Item 7
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN
141230- Block 1903, lot 53-
228 Washington Avenue – Clinton Hill Historic District
An Italianate style rowhouse built c. 1868 with an associated garage built in the 20th century. Application is to demolish the garage and to construct a new connected building, and to extend the areaway and fence along Willoughby Avenue.
There are many ways to add to an historic building – from the very modern to the very replicative. What the varying methods have in common when done successfully is some acknowledgement of the original building. This design though – basically a EIFS box with corten steel privacy louvers – does not make reference to or play off of anything in the Clinton Hill Historic District. The very industrial design could be appropriate elsewhere, but not in a 19th-century residential neighborhood.
LPC determination: no action
Item 13
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
143592- Block 193, lot 4-
60-62 White Street – TriBeCa East Historic District
A Second Empire style store and loft building designed by William W. Gardiner and built in 1869. Application is to replace storefront infill, replace windows, construct rooftop and rear additions, alter the rear façade, and remove fire escapes and fire shutters.
Item 14
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
142989- Block 193, lot 1-
66 White Street – TriBeCa East Historic District
A Second Empire style store and loft building designed by William W. Gardiner and built in 1869. Application is to replace storefront infill, replace windows, construct rooftop and rear yard additions, alter the rear façade, and remove fire escapes and fire shutters.
The Historic Districts Council is the advocate for New York City’s designated historic districts and neighborhoods meriting preservation. Its Public Review Committee monitors proposed changes within historic districts and changes to individual landmarks and has reviewed the application now before the Commission.
HDC finds most of this large proposal appropriate. It would be nice though to keep the fire escapes if they are not doing any harm, and the rooftop mechanicals should not be visible over the primary façade and its distinctive cornice. HDC also has concerns about the proposed windows with their in-swinging bottom sash. Similar windows have been approved for much smaller projects such as brownstone houses, but not on such a monumental scale as a store and loft building with many windows, all of a considerable size. HDC asks that triple glazed double hung windows be used instead.
LPC determination: no action
Item 16
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
143953- Block 180, lot 15-
15 Jay Street – TriBeCa West Historic District
A Romanesque Revival store and loft building with neo-Grec elements designed by D. & J. Jardine and built in 1887. Application is to remove the fire escape.
HDC asks that the historic fire escape here on 15 Jay Street be retained. It is only situated on the center bay, leaving terra cotta spandrels and other details uncovered on the rest of the building. Damage on the building appears elsewhere on the façade, so it does not appear that the fire escape is the problem. HDC suggests that the building be repaired and the fire escapes reinstalled as part of its historic fabric.
LPC determination: approved
Item 30
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
144100- Block 1267, lot 22-
75 Rockefeller Plaza, aka 15-19 West 51st Street – Warner Communications (originally Esso) Building, Individual Landmark
An office tower, designed by Robert Carson and Earl Lundin, with Wallace Harrison, and built in 1946 as part of an Art Deco-style office, commercial and entertainment complex. Application is to alter the buildings base at the 51st Street and 52nd facades.
Throughout World War II, Rockefeller Center retained its status as the most fashionable and prominent commercial complex in the world. When the war ended in 1945, tenant demand for more space was met with plans for a new building in the complex which would be named for Rockefeller’s own Standard Oil Company. The Esso Building was designed by Carson & Lundin (who for many years had worked with Associated Architects and eventually become the resident architects of the Center) to fit with the rest of the complex.
HDC finds the proposed alterations to the main entrances of this building too drastic.
On the 51st Street façade, the one which faces Rockefeller Plaza and creates its northern terminus, the central entrance was not built as originally rendered, not an unusual occurrence. What was built is more creative – a solid, concave central entrance with bronze doors flanked by all glass retail spaces. Such glassy storefronts are commonplace now, but would have been rather new in 1946 and the contrast with the more solid entrance highlights them. Moving the main entrance and changing its design and materials changes the reading of the building. As on other buildings in Rockefeller Center, the central entrance denotes the importance of the corporate tenants above and the structure’s role as an office building. Retail is secondary. As the historic photos nicely show, this was the Esso Building first, and Schrafft’s second. Creating an all-glass bay at the most western end out of what is now Deer Isle granite would further throw off the building’s base.
