Former 30th Police Precinct Station House (32nd Police Precinct Station House)

STATUS Designated Individual Landmark

1854 Amsterdam Avenue

ARCHITECT: Nathaniel D. Bush

DATE: 1871-72

STYLE: French Second Empire

Carmansville Nathaniel Bush

Designated: July 15, 1986

*Constructed in 1871-72 and designed by Nathaniel Bush, who acted as the official architect of the New York City Police Department , this handsome French Second Empire style brick building was located at the center of the village of Carmansville, then an affluent suburb of New York. Typical of Bush’s work, the station house is also an important reminder of the history of this section of Manhattan.

The facade on Amsterdam Avenue and the longer side elevation are treated very similarly. Both have central slightly projecting bays three windows wide flanked by narrow bays with a single window at each story. There is a full basement and areaway surmounted by a simple, but handsome wrought-iron fence which surrounds the building. The entrance has a heavy brownstone round-arched pediment, ornamented with dentils and supported on console brackets. (The original doors and lanterns are no longer in place.) The central first-story window on the side elevation (which was originally an entranceway) displays a similar pediment. The side windows of the central bays have brownstone lintels at each story. Round-arched pediments appear in the flanking bays at the first-story level, triangular pediments at the second, and lintels at the third. A round-arched pediment with dentils surmounts the central window of the second story on both elevations, echoing in smaller scale those below. The quoins, which articulate the bays and corners of the building are composed of alternating smooth and vermiculated brownstone. The cornice, cast in galvanized iron, is bracketed with console brackets atop the quoining. (These were originally surmounted by decorative urns.) The tall mansard roof contains metal pedimented dormers with segmentally arched windows, two flanking the central tower pavilions on each elevation and larger central ones within the pavilions themselves. (The central dormer on the facade was damaged by fire and a large portion of it has been removed.) Metal cresting (a segment of which is no longer extant) with corner finials surmounts the roof. The jail annex to the building is executed in the same brick , is two stories in height and has had a garage door added at stret level. The southelevation of the station is a party wall. The building has been sealed.

*Excerpt from the Landmarks Preservation Commission Designation Report

STATUS Designated Individual Landmark

Take Action

Add the next LPC meeting to your calendar.

Let your local representative know you care.
nyc.gov

Share your photos of this neighborhood

Help preserve New York’s architectural history with a contribution to HDC

$10 $25 $50
Other >
The Neighborhood

Hamilton Heights

The Hamilton Heights Historic District was designated on November 26, 1974

Aaron Dexter, Aaron Douglas, Abolitionist, Academic Classic, Adamesque, Addisleigh Park, Admiral's Row, African American, Al Smith, American Aesthetic, American Art ... VIEW ALL

Explore the Neighborhood >

Local Voices

“I don’t know what the City would be without HDC. [They] testified before LPC time after time and helped us focus on the right issues. We would not be an historic district without HDC! ”

Doreen Gallo: DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance

Local Voices

“Use HDC as a resource because they know what they are doing and can offer advice on how to go about creating a district from every front: architectural, political, LPC, and the media. I had floundered prior to my involvement with this invaluable organization.”

Fern Luskin: Lamartine Place Historic District; Friends of Lamartine Place & Gibbons Underground Railroad Site

Local Voices

“HDC provided guidance and shared information during that process—we knew which Council members were going one way or another and we changed a few minds. I don’t think NoHo would have had as cohesive a district had it not been for HDC’s aid.”

Zella Jones: NoHo Historic District; NoHo East; and NoHo Extension

Local Voices

“I remember Richard saying at a meeting, we have someone here from HDC, Nadezhda Williams, Director of Preservation and Research, to help us. She said to us, ‘You are not the only ones going through this.’ HDC included us in an enormous community”

Erika Petersen: West End Preservation Society

Local Voices

"HDC has begun a series of projects to highlight the Bronx's architectural and cultural history. From booklet's and research highlighting specific sites and historic districts to the HDC's symposium in October 2018 to the latest community-based committee to look into further possible sites to qualify for landmarking, the HDC has established projects that will serve the Bronx community well."

Elena Martinez
City Lore, Folklorist
Bronx Music Heritage Center, Co-Artistic Director

Local Voices

"Welcome2TheBronx is grateful for the advocacy done by the Historic Districts Council on behalf of the people of The Bronx. Through their deep connections and understanding of the importance of preserving our local histories, The Bronx has been able to have several spotlights shown on endangered communities as gentrification creeps into the borough."

Ed García Conde,
founder and Executive Director,
Welcome2TheBronx

Nearby + Similar Buildings

Designated Individual Landmark

Greenpoint

Designated Individual Landmark

Staten Island

Designated Individual Landmark

Manhattan

Designated Individual Landmark

Bushwick