New York Times Building (41 Park Row)
New York Times Building | |
---|---|
David H. King, Jr. | |
New York Times Building | |
No. 2031 | |
Location | 41 Park Row, Manhattan, New York |
Built | 1888–1889, 1903–1905 |
Architect | George B. Post, Robert Maynicke |
Architectural style | Romanesque Revival |
Part of | Fulton–Nassau Historic District (ID05000988) |
NYCL No. | 2031 |
Significant dates | |
Designated CP | September 7, 2005[2] |
Designated NYCL | March 16, 1999[1] |
41 Park Row, also 147 Nassau Street and formerly the New York Times Building, is an office building in the
41 Park Row contains a
The Times constructed the previous five-story building at 41 Park Row between 1857 and 1858 as its third headquarters. That building was replaced in 1889 as a Romanesque Revival structure by George B. Post, which was erected while operations at the Times proceeded in the old quarters. 41 Park Row was the home of the Times until 1903, when it moved to One Times Square. The building was subsequently expanded by four stories between 1904 and 1905. The building was purchased by Pace University in 1951 and has been used for classrooms and offices since then. 41 Park Row was designated a New York City landmark in 1999. The building is also a contributing property to the Fulton–Nassau Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places district created in 2005.
Site
The building is in the
The structure sits on a trapezoidal lot with a frontage of 60 feet (18 m) on Spruce Street, 96 feet (29 m) on Nassau Street, and 102 feet (31 m) on Park Row, with a 104-foot-long (32 m) party wall adjoining the Potter Building.[4][5] The building has alternate addresses of 40–43 Park Row and 147 Nassau Street.[6][a]
The triangle just north of 41 Park Row, bounded by Nassau and Spruce Streets and Park Row, was called Printing-House Square because of the area's status as New York City's "
Architecture
41 Park Row was originally designed by George B. Post and constructed between 1888 and 1889 in the Romanesque Revival style.[1][10] The structure was originally composed of 13 stories, including a mezzanine above the 12th floor as well as a mansard roof covering the top floors.[10][11] Robert Maynicke, a onetime associate of Post's,[12] designed its four-story expansion in 1904–1905.[1][10] During the expansion, the mezzanine was converted to a full 13th story and three more stories were added.[12][13] Following the expansion, 41 Park Row was 212 feet (65 m) tall with 16 stories.[6] The building is the last remaining former newspaper headquarters on Printing House Square.[6][14]
Facade
41 Park Row contains a
Vertical piers on the facade highlight the building's vertical axis.[17] The piers split the Nassau Street and Park Row facades into four vertical bays and the Spruce Street facade into three bays.[15] The stories were split into horizontal groups using brackets and moldings.[17][18] The Nassau Street and Park Row facades generally contained several superimposed arches in each bay, similarly to Post's previous commission of the New York Produce Exchange.[17] The arches contain aluminum-and-glass window infill.[19]
The
On the narrow bays between the 3rd and 5th floors, there is one double-wide arch in each bay that extends over the 3rd and 4th floors, a balustrade on the 3rd floor, and a pair of arched windows in each fifth floor bay.[19] The wide bays contain a triple-wide arch extending from the 3rd to 5th floors, with a balustrade on the 3rd floor and carved motifs on the arches' spandrels.[21] The 6th through 9th floors are designed with a single arch extending over the narrow bays and a pair of arches in the wider bays. There are three sets of two-story arcades at the top of the building, formed by the 10th and 11th, the 12th and 13th, and the 15th and 16th floors. These arcades contain two double-height arches in the narrow bays and three in the wide bays, with elaborate motifs upon each of the arcades. The 14th story, designed as a "transitional story", contains rectangular window openings with two windows in each narrow bay and three in each wide bay. A terracotta parapet runs above the 16th floor.[19]
Foundation
41 Park Row's strong foundations, which include several foundations from the previous building on the site, allowed the outer walls to be relatively lightweight. The layer of sand underneath the building descends 103 feet (31 m). The brick piers under the building are 22 feet (6.7 m) deep and are connected by inverted brick arches, whose maximum depth is 27 feet (8.2 m).[23]
The foundational piers from the previous building on the site, which dated from 1858, are wrapped with masonry to allow them to handle the current building's greater load. When the current building was erected, new foundations were appended to the old piers.[4][24] The original foundations consisted of twenty-two piers—twelve on the perimeter and ten inside the lot line—and each of these piers were 9 feet (2.7 m) wide.[4]
Features
41 Park Row has two basement levels.[25] The basement and subbasement extend underneath the adjacent streets, projecting 16 feet (4.9 m) outward underneath Nassau Street and 20 feet (6.1 m) outward underneath Park Row. In addition, there is another basement with a footprint measuring 30 by 90 feet (9.1 by 27.4 m) underneath Spruce Street, with a ceiling 25 feet (7.6 m) tall.[4] This space contained five printing presses when The New York Times was headquartered there and was later used by Pace University as a gym.[26] On the first floor was a publication office divided into compartments with marble-and-oak partitions, as well as two private administrative offices on the east and west ends.[27] The first floor later became the Pace University bookstore and lobby and was converted to an art gallery and student commons between 2017 and 2019.[20]
The lowest five floors are at the same height as the original building's stories, as were the two basement levels.
