Item 17
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
116096- Block 178, lot 21-
1 White Street – TriBeCa East Historic District
A Federal style building built in 1807 and altered with the addition of a 4th floor in 1857. Application is to install new storefronts and signage.
HDC finds the proposed storefront design to be a nice addition to the West Broadway façade, but we are not so sure about the White Street façade. The proposed design of the commercial entry with its large, elaborate door surround, new steps and railing is rather grand. As there does not seem to be any evidence of such features having been at this location, we would recommend instead retaining the existing lintel and creating a simpler design for this entrance. Finally, HDC feels the design of the proposed lighting fixtures has no relation to this 19th-century building and their number to be excessive on this small storefront.
LPC determination: Approved with modifications
Item 18
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
117388- Block 195, lot 12-
83 Walker Street – TriBeCa East Historic District
A vacant lot. Application is to construct a new building.
While HDC finds the proposed an interesting idea, we do have concerns about the actual execution and longevity of this new building. There are very practical reasons why certain parts of traditional construction project and not recede, mainly to shed water. The exciting design might just be inviting trouble, particularly when combined with the extensive use of GFRC. Has this material been used on such a wide scale before? How well will it stand up to the elements? This is not simply a cornice or other decorative feature that can be repaired or replaced here and there. This is a new building in an historic district, and it should last as long as its landmarked neighbors.
The reverse projections and recessions will also mean the building’s shadows and light will be the reverse of neighboring buildings. Considering how a building appears in a negative, its dark features light and light features dark, the proportions will be thrown off and the façade will likely come out looking very heavy. Again, it is an interesting thing to contemplate, but possibly not what would make the most compatible addition to a landmarked block.
Like seemingly most new buildings, the proposed strains to be the tallest on the block. Removing the top floor or setting it back would create a more neighborly building that would not expose a sidewall. There was talk of the “ups and downs” on this block. If that is an important feature, it is possible to build one of the downs. The top floor does not speak to the rest of the building with its sudden change in fenestration and is not strong enough to act as a cap. A cornice or finishing element of some sort though is needed to complete the building, help it relate to its neighbors, and help keep that pesky water off the façade.
LPC determination: No action
Item 19
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
098987- Block 141, lot 16-
317-319 Greenwich Street – TriBeCa West Historic District
An Italianate style store and loft building, built in 1861-62. Application is to legalize the installation of a platform with railings and signage without LPC permits.
HDC feels that while a platform may be appropriate to the industrial and commercial character of the TriBeCa West Historic District, the extra concrete obscuring historic details is not. A lower platform floor covered with diamond plate would be a better fit. We also find that the illegal railing and menu box are not the best choices for this 1860’s store and loft building. Compatible railings in the district should be looked at as examples for the former, possibly something more horizontal, and a less obtrusive, less permanent solution such as a sandwich board be designed for the latter.
LPC determination: Denied
Item 24
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
118004- Block 615, lot 73-
8 Jane Street – Greenwich Village Historic District
A Greek Revival rowhouse, built in 1843. Application is to raise the roof and alter the rear façade, construct rooftop additions, excavate the rear yard and front yard areaway.
The proposed seems to be an awful lot of little jobs that add up to a considerable amount of work on this lovely, very intact, little Greek Revival rowhouse. HDC’s primary concern is the rooftop additions, particularly the bulkhead, which will be quite visible from the street.
LPC determination: Approved with modifications
Item 33
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
118224- Block 1268, lot 1-
51 West 52nd Street – CBS Building, Individual Landmark
A skyscraper designed by Eero Saarinen & Associates and built in 1961-64. Application is to install signage and a planter.
When CBS decided to build its headquarters just a few blocks away from Rockefeller Center, headquarters of NBC, the corporation sought to make a modern statement, something far different from the old-fashioned Art Deco complex of its arch rival. Eero Saarinen designed for CBS a straight climb of 38 stories of dark granite and glass rising up from a sunken, open plaza. Its “dark dignity”, as Ada Louise Huxtable called it, was the very essence of austere elegance when it was completed in 1964. While designing what would later be called Black Rock, Saarinen is known to have quipped, “It’s even going to make the Seagram building look gaudy.”
The building’s design restraint needs to be kept foremost in mind when considering the installation of signage and a planter. The proposal to put such features in the plaza is certainly preferable to adding any extra signage to the building itself. The vertical signs stand respectfully at the ends of the landmark and reflect its form and verticality. HDC finds the planter and additional signage to be less appropriate. The planter adds a soft, natural element to a building whose intention is anything but soft. Also, its central location makes it the prominent element on a façade not meant to have any standout feature. As the vertical signs along with those above the entrance doors will provide enough signage (on a landmark that really requires none), HDC asks that the planter not be approved.
LPC determination: Approved with modifications
Item 39
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
117925- Block 1583, lot 124-
148 East End Avenue – Henderson Place Historic District
A rowhouse designed by Lamb & Rich and built c. 1882. Application is to demolish an existing rooftop addition and construct a new addition.
That the existing, grandfathered rooftop addition is visible is beyond debate. It stands prominently as a reminder of the type of insensitive alterations that landmarking seeks to prevent. While the applicant has the right to keep up the existing, any new addition can only receive a Certificate of Appropriateness if it meets the usual standards of minimal visibility for a rowhouse of this size.
LPC determination: No action
Item 45
BINDING REPORT
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
118431- Block 2106, lot 1-
2301 Amsterdam Avenue – Highbridge Play Center, Individual Landmark
An Art Moderne style pool complex designed by architect Aymar Embury II, landscape architects Gilmore D. Clarke and Allyn R. Jennings, and civil engineers W. Earle Andres and William H. Latham, and built in 1934-36. Application is to construct pavilions.
While HDC understands the desire to expand the complex in order to create year round access to the interior, we ask whether a solution that reconfigures the interior seasonally has been considered instead. The pavilions’ design and materials have no relation to the landmark building, and their location obstructs its façade. Preservationists and lovers of New York City history are not usually Robert Moses’s biggest fans, but one thing we can agree favorably on that his WPA pool complexes have stood as landmarks long before they were even designated. These structures not only answered the practical needs of neighborhoods for recreation areas, but also the aesthetic right of these places and their residents to beautiful architecture. With designs by well known architects like Aymar Embury II, quality materials and solid construction, these pool complexes were built to proudly last. As they are now officially landmarked, accretions and additions should not be the instant go to answer for the buildings’ continued use. If interior solutions are not possible, any alteration should reflect the landmark both in its aesthetic design and its civic pride.
LPC determination: Approved