Category Archives: New York

New York City

Puck Building – NoLita

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The Puck Building – named for the magazine that originally had offices and printing presses here – was built in two sections: the north (shorter, Houston Street) end in 1886 and the south end seven years later, in 1893.

The massive structure was among the largest built in what was then the printing/publishing district, designed in the German variation of Romanesque Revival. However, the building’s chief architectural distinction is two gilt-covered statues of Puck, Shakespeare’s character (from “A Midsummer’s Night Dream”): The larger on the NE corner, a smaller version over the Lafayette Street entrance.

At this writing, the building’s cornice is being rebuilt to hide a penthouse recently (December 2011) approved by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Puck Building Vital Statistics
  • Location: 293 Lafayette Street at E Houston Street
  • Year completed: 1886 and 1893
  • Architect: Albert and Herman Wagner
  • Floors: 9
  • Style: Romanesque Revival
  • New York City Landmark: 1983
  • National Register of Historic Places: 1983
Puck Building Suggested Reading

Google Map

SoHo

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SoHo is (according to New York’s Landmarks Preservation Commission designation report) the world’s largest concentration of cast iron facades. The style emphasizes floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall windows. My personal favorite is the Singer Building on Broadway – an L-shaped building with its second entrance on Prince Street. The row of buildings along the west side of Broadway is predominantly block-through structures with back entrances on Mercer Street.

Most visitors to SoHo (South of Houston – which New Yorkers pronounce How-ston) are more interested in shopping than in architecture: The district has become a designer outlet, missing only a free parking lot. Even Canal Street – once the preserve of scrap, tool, and junk shops – is becoming semi-respectable.

As you tour the area you may notice “A.I.R.” painted on some buildings. That stands for “Artist In Residence” to alert the Fire Department that the lofts may be occupied.

SoHo Historic District as defined by the Landmarks Commission extends from Houston Street south to Canal Street, and from West Broadway east to Crosby Street. This gallery includes some buildings (even-numbered) from the west side of West Broadway and St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church (on Sullivan Street off Houston Street).

Google Map

Fire Houses

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What’s a fire house? Just a dorm with a garage, right? No way!! It’s where New York’s Bravest hang their helmets while pursuing arguably the most exciting career in the city. It’s where a kid might loiter on a summer afternoon: Waiting for the bells to summon firefighters to another blaze, watching the trucks roar to life, hearing the sirens and bells warn mere mortals to clear the way. (Well, fire trucks used to have shiny brass bells, and if you asked really nicely, the firemen would sometimes let you ring the bell.)

That excitement and romantic view of firemen must have inspired New York architects, because they designed some really awesome fire houses!

The elaborate stations of the early 1900s came about as New York City transitioned from volunteer corps to a paid professional force. The FDNY had its own architect, which for many years was Napoleon LeBrun. His crowning work was the station for Engine Company 31, a Loire Valley chateaux-style confection now used as television studios.

Incidentally – when you see a tower attached to or sprouting from a firehouse, that’s where they hang their hoses to dry between fires.

This photo gallery is but a small sample; you might also enjoy the “Ten House” (Engine Company 10/Ladder Company 10) website – it’s a portal into dozens of FDNY websites: www.fdnytenhouse.com/fdnylinks.htm

Gansevoort / Meatpacking District

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The Gansevoort / Meatpacking District is tucked under Chelsea – just a block downtown from Chelsea Market: from 14th Street south to Horatio Street, Hudson Street to Tenth Avenue. The warehouse loading docks are mostly empty and quiet; high fashion boutiques have edged out most of the wholesale meat suppliers. (Navigating the cobblestone streets must be murder in high heels!)

Meat packers were once supplied by rail – Gansevoort Street is the southern terminus of The High Line, the abandoned elevated rail line now turned into a park. (Also see High Line Park gallery.)

One of the architectural standouts is The Standard Hotel – which straddles The High Line on massive supports. The hotel entrance is in a bright yellow cylinder – there’s no sign anywhere to tell you it’s a hotel. I asked the doorman about that – he explained: “This is not your standard hotel.”

Gansevoort / Meatpacking District Recommended Reading

Google Map

Posterized Photos

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This gallery is just for fun – posterized versions of images used elsewhere in this site. These images all started out normally – sets of bracketed exposures. Then I used Photomatix software to apply color shifts and luminosity effects with the “Grunge” preset. (See NewYorkitecture.com Photography Technique for more information about this technique.)

