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Circa 1901. "Cluster of skyscrapers, New York, New York." Who'll be first to name the street? 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Having worked for several years at 80 Maiden Lane, facing Nevelson Plaza, I have to say that while I think the building in question was really neat, and I would have been just as distressed as anyone when it was demolished, I do really like Nevelson Plaza. It provides a small bit of space in a very crowded and congested part of the city. And I like the sculptures, too.
Architectural historian Andrew Alpern took a few quick pictures in 1974, as the building, which was begun in 1894, was being torn down.
That penthouse with the columns all around an the widow's walk on top would make an impressive penthouse if it wasn't for all the smoke from the lesser buildings around. Even today with the much more modern heating facilities and cleaner fuels.
[That's water vapor coming out of the rooftop stacks. New York's municipal steam system dates to the 1880s. -Dave]
What a gloriously eccentric building. A delight to the eye, thank you, Mr. Hardenbergh. Those who walk on that 'plaza' have no clue as to what they're missing.
And also, what is the building at the far right, with the roof top terraces?
I remember this building -- seeing it on many weekend walks in the empty Wall Street area in the '60s and '70s. This was a deserted part of NYC on Sundays.
"The 13-story John Wolfe Building, built in 1895 on the east side of William Street from Maiden Lane to Liberty Street. This narrow and stepped building in the Flemish style, considered to be an innovative way to solve various problems of the early skyscraper, was demolished in 1974 for an ill-conceived street widening plan. The site is now part of a glorified traffic island called Louise Nevelson Plaza."
The unusual Flemish style brick building at left of center is the 13-story John Wolfe Building, named for a prosperous New York hardware merchant and built in 1895 by his estate. Designed by the important architect Henry J. Hardenbergh (1847-1918), the building filled a small lot on the east side of William Street between Maiden Lane and Liberty Street. Still greatly lamented by architecture buffs, it was torn down in 1974 as part of an ineffectual street-widening scheme. Its site is now a "glorified traffic island" called Louise Nevelson Plaza. Hardenbergh's many surviving buildings can be seen here.
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