The original 13th floor, which was the top floor, had a ceiling of 23 feet (7.0 m) and contained the composing room and two other rooms, allowing the printers access to more natural light.[4][27] There were two large skylights above the composing room.[27] The present building's roof contains a wooden water tower, elevator penthouses, a dormer for the stairs, and mechanical equipment.[16]
Originally, the building was served by three elevators and a staircase on the south side of the building.[4] A fourth elevator was added in the 1904–1905 expansion.[12][30]
History
The 41 Park Row lot, and the adjoining lot immediately to its south (now the Potter Building site), was the site of the
Previous buildings
The Times, founded in 1851, was first housed in 113 Nassau Street, one block south of 41 Park Row; it moved to Nassau and Beekman Streets in 1854.[35] The Times grew quickly and, by 1856, it needed new quarters.[35][36] The Times had become popular, with over twice the readership of the competing Tribune by 1855 and was described in Harper's Weekly as having "won a reputation for the fulness [sic] and variety of its news".[37] When Brick Presbyterian Church's congregation moved uptown to Murray Hill in 1857.[38][39] Times cofounder Edward B. Wesley partnered with investors Frederick P. James and Henry Keep to buy the northern half of the church site for its third building. The newspaper's other cofounders, Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, subsequently bought James's and Keep's shares.[35] Thomas R. Jackson designed a five-story building in the Romanesque Revival style at the site, with the address 41 Park Row.[35][40][41]
The third building's cornerstone was laid in May 1857.
By the mid-1880s, the Times's operations had grown significantly and the rental market in the neighborhood was strong.[35] The Real Estate Record and Guide stated in 1882 that the Tribune, Times, Morse, and Temple Court buildings were close to the courts of the Civic Center, making these buildings ideal for lawyers.[43] Because of the demand for office space, Jones and the Times's other owners proposed erecting a taller building on the site of the Times headquarters, rather than look for another site in Lower Manhattan, where available land was scarce. Furthermore, it would be extremely difficult to move the Times's printing presses to a temporary location, so such a building would have to be constructed while the existing structure kept operating.[35][36]
Construction
Architect
The new building required additional foundations; in some places, these were fused to the existing foundations, while in others, entirely new foundations were added.[25][37] The office tenants remained in the building until foundation work was completed in May 1888. Afterward, they were evicted and a wooden bridge was erected around the lot's perimeter.[4][24] The stone walls of the old building were demolished gradually.[4][25][37][41] A passerby was injured during the demolition process when a 1,500-pound (680 kg) stone slab fell from the building's facade.[46] The existing floors were then shored up with wood; the old building's structural stability was retained because its floors rested on a party wall with the Potter Building to the south and on the Spruce Street wall to the north, as well as upon internal partitions. The Spruce Street wall was demolished only after additional floor beams had been installed.[4][25][37][41] Subsequently, holes were cut into the floors so that the columns could be installed and, when enough columns were installed, new iron girders were bolted to these pillars and to the old floors. The new walls were then constructed. Finally, the wooden beams used to shore up the old building were taken away.[24][37]
Work proceeded nearly constantly, including during the night and weekends,[25] with two 12-hour shifts six days a week, for nine months.[41] To allow the Times's staff to continue working throughout construction, the fourth and fifth floors were covered with a temporary enclosure made of wood and tar-paper.[4][24] During construction, the Times's offices relocated in November 1888 and in March 1889 to allow builders to finish portions of the new building. The Times reported in April 1889 that it had occupied the new building spaces.[27] By the next month, the facade of the building was completed.[24] 41 Park Row contained 13 floors, excluding a mezzanine level. The Times announced that the new building was 23 feet (7.0 m) taller than the Potter Building. Floor utilization in the new building was similar to that in the old building: the composing room was in the 13th floor, the building's highest, while the editorial offices and city rooms were on the 12th floor.[29]
Expansion
Jones, who died in 1891, had believed the Times Building to be a monument to himself, having spent large sums on the project.[17] Charles Ransom Miller and other New York Times editors raised $1 million (equivalent to $34 million in 2023[c]) to buy the Times and print it under The New York Times Company.[47][48] The Times Association gave ownership of 41 Park Row to a holding company called the Park Company, from which the New York Times Publishing Company would lease the building.[17] In the aftermath of a financial crisis caused by the Panic of 1893,[49] the paper was purchased by Adolph Ochs in 1896,[26] and The New York Times expanded greatly under Ochs's leadership.[12] This prompted Ochs to acquire land for a new headquarters in Longacre Square (shortly thereafter renamed Times Square) in 1901.[50]