The images in the gallery are of buildings in the Chelsea, Soho, Ladies Mile, Civic Center, Astor Plaza and Flatiron districts.

Chelsea

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Chelsea began in 1750 as a single estate, extending from what is now 28th Street south to 19th Street, and from the Hudson River east to Eighth Avenue. Now in its third century of subdivision, the neighborhood’s definition has expanded south to 14th Street and east to Seventh Avenue.

Chelsea’s commercial and residential makeup has shifted like the tides: Breweries, warehouses, factories, film studios, theaters, town houses and tenements have come and gone; multiple rail lines, both street level and elevated, brought goods in and out (the last remnant is now The High Line park).

Contemporary Chelsea has luxury housing, shops and art galleries – overflow from SoHo. And although the neighborhood boasts three historic districts – Chelsea Historic District, Chelsea Historic District Extension, and West Chelsea Historic District – the neighborhood has a tremendous variety of architectural styles. You’ll find modern landmarks such as the IAC Building (2007) and 100 Eleventh Avenue (2009) just two blocks from the Gothic Revival style General Theological Seminary (1883).

For NewYorkitecture.com’s purposes, we are dividing this area into two parts: West Chelsea, the area between W 28th Street and W 15th Street west of The High Line; Chelsea, from W 28th Street south to W 15th Street and The High Line east to Seventh Avenue.

Among the Chelsea landmarks that are outside the Landmarks Preservation Commission-designated historic district are four notable whole-block structures.
Chelsea Market, the interconnected buildings between W 15th and W 16th Streets and Ninth to Tenth Avenues, is the former Nabisco plant where Oreos were invented and produced (now that’s historic!). An extension from Tenth to Eleventh Avenues is connected by a bridge. Today the buildings house stores, restaurants, offices and television production studios – including, appropriately, The Food Network. See more on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_Market.

Just across Ninth Avenue from Chelsea Market is Port of New York Authority Commerce Building/ Union Inland Terminal No. 1. This is the one-time headquarters of the Port Authority (before they moved into the World Trade Center). Conceived as a warehouse/distribution center at a time when Hudson River piers were active and rail lines served Tenth Avenue, the building is now offices, and was purchased by Google in 2010. Some interesting background at: http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4949&page=73.

London Terrace Gardens apartments is 14 interconnected buildings between W 23rd and W 24th Streets, from Ninth to Tenth Avenue. When built in 1930, the complex was the world’s largest apartment building. The set has been broken up – the 10 inner buildings and the four avenue-facing towers have separate owners. See more at: http://www.londonterrace.com/building/history-photography.htm.

The Fashion Institute of Technology campus occupies eight buildings on two blocks: from Seventh (Fashion) Avenue to Eighth Avenue, W 26th Street to W 28th Street. The campus was built over the period of 1958 to 2001. See the Wikipedia article at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fashion_Institute_of_Technology.

Chelsea Recommended Reading

Also see High Line Park gallery.

Google Map

West Chelsea

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Chelsea began in 1750 as a single estate, extending from what is now 28th Street south to 19th Street, and from the Hudson River east to Eighth Avenue. West Chelsea, the area bordering the Hudson River, became a massive warehousing district due to its proximity to Hudson River piers, freight yards and rail lines along Tenth and Eleventh Avenues. Now the piers have been converted to other uses and the last rail line was converted to The High Line park.

West Chelsea has a wide range of architectural styles. You’ll find modern landmarks such as the IAC Building (2007) and 100 Eleventh Avenue (2009) just seven blocks south of Starrett-Lehigh Building (1931) and Terminal Warehouse (1891).

(For NewYorkitecture.com’s purposes, we are defining West Chelsea as the area between W 28th Street and W 15th Street west of The High Line.)

Two massive full-block structures anchor the landmark district: Central Stores and Starrett-Lehigh Building. Outside the Landmarks Commission district – but certainly modern landmarks – are the IAC Building and neighboring 100 Eleventh Avenue.