On the 52nd Street facade, the landmark is again losing its prominent main entrance and its symmetry. The entrance now lines up logically with the tower above, and its larger size and central location nicely breaks up the strip of retail. Like on 51st Street, changing this layout changes the very nature of the building.
Like many 67-year-old buildings, the Esso Building could certainly use some cleaning up, but it does not need total rearranging. This project is rooted supposedly in the desire to improve pedestrian flow (or more likely in order to expand retail space.) Is that what now trumps the historic design of a fully functioning landmark? HDC sincerely hopes not.
LPC determination: no action
Item 11
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
144333- Block 90, lot 14-
5 Beekman Street aka 119-133 Nassau Street and 10 Theatre Alley – Temple Court Building and Annex, Individual Landmark
An office building with Queen Anne, neo-Grec and Renaissance Revival style motifs designed by Silliman & Farnsworth and built in 1881-83, and a Romanesque Revival style office building designed by James M. Farnsworth and built in 1889-90. Application is to install storefront infill, a canopy and awnings, a rooftop bulkhead and rooftop HVAC equipment and railings.
HDC is impressed to see a proposal for such a large scope of restoration, especially one that does not seek to add any bulk to the individual landmark. We thank the applicant for this effort to bring the wonderful Temple Court Building back to life, and we look forward to its completion.
LPC determination: approved
Designation Testimony
Item 1
LP – 2541
BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN
RIDGEWOOD LODGE NO. 710, FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS, 1054 Bushwick Avenue
Unlike most other individual lodges in Brooklyn during the early 20th century, who convened at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple at the corner of Clermont and Lafayette Avenues, the Ridgewood lodge was large and active enough to support its own building. In 1920 the Brooklyn firm of Koch and Wagner designed the impressive classical revival building featuring a rusticated stone base, buff colored brick, and terra cotta cornice, beltcourse, and decorative panels featuring Masonic symbols. The building has been vacant and up for sale for a few years now, a perilous position for any building. HDC supports the designation of this structure, significant to the history of the neighborhood, in order to safeguard its future.
Item 2
LP – 2549
BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN
CATHERINA LIPSIUS HOUSE (AKA DR. FREDERICK A. COOK HOUSE), 670 Bushwick Avenue
Bushwick Avenue was once known as “Brewer’s Row” for the mansions of wealthy brewery owners which lined it, and the house at 670 Bushwick Avenue is a proud reminder of that past. Built for brewery owner Catherina Lipsius, the house was designed by Theobald Engelhardt, a local architect also noted for such buildings as nearby Ulmer Brewery. The Romanesque Revival style mansion is reminiscent in its details and materials of the landmarked brewery complex. Abandoned by the 1990s, the house has managed to avoid demolition and more recently found a new owner who has undertaken much-needed repairs. HDC is happy to support the designation of this handsome survivor.
Item 3
LP – 2545
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
BEAUMONT APARTMENTS, 730 Riverside Drive
There are buildings that are notable for being architectural masterpieces, and there are others that are treasured for cultural interest. Beaumont Apartments has the distinction of being both. George and Edward Blum’s fanciful design for the Beaumont includes a two-story limestone base, mottled-brown brickwork, glazed art tiles, and terra-cotta bandcourses and decorative panels. With its quality design, materials, and construction, the grand apartment house looks like the type of building one would assume is already landmarked. As if its appearance is not enough, the Beaumont has also been home to U.S. Representative Jacob K. Javits, celebrated contralto Marian Anderson, and author Ralph W. Ellison. HDC urges the commission to swiftly designate the Beaumont Apartments so that it may finally have the recognition and protection it so richly deserves.