In November 1902, two men were killed in a fire in 41 Park Row's basement.[51][52] The fire had originated at a wooden partition erected for the construction of the first line of the city's subway system, which ran adjacent to the building's basement under Park Row.[51][53] Sometime in 1903, plans for alterations were filed but not carried out.[30]
By late 1903, architect
Later use and university conversion
Several modifications were made to 41 Park Row after its expansion. The foundations under the party wall with the Potter Building were reinforced in 1915, and fireproofing work occurred the next year, including the installation of a 3,500-US-gallon (13,000 L; 2,900 imp gal) wooden water tower on the roof.[12] 41 Park Row housed a high number of tenants in the paper industry, with 38 such tenants in 1935.[60] Businesses in other sectors also took space at the building.[61] Minor modifications were also made to the ground-level storefronts in 1919, 1928, 1938, and 1941.[12]
Pace University had rented space in 41 Park Row by 1948,[62] and purchased the building three years later.[12] The above-ground stories were turned into classrooms and offices, while the basement was turned into a gym.[26] Edward J. Hurley performed minor modifications to the building's basement levels and first floor between 1956 and 1957, and a rooftop cooling tower was installed in 1962 for an air-conditioning system on the 12th to 15th floors.[12] Pace also installed a plaque outside the building in 1959 to honor the Times's usage of the building.[63] A newer campus building, 1 Pace Plaza, was opened immediately to the north in 1970, though 41 Park Row still housed Pace University's graduate school.[64] 41 Park Row also became known as Pace Plaza during the late 20th century.[65] The building underwent further renovations starting in 1982, when the interior was restored in several phases of two floors each.[65] The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated 41 Park Row as a city landmark on March 16, 1999.[1][26] On September 7, 2005, the New York Times Building was designated as a contributing property to the Fulton–Nassau Historic District,[10] a National Register of Historic Places district.[2]
Pace University announced in February 2017 that it would extensively renovate 41 Park Row as part of a master plan for the university campus.[66][67] Due to 41 Park Row's landmark status, Pace sought and obtained approval from the LPC.[68] The renovations, designed by FXFowle, included restoring the lower floors and adding an entrance on Spruce Street, which had been removed in the 1950s renovations.[69][70] Work was completed in January 2019.[71] Other phases of the expansion plan entail moving administrative offices from 41 Park Row.[72]
Critical reception
In January 1889, when the new building was near completion, the Real Estate Record and Guide called the new structure "the finest commercial building in New York".
According to architectural writers
See also
References
Notes
- ^ Address numbers on the southeast side of Park Row run consecutively because the northwest side of the street is occupied by City Hall Park. In the area's standard address numbering system, odd- and even-numbered addresses are on opposite sides of the street.[3]
- ^ The streetlight was designated a landmark in 1997 as part of a mass-designation of 62 streetlights in New York City.[22]
- ^ a b 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- New York Times Building in 2007.[59]
Citations
- ^ a b c d Landmarks Preservation Commission 1999, p. 1.
- ^ a b "National Register of Historic Places 2005 Weekly Lists" (PDF). National Park Service. 2005. p. 242. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 1, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. Archivedfrom the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "The New 'Times' Building". Scientific American. Vol. 59. August 25, 1888. p. 117. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
- ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 1999, pp. 6–7.
- ^ a b c "New York Times Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Landmarks Preservation Commission 1999, p. 2.
- ^ "Historical Sign Listings". New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- OCLC 17508421.
- ^ a b c d National Park Service 2005, p. 24.
- ^ a b c "The 'Times' Building" (PDF). The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide. Vol. 43, no. 1087. January 12, 1889. p. 32. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020 – via columbia.edu.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Landmarks Preservation Commission 1999, p. 6.
- ^ a b ""Times" Building to be Higher". New-York Tribune. December 11, 1903. p. 2. Archived from the original on April 24, 2022. Retrieved July 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ a b c Landmarks Preservation Commission 1999, p. 7.
- ^ a b Landmarks Preservation Commission 1999, p. 9.
- ^ a b c d e f g Landmarks Preservation Commission 1999, p. 5.
- ^ Landau & Condit 1996, pp. 154–155.
- ^ a b c d Landmarks Preservation Commission 1999, pp. 7–8.
- ^ a b FXFOWLE (February 28, 2017). "Pace University Renovation Phase 1 - 41 Park Row Landmarks Preservation Commission Application" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. pp. 30–32. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ a b c Landmarks Preservation Commission 1999, p. 8.