Central Stores, Terminal Warehouse Company is actually 25 separate buildings between W 27th and W 28th Streets, from Eleventh to Twelfth Avenue. At one time, railroad tracks ran through the building, allowing transfer and storage of freight to/from trains. Modern-day uses included the Tunnel nightclub (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_%28New_York_nightclub%29). Galleries, exhibits and events are now under development.

Just across W 27th Street, neighboring Starrett-Lehigh Building is a massive warehouse and office complex. Like Terminal Warehouse, Starrett-Lehigh was built to accommodate freight trains on its ground floor (previously the location of Lehigh Valley Railroad freight yards.) See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starrett-Lehigh_Building for more details.

The headquarters of InterActive Corp. (Eleventh Avenue from W 18th to W 19th Street) was designed by modern-day “starchitect” Frank Gehry. The massive glass “sails” were described by Vanity Fair as perhaps the world’s most attractive office building. But you can’t please everyone: “AIA Guide to New York City” sniffs, “Much has been made of Gehry’s use of the computer to transform the instant gesture into architecture, but here the gesture is static.” Wikipedia’s brief entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAC_Building.

Next-door-neighbor 100 Eleventh Avenue uses layer upon layer of glass, set in steel frames – each frame different – to achieve its memorable mosaic façade. The luxury condominium apartment tower was completed in 2009. See the owner’s website: http://nouvelchelsea.com/architecture.php and the City Realty article: http://www.cityrealty.com/nyc/chelsea/100-eleventh-avenue/37641.

West Chelsea Recommended Reading

Also see High Line Park gallery.

Google Map

Three Sisters – Downtown Brooklyn Apartment Towers

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These three neighboring Brooklyn apartment towers along Flatbush Avenue Extension aren’t actually called the Three Sisters, but maybe they should be. From north to south they are: Oro (Gold), Avalon Fort Greene, and Toren (Tower). Besides proximity, they are similar in height (40, 42 and 38 floors, respectively), have similar luxury amenities, and have glass corner designs (wraparound corner windows) for spectacular views.

For each of these towers, check out the developer’s website, of course, but also the City Realty articles. This real estate broker has its own architectural critic, Carter B. Horsley, who was a real estate/architecture reporter and critic for The New York Times and the New York Post.

C_IMG_6880_1_2Adjust [4/4/2012 9:04:57 AM]Oro, designed by Ismael Leyva, Architects, is the eldest sister, completed in 2008. The 40-story building contains 303 condominium apartments, with asking prices reported in the range of $365,000 to $1.2 million for studio through 3BR units. Apartments have nine-foot ceilings (eight feet is the norm), floor-to-ceiling windows, granite countertops and other luxury features. The building’s amenities include a health club with indoor pool and basketball/racquetball court. Oro’s irregular shape allows five of the seven or eight apartments on each floor to have wraparound corner windows. The condo’s name has a double meaning: Oro (Gold) of course implies luxury; but it so happens that the address is 306 Gold Street.

Oro website: www.orocondos.com

City Realty architectural commentary: www.cityrealty.com/nyc/downtown-brooklyn/oro-306-gold-street/42134

D_IMG_6937_8_9Adjust [4/4/2012 9:12:45 AM]Avalon Fort Greene – the middle sister – is a rental building offering 631 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments at monthly rents of $2,180-$5,000. Perkins Eastman Architects designed Avalon Fort Greene, which was completed in 2010. Like Oro, this 42-story residential tower has floor-to-ceiling windows and other luxury features.

Avalon Fort Greene website: www.avaloncommunities.com/

City Realty architectural commentary: www.cityrealty.com/nyc/fort-greene/avalon-fort-greene-343-gold-street/45851

B_IMG_6868_69_70Adjust [4/4/2012 9:02:21 AM]Toren is the smallest sister – just 240 apartments and 38 floors. Designed by Carl Galioto of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, it was completed in 2010. This is a condo development, also offering studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units at prices of up to $1.2 million. Toren’s unusual non-rectangular shape creates some odd-shaped living and bedrooms. Kitchens are open to the living/dining rooms – not even an “island” stands between sink, stove and sofa.

Toren website: www.torencondo.com/

City Realty architectural commentary: www.cityrealty.com/nyc/downtown-brooklyn/toren-150-myrtle-avenue/40806

Google Map

Downtown Brooklyn (Civic Center)

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Brooklyn has some amazing architecture, as these photos will attest. After all, Brooklyn was the second-largest city in America at the time that it joined New York City – so Brooklyn’s civic architecture was as impressive as New York City’s. (That Brooklyn even joined New York City is a surprise – why would it want to give up its identity?)

