NYC Facades

Shabby extended shack

Like other iconic buildings, I tried to have a different take on this one, but those pictures didn’t come out. However, this funny modification made my cut; it looks like the ram on a giant triangular ship. The little shack they added would not be so silly, if not for the fact that the pillars visible through the clear glass are so out of place!

Full frontal view

Dormer Windows

Western Union insignia

Lower floor detail

Although it has great features, the curb appeal of this building is only so-so; it is big, red, and imposing from street level. But when you stand back, it’s actually not such a menace. I didn’t notice so many details on it when I originally went past it, however looking at the pictures now I can see quite a few.

Look also at this condo redevelopment page for the “history” and some other “images”.

Picture frame

Grand decorations

The horizontal surrounding the leaves on the middle floor on the bottom picture look like they are shaded in a comic book. Note the great ornaments in the center and corbels on the sides.

Wroght iron terrace; look at the inset decoration

Terrace detail

I think the baluster is flowers flexing their muscles to hold up the railing; I imagine it as something straight out of a Disney movie. I also like the inset brick columns on the first picture, to the right.

Often the best thing to see is at the top of the building. Note the unfinished side

Upper floor detail

This matches the entrance on the east end of 40 W 23

Gothic pillars

Detailed rods hidden in the column ridges

This building is a wonderful complement to 40 West 23rd, and also happens to be occupied by The Home Depot.

Was the building expanded on one side only? (Note: the curving facade is an artifact of the panorama stitching)

I like how The Home Depot fits with the building style. Look at the seal! The "S" is for "Stern" -- see below.

Some buildings I see details I like a lot, and some I am blown away by. This was the latter. It just had such great detail and scale. The facade was finished the entire height, and it even had a mystery: why is there a modern extension on the eastern side that does not match that on the western? Was there a patio there? Was it destroyed in an accident and rebuilt in a time without style?

EDIT: New York Architecture has a page about this building (with a slightly different address?). As the author says on that site about the extension,

W.M. Schickel’s typically 19th century addition tripled the dimensions of the original structure on the eastern portion of the site. The tall central section of this addition animates the long and delicately detailed facade. The company’s monogram is located above a central arch.

I do think Home Depot does a great job here with respecting the building (although they could have done with less orange). See also 28 West 23rd.

Upper stories

Arches, pilasters and capitals

Upper stories detail with mullions

The bottom of this building is so bland in comparison with the top floors (visible in the first picture), it is almost like another world.

Pink!

Pink and green!

This building is just too much; I don’t know what to say that despite its funny color scheme it has some interesting details. I am putting it down as “classical”, which I feel is given away by columns and the horizontal blocking (which is usually done on the bottom floor).