DISCOUNT ENGINEERED HARDWOOD FLOORING

Meatpacking District, Gansevoort Market Historic District, Manhattan

This was the second (1923) of two modern market buildings constructed on this block by developer John J. Gillen and his partner, architect James S. Maher [see Architects Appendix]. Their other building was 413-435 West 14" Street [see], constructed in 1913-14. Their firm, the owner of this structure, was the West 14" Street Corp.

The property had been purchased in 1923 from the estate of William Waldorf Astor, who had died in1919. Like their other building, this one was quite successful in attracting long-term tenants, which included both food-related and non-food-related businesses: George Cook Poultry Corp., and L.I. Duck Growers Assn.1 L.I. Duck Packing, poultry; Woolley & Hughes, Inc., produce; Rothschild-Bernstein, Inc., Edward J. Burbank Co., GothamHotel Supply Co., and M&W Packing, Inc., meat; Charles Wissman Co., provisions; Josephson Mfg. Corp., stationery; World Examining /Sponging Works; and the Coffee Pot and Blue Arrow Luncheonette, restaurants.

This Arts and Crafts style building, which is largely intact, contributes to the historicallymixed architectural character and varied uses - including market-related functions - of the Gansevoort Market Historic District. Constructed in 1923 during a major phase of development of the district, when buildings were constructed for produce- and meat-related businesses or other market uses, the building further contributes to the visual cohesion of West 14th Street through its prominent corner location, two brick and concrete facades, steel industrial windows, and the fact that it is one of three buildings on the street designed by architect James S. Maher, who was also a partner in its development.


----About the district----

The Gansevoort Market Historic District - consisting of 104 buildings - is distinctive for its architectural character which reflects the area's long history of continuous, varied use as a place of dwelling, industry, and commerce, particularly as a marketplace, and its urban layout. The buildings, most dating from the 1840s through the 1940s, represent four major phases of development, and include both purpose-built structures, designed in then-fashionable styles, and those later adapted for market use.

The architecture of the district tells the story of an important era in New York City's history when it became the financial center of the country and when its markets were expanding to serve the metropolitan region and beyond. Visual cohesion is provided to the streetscapes by the predominance of brick as a facade material; the one- to six-story scale; the presence of buildings designed by the same architects, a number of them prominent, including specialists in market-related structures; the existence of metal canopies originally installed for market purposes; and the Belgian block paving still visible on most streets.

The street layout is shaped by the transition between the irregular pattern of northwestern Greenwich Village (as far north as Gansevoort Street) and the grid of the 1811 Commissioner's Plan. Unusually large and open intersections contribute to the area's unique quality, particularly where Ninth Avenue meets West 14'~S treet and Gansevoort Street (which was widened in l887), and provide sweeping vistas that showcase the unusual building typology and mixed-use quality of the district. Aside from Tribeca, the Gansevoort Market Historic District is the only remaining marketplace district that served the once-flourishing Hudson River commercial waterfront.

The earliest buildings in the historic district date from the period between 1840 and 1854, most built as rowhouses and town houses, several of which soon became very early working-class tenements (all eventually had stores on the ground floor). The area's early mixed use, however, is evident in the rare surviving early factory building (c. 1849-60), on a flatiron-shaped lot, for Col. Silas C. Herring, a nationally significant manufacturer of safes and locks, at 669-685 Hudson Street.

This mixed use, consisting of single-family houses, multiple dwellings, and industry was unusual for the period. The stretch of Ninth Avenue between Gansevoort and West 15' Streets, albeit altered and interrupted with later additions, offers the vista of a distinctive Manhattan streetscape featuring twenty buildings of the 1840s: the rowhouses at Nos. 3-7 (c. 1849) and Nos. 21-27 (c. 1844-46), the Herring factory, and culminating in the rare, picturesque ensemble of twelve rowhouses and town houses, Nos. 44-60 Ninth Avenue and 351-355 West 14th Street (c. 1841-46), at the wide, angled intersection with Hudson and West 14" Streets. Another business from this period was the woodworking factory of the prominent building firm of James C. Hoe & Co. (c. 1850-54) at 52-58 Gansevoort Street (later altered).

After the Civil War, the area began to flourish commercially as New York City solidi

Day 25

Tagged

I got tagged a while back on flikr but I've been too lazy till now to do anything about it. So here goes:

1. I believe in God (Christian)
2. I LOVE sleep.
3. I work as a architectural drafter at a wall protection/specialties manufacturing plant. (I draw installation floor plans for our products in a nutshell.)
4.I love grocery shopping.
5. My diet consists mainly of meat, noodles, grain, and cheese products.
6. For about a year or two I have been at war with my smoking habit, as of right now I would say I am winning again.
7. I used to live in Hawaii when i was younger before I moved to PA. I was not born there though.
7.5. Yes I do miss it, I was a little kid at the time so I think I would enjoy it more today.
8. I am a member of the thrift store gestapo. (guess where I scored the Senses Fail t-shirt in this picture? Not at hot topic....)
9. I used to have ADHD as a child, now I have adult ADHD.
10. The band that has impacted and influenced my life most is The Bouncing Souls.

I'll tag others later, time to continue my lazy streak.