The Civic Center extends roughly from High Street south to Atlantic Avenue, and Cadman Plaza West/Court Street east to Flatbush Avenue Extension. The neighborhood is surrounded by equally historic districts: Fulton Ferry, DUMBO, and Vinegar Hill to the north; Brooklyn Heights to the west; Boerum Hill and Cobble Hill to the south; Fort Greene/Clinton Hill to the east. (Google Map of area)

In 2011, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated a tiny area (21 buildings in an area of about 2-1/2 blocks) the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District. The Commission’s 63-page designation report includes a history of Brooklyn’s development; Brooklyn fans will enjoy it. Eleven individual buildings outside this district were (earlier) designated NYC landmarks.

While taxpayer-sponsored grandiose architecture makes up a large portion of the photos in this gallery, schools are also well represented. NYU’s Polytechnic Institute, Long Island University Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Law School, and City University have major contributions. MetroTech – a quasi-public commercial development – is a modern intrusion in the area.

Several commercial and civic landmarks – most notably 75 Livingston Street and 110 Livingston Street – have been converted to residential use. A few striking new apartment towers have been erected – I’ve taken the liberty of dubbing a trio the “Three Sisters,” and gave them their own gallery.

Downtown Brooklyn Suggested Reading

  • Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District Designation Report [63-page pdf]. Includes photos and architectural details for 21 buildings in the district, plus history of Brooklyn (as context for the district) and profiles of significant architects.
  • Brooklyn Historical Society web site.
  • Brooklyn Historic District maps.
  • More Brooklyn historic maps – including early subway and trolley routes.

Google Map of area

The Wright Stuff: Frank Lloyd Wright in NYC

Architecture, Collections, Manhattan, Staten Island, , , , , , ,

Frank Lloyd Wright is one of America’s most famous and prolific architects,* but New York City has only three projects to remember him by – and two were transplanted from the Midwest.

The landmark Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum on Fifth Avenue (between 88th and 89th Streets) is instantly recognizable for its helical shape – decades ahead of its time when completed in 1959. Just a few blocks away, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Frank Lloyd Wright Room (gallery 745 on the first floor of the American Wing) preserves the living room from a 1914 home originally built in Wayzata, Minnesota for Frances W. Little. But you’ll have to trek to Staten Island to see the third project: The “Crimson Beech,” aka the William and Catherine Cass House, on Lighthouse Hill. [Note: This is a private home, please respect their privacy. You can see and photograph the front of the house from the road, but don’t trespass or expect a tour.] The house was actually prefabricated in the Midwest and shipped to Staten Island; it was completed in 1959, shortly after Wright’s death.

Frank Lloyd Wright Suggested Reading

Visiting Crimson Beech by public transit is challenging. Weekdays: From the ferry terminal on Staten Island, take Staten Island Railway to Great Kills; transfer to the S54 bus toward West New Brighton – get off where the bus turns from Arthur Kill Road onto Richmond Road (about 10 minute ride). On weekends, take the S74 bus from the ferry terminal instead of the rail/bus combo (the S54 does not run on weekends). From the intersection of Arthur Kill Road and Richmond Road, walk uphill on Arthur Kill Road to Edinboro Road. This is a steep, winding route with no sidewalks and narrow shoulders – exercise caution. Oh, a little extra challenge: Edinboro Road has no street sign. Look on the right for a white sign for La Tourette Golf Course, turn right (east) there and follow the road (keep to the right) until it comes out on Rigby Avenue; turn right 1 block to Manor Court; on Manor Court, Crimson Beech will be the second house on the right, #48.**

Print the Google Map.

*In 1991 the American Institute of Architects declared Frank Lloyd Wright “the greatest American architect of all time.” In his 70-year career he designed 1,000 structures and completed 500. And what other architect has a song? (Simon and Garfunkle’s “So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright.”)

**If you’ve made it all the way to Crimson Beech, you deserve a bonus: Go back up to Edinboro Road and walk east about a block to see the Staten Island Lighthouse (aka Richmond Light, aka Staten Island Range Lighthouse).