Posted November 6, 200717 yr yes, there was a wtc way before the infamous early 1970's twin towers wtc. this 1831 greek revival building at 213 pearl st near the south street seaport was a part of it --- soon it will be gone (to make way for a hotel). :| first up, the demo drama via curbed: here are the details: http://curbed.com/archives/2007/11/06/pearl_street_demo_preservationists_last_gasp.php http://curbed.com/archives/2007/11/06/live_at_the_213_pearl_street_demo.php#more By VERENA DOBNIK, Associated Press Writer Sun Nov 4, 10:19 AM ET NEW YORK - Historians are trying to save a lower Manhattan building that is "a rare surviving relic" of New York's 19th-century world trade center but is due to be demolished to make way for a new hotel. The Greek Revival warehouse is in a neighborhood that was part of "the process that made New York into America's great city," says historian Paul E. Johnson. The red-brick warehouse on Pearl Street, near the South Street Seaport Historic District, was erected in 1831, one of the buildings that made up the original world trade center in lower Manhattan, long before the 110-story twin towers that opened in 1970. Wholesalers on Pearl Street, which has been around since Manhattan's Dutch colonial days, specialized in dry goods shipped to storekeepers all over the country. New York "became like a funnel through which the wealth of the Western world would now have to pass," according to a television documentary by Ric Burns called "The Town and The City." Narrow lanes like Pearl Street "were transformed into the first district in the world devoted exclusively to commerce." Alan Solomon, an amateur historian helping spearhead the effort to preserve the warehouse, said Saturday that he believes demolition could start as early as this week. A demolition application for the site was filed with the city Department of Buildings on Oct. 16 by a wrecking company, but the city hasn't issued a permit yet, said department spokeswoman Robin Brooks. The old warehouse was recently purchased by a Manhattan developer, The Lam Group. Representatives didn't respond to a call seeking comment Saturday. The building at 213 Pearl Street was flanked by two similar 19th century buildings on a block now mostly owned by Rockrose Development, which has built a luxury high-rise there and is erecting a second tower. All that remains of the building at 211 Pearl is its facade, and 215 already has been demolished, leaving 213 as "a rare surviving relic of the process that made New York into America's great city," said Johnson. Solomon said the demolition and redevelopment of the old trade district is being partly financed by tax-exempt Liberty Bonds, issued by the federal government to rebuild the neighborhood around the modern-day World Trade Center several blocks away after the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001. ^ woah the irony! :whip:
November 7, 200717 yr What a loss! This building could be a national landmark and these f$&king morons knock it down for probably an ugly hotel! This is one of the things that bugs me about NYC, its lack of historic preservation. Where I live isn't nearly as old as NYC and we give 10 x more consideration for historic architecture! IDIOTS! :mad:
November 7, 200717 yr I bought a PBS documentary on DVD recently about New York. It's 8 DVDs with about 17 or so hours starting back 400 years ago. I recommend anyone to buy this box set b/c it is just completely fascinating from start to finish. One of the things it talks about is the lack of historic preservation. Even back in the late 1700's there were protests to stop the demolition of what some considered historic structures. One poet wrote that he feared leaving New York for more than a handful of years b/c he was afraid he wouldn't find his own home or neighborhood when he got back. And that was written over 200 years ago. So this has always been how NYC operates. It has always demolished and replaced for 400 years. I also didn't realize that one of the big draws to NYC was that it was always a "modern" city. So those old buildings we see now that are relics of the 1800's-early 1900's were considered very modern by the rest of the world back then. One property they mention is the Schwab Mansion built on Riverside Drive in 1905 at a cost of $2,500,000. Charles J. Schwab bought the land in 1901 for $800,000. Adjusting for inflation, we're talking about $60,000,000 to build it on dirt that cost about $20,000,000. Anyway, that house only lasted until 1948, but talks started in the 1920's on a way to tear it down to build a high rise on the lot. I've read it was anywhere from 75-100 rooms. It was even offered by Schwab to the city of New York as a mayor's residence. The mayor at the time, Fiorello LaGuardia, passed on it and chose Gracie Mansion instead. Eventually in 1950 a 17 story 648 unit apartment building was built on the site. Top 2 photos & the bottom photo were found online, photos 3 & 4 come from the New York Times. I think the back looks better than the front. It faced the Hudson River. Front Back Roof is dismantled Wrecking ball takes down one of the towers And this beauty is what replaced it
November 7, 200717 yr ^ And where is this mysterious haven of historical preservation located?? Its not a haven of preservation. But where I live is Indianapolis where we have extremely tight historic preservation laws. NYC lacks it greatly. Due to demand for highrises, people rarely try to find ways to incorporate historic lowrises instead of just knocking them down. Historic preservation isn't only for people to keep certian styles intact, its also so people can look back and see what they are. This kind of development is absuloutly sick.
November 9, 200717 yr excellent example nasdun thx. now just multiply this deadening 'modern' post-mansion apt building by many thousands and you have the true picture of a majority of ny today! :whip:
November 30, 200717 yr more news on this i saw: Historic Pearl Street Facade Getting Absorbed Friday, November 30, 2007, by Joey -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In its acquisition of the property, Rockrose Development Corp. was required to preserve the facade of 211 Pearl Street in the Financial District, one of three Greek Revival warehouses known as New York's first World Trade Center that date back to the 1830s. But now that its old-timey neighbors at 213 and 215 Pearl Street have been obliterated, the lonely brick wall of 211 Pearl has looked pretty ridiculous standing amongst rubble and tall office buildings. It won't be like that for long, as David Dunlap reveals in the Times' City Room blog that the leftovers will be part of Rockrose's new 28-story building that's going up next to Rockrose's new 50-story building. The company will at least get some mileage out of the old girl, with apartments and office space built directly behind the facade's windows. The base will continue to serve as the entrance to an underground parking garage. We've still yet to see designs for the Lam Group hotel that will reportedly be built right next door, but 211 Pearl Street will most likely end up as the historical lunch meat in a towering modern architecture sandwich. · A Brick Facade Remains as a Signal for Change [City Room] · Destructoporn: 213 Pearl Street Gone [Curbed] · Pearl Street Demo: Preservationists' Last Gasp? [Curbed] Comments (20 extant) http://curbed.com/archives/2007/11/30/historic_pearl_street_facade_getting_absorbed.php#reader_comments
December 1, 200717 yr The facade is only skin deep. Though its better then it being totally demolished it still doesn't show off the greek revival and federal influences on the roof.
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