headquarters, Lever House and Seagram Building.

Stewart Building Vital Statistics
  • Location: 402-404 Fifth Avenue at W 37th Street
  • Year completed: 1915
  • Architect: Warren & Wetmore
  • Floors: 8
  • Style: neo-Classical
  • New York City Landmark: 2006
Stewart Building Recommended Reading

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1407 Broadway

Manhattan, , , , , , ,

1407 Broadway “is the dashingly inventive 1407 Broadway, from 38th to 39th Streets, built in 1950. Strip windows punctuate this intelligent, angular structure, and the green brick and rich red window framing make it an oasis in the near desert of early postwar architecture,” Christopher Gray wrote in The New York Times.

The building’s International style design is certainly a bright, colorful contrast with the Garment District’s 1930s loft buildings in Renaissance or Romanesque Revival style. 1407 Broadway also stands out because the tower is aligned with the Manhattan street grid, instead of with Broadway. The Plaza in front of 1411 Broadway (on the block north of 1407) makes the view from uptown particularly striking.

Though some have tried to get NYC Landmark status for 1407 Broadway, that hasn’t happened, yet.

1407 Broadway Vital Statistics
  • Location: 1407 Broadway between W 38th and W 39th Streets (W 39th Street wing extends to 7th Avenue)
  • Year completed: 1950
  • Architect: Ely Jacques Kahn
  • Floors: 42
  • Style: International
1407 Broadway Recommended Reading

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Union Square and Vicinity II

Collections, Manhattan, , , ,

Union Square was once known for political rallies and the annual May Day rally. The park was overrun by druggies in the ’70s. Union Square has since been cleaned up – figuratively and literally – with new fences, new landscaping and new pavement from East 14th Street to East 17th Street. The peddlers are still out in force, though their products are now veggies, art and souvenirs instead of drugs.

While the square itself has gone through a transformation, many of the buildings ringing the park have retained their 19th century appearance. Here are some favorites:

  • One Union Square West aka Lincoln Building; R. H. Robertson, architect; Romanesque Revival; built 1900; NYC Landmark 1988
  • 5-9 Union Square West aka Spingler Building;
  • 31 Union Square West aka Bank of Metropolis Building; Bruce Price, architect; neo-Renaissance; built 1903; NYC Landmark 1988
  • 33 Union Square West aka Decker Building aka Union Building; John H. Edelmann, architect; Venetian/Islamic styles; built 1893; NYC Landmark 1988
  • 41 Union Square West aka Hartford Building; Beaux Arts; built 1895
  • 33 E 17th Street aka Century Building (now Barnes & Noble bookstore);
  • W Union Square Hotel; formerly Germania Life Insurance Company Building
  • 864 Broadway aka McIntyre Building; R. H. Robertson, architect; neo-Gothic; built 1892; in Ladies Mile Historic District

One landmark that didn’t survive is the S. Klein “On The Square” department store that sat empty for many years – now replaced by the Zeckendorf Towers.

Union Square Vital Statistics
  • Location: E 14th to E 17th Streets, between Park Avenue South and Union Square West
  • National Register of Historic Places: 1997
Union Square Recommended Reading

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Decker Building

Manhattan, , , , , , , , , ,

Decker Building (aka Union Building) is a delight to look at, and fascinating in its history. The white, 12-story limestone and brick facade is lavishly decorated with lacy terra cotta patterns. The windows – some with Venetian-style Juliet balconies – are elaborate works of art in themselves. And the two-story tower, once topped by a minaret, is filled with Moorish ogee (horseshoe) arches.

As befits such a radical building, the Decker Building was designed by John Edelmann, a Cleveland, Ohio-born anarchist so radical that he was expelled from the Socialist Labor Party. At the time, Edelmann was working for New York architect Alfred Zucker. (Louis H. Sullivan, a much more prominent architect, credited his success to Edelmann.)

The original owner, and tenant until 1913, was The Decker Piano Company. The building was then acquired (and renamed Union Square Building) by Lowenfeld & Prager, which traded the property in 1916. In more recent years, The Union Building reverted to The Decker Building. Andy Warhol’s second “Factory” was located on the sixth floor from 1968 to 1974. This is where, in 1968, playwright Valerie Solanas shot Andy Warhol and art critic Mario Amaya.

The building was sold in foreclosure in 1994 to Windsor Construction Company; architect Joseph Pell Lombardi oversaw restoration of the facade. The building now houses a ground floor store and 18 residential units.

Decker Building Vital Statistics
  • Location: 33 Union Square West
  • Year completed: 1893
  • Architect: John H. Edelmann
  • Floors: 12
  • Style: Moorish Revival and Venetian
  • New York City Landmark: 1988
  • National Register of Historic Places: 2003
Decker Building Recommended Reading

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