- ^ "Historic Street Lampposts" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. June 17, 1997. p. 12. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ Landau & Condit 1996, p. 152.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Landmarks Preservation Commission 1999, p. 4.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Landau & Condit 1996, p. 151.
- ^ from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
- ^ a b Landau & Condit 1996, p. 154.
- ^ a b c d e f Landau & Condit 1996, p. 155.
- ^ a b c "Old Times Building to be Improved" (PDF). The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide. Vol. 72, no. 1865. December 12, 1903. p. 1085. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020 – via Columbia University.
- OCLC 1157574719.
- ISBN 978-0-300-11465-2.
- ^ National Park Service 2005, p. 27.
- ^ "Paternoster Row of New-York". New York Mirror. Vol. 13. May 14, 1836. p. 363. Archived from the original on July 15, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Landmarks Preservation Commission 1999, p. 3.
- ^ from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "The New York Times". Harper's Weekly. Vol. 32. October 27, 1888. p. 818. Archived from the original on July 23, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
- from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
- OCLC 1050750793.
- ^ Gayle, Margot (December 17, 1978). "Changing Scene". New York Daily News. p. 154. Archived from the original on April 24, 2022. Retrieved July 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ OCLC 40698653.
- ^ from the original on July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ "Real Estate" (PDF). The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide. Vol. 57, no. 740. May 20, 1882. p. 501. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 29, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020 – via columbia.edu.
- ^ Landau & Condit 1996, p. 150.
- ^ from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
- ^ "Falling Stones in Busy Places". New-York Tribune. July 24, 1888. p. 2. Archived from the original on April 24, 2022. Retrieved July 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "The New York Times Company". Gale. November 30, 1990. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
- ^ Editor and Publisher. Editor & Publisher Company. 1922. p. 4. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ Elmer Holmes Davis (1921). History of the New York Times, 1851-1921. pp. 155–178.
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ignored (help) - ^ a b "New York Times Building (originally the Times Annex)" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. April 24, 2001. pp. 2–3. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 28, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
- ^ a b "Two Men Meet Death in a Park Row Fire". Brooklyn Standard Union. November 9, 1902. p. 4. Archived from the original on April 24, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ "Alterations" (PDF). The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide. Vol. 75, no. 1925. February 4, 1905. p. 46. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020 – via columbia.edu.
- ^ "Massive Stone Drops Amid Park Row Crowd". Brooklyn Times-Union. July 14, 1904. p. 4. Archived from the original on April 24, 2022. Retrieved July 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "3 Men and 2 Women Hurt in Times Bld'g Accident". Brooklyn Citizen. July 14, 1904. p. 1. Archived from the original on April 24, 2022. Retrieved July 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Quarter Ton Beam Kills John Bateman, Aged 62". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. December 1, 1904. p. 7. Archived from the original on April 24, 2022. Retrieved July 17, 2020 – via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com.
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- ^ King, Martin (December 17, 1978). "One University Paces all the others". New York Daily News. p. 154. Archived from the original on April 24, 2022. Retrieved July 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
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- ^ from the original on August 27, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ Bindelglass, Evan (March 23, 2017). "Pace University Redevelopment of Newspaper Row Building Halted at Landmarks". New York YIMBY. Archived from the original on March 24, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
- ^ Warerkar, Tanay (February 9, 2017). "Pace University joins NYC schools expansion bandwagon". Curbed NY. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ Warerkar, Tanay (April 7, 2017). "Pace University's $190M Financial District expansion gets Landmarks approval". Curbed NY. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ Wilson, Reid (February 10, 2017). "Pace University Plans to Renovate Academic Space at One Pace Plaza and 41 Park Row, Financial District". New York YIMBY. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ "Pace University will spend nearly $200 million to keep pace with lower Manhattan". Crain's New York Business. February 8, 2017. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ "Pace University completes $45 million phase 1 project; Designed by FXCollaborative; Transformed 55,000 s/f at One Pace Plaza and 41 Park Row". New York Real Estate Journal. February 19, 2019. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ "New York City Master Plan". Pace University. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
- from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
- ^ "The Union Trust Company" (PDF). The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide. Vol. 45, no. 1142. February 1, 1890. p. 149. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020 – via columbia.edu.
- ^ Schuyler, Montgomery (1891). "The Romanesque Revival in New York" (PDF). Architectural Record. p. 31. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ Sturgis, Russell (1898). A Review of the Work of George B. Post ... Architectural record: Great American Architects series. Architectural Record Company. pp. 15–16. Archived from the original on April 24, 2022. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
Sources
- "Fulton–Nassau Historic District" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service. September 7, 2005.
- "(Former) New York Times Building" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. March 16, 1999.
- Landau, Sarah; Condit, Carl W. (1996). Rise of the New York Skyscraper, 1865–1913. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. OCLC 32819286.
External links
- Media related to 41 Park Row New York Times Building at Wikimedia Commons