280 Broadway – also known as the A.T. Stewart Dry Goods Store, the Marble Palace, and the Sun Building – is a seven-story office building on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
, between
Chambers
Chambers may refer to:
Places
Canada:
*Chambers Township, Ontario
United States:
*Chambers County, Alabama
* Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apache County
* Chambers, Nebraska
* Chambers, West Virginia
* Chambers Township, Hol ...
and Reade Streets, in the
Civic Center
A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the ...
neighborhood of
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Built from 1845 to 1846 for
Alexander Turney Stewart, the building was New York City's first
Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...
commercial building and one of the United States' first
department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
s. The building also housed the original ''
New York Sun
''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...
'' newspaper from 1919 to 1950 and has served as the central offices for the
New York City Department of Buildings
The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) is the department of the New York City government that enforces the city's building codes and zoning regulations, issues building permits, licenses, registers and disciplines certain construction ...
since 2002. It is a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
and a
New York City designated landmark
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
.
Trench & Snook had designed the original store at the corner of Broadway and Reade Street, as well as two annexes in the early 1850s; further additions were designed by "Schmidt" in 1872 and Edward D. Harris in 1884. The
facade is made of
Tuckahoe marble
Tuckahoe marble (also known as Inwood and Westchester marble) is a type of marble found in southern New York (state), New York state and western Connecticut. Part of the Inwood Formation (New York), Inwood Formation of the Manhattan Prong, it dates ...
and is divided into multiple sections, allowing the various expansions to be designed in a similar style. The ground level contains
pilaster
In classical architecture
Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...
s and columns, which originally framed plate-glass walls. The facade also contains a four-sided clock and a two-sided thermometer, which were added when the ''Sun'' occupied 280 Broadway. When the building was completed, the wholesale and retail departments of Stewart's store were arranged around a central rotunda. The current interior dates to 1884, when the rotunda was destroyed and the building was converted into offices.
Stewart's store opened on September 21, 1846, and grew rapidly in the next two decades. The store's retail division moved uptown in 1862, but the wholesale division remained there until 1879.
Henry Hilton Judge Henry Hilton (October 4, 1824 – August 24, 1899) was an American jurist and businessman. He became best known for the so-called "Hilton-Seligman Affair" in 1877, his refusal to admit financier Joseph Seligman to the Grand Union Hotel ...
bought the building from Stewart's widow in 1882 and converted the building to offices. Hilton sold the building in 1908 to
Felix Isman
Felix may refer to:
* Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name
Places
* Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen
* Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...
, who lost it to foreclosure four years afterward. The newspaper moved into 280 Broadway in 1919 and renamed it the Sun Building in 1928. After the ''Sun'' vacated the building in 1950, there were various plans to demolish the building, which did not come to fruition. Instead, the building has been used as city government offices since 1965, and it was rehabilitated from 1995 to 2002.
Site
![Sanborn Manhattan V](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Sanborn_Manhattan_V._1_Plate_020_publ._1905.jpg)
280 Broadway is in the
Civic Center
A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the ...
neighborhood of
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. It occupies the western section of the
city block
A city block, residential block, urban block, or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design.
A city block is the smallest group of buildings that is surrounded by streets, not counting any type of thoroughfare within t ...
bounded by
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
to the west, Reade Street to the north, Elk Street to the east, and Chambers Street to the south.
The
land lot
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner(s). A plot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property (meaning practically the same thing) in ...
is rectangular, running along Broadway, Reade Street, and Chambers Street. Nearby buildings and locations include
Tower 270
Tower 270 (also known as 270 Broadway, Arthur Levitt State Office Building, 80 Chambers Street, and 86 Chambers Street) is a 28-story mixed use building in the Civic Center and Tribeca neighborhoods of Manhattan, New York City. Completed in 1930 ...
to the southwest; the
Broadway–Chambers Building
The Broadway–Chambers Building is an 18-story office building at 277 Broadway, on the northwest corner with Chambers Street, in the Civic Center and Tribeca neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. Completed by 1900 to designs by architec ...
and
287 Broadway to the west; the
Ted Weiss Federal Building
The Ted Weiss Federal Building, also known as the Foley Square Federal Building, is a 34-story United States Federal Building at 290 Broadway in the Civic Center neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1994, the building wa ...
to the north; the
African Burial Ground National Monument
African Burial Ground National Monument is a monument at Duane Street and African Burial Ground Way (Elk Street) in the Civic Center section of Lower Manhattan, New York City. Its main building is the Ted Weiss Federal Building at 290 Broadway ...
to the northeast;
49 Chambers
49 Chambers, formerly known as the Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank Building and 51 Chambers Street, is a residential building at 49–51 Chambers Street in the Civic Center neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was built between 1909 ...
and the
Surrogate's Courthouse
The Surrogate's Courthouse (also the Hall of Records and 31 Chambers Street) is a historic building at the northwest corner of Chambers and Centre Streets in the Civic Center of Manhattan in New York City. Completed in 1907, it was desi ...
to the east; and
Tweed Courthouse
The Tweed Courthouse (also known as the Old New York County Courthouse) is a historic courthouse building at 52 Chambers Street in the Civic Center of Manhattan in New York City. It was built in the Italianate style with Romanesque Revi ...
,
New York City Hall
New York City Hall is the Government of New York City, seat of New York City government, located at the center of City Hall Park in the Civic Center, Manhattan, Civic Center area of Lower Manhattan, between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway, Park R ...
, and
City Hall Park
City Hall Park is a public park surrounding New York City Hall in the Civic Center of Manhattan. It was the town commons of the nascent city of New York.
History
17th century
David Provoost was an officer in the Dutch West India Company. Hi ...
to the south.
The lot covers , with a frontage of about on Broadway and about on Reade and Chambers Streets.
The site was expanded in four phases. It originally measured on Broadway and on Reade Street. The first expansion, in 1850–1851, comprised a rectangular plot on Broadway and Chambers Street. An "L"-shaped plot measuring wide on Chambers Street and wide on Reade Street was built in 1852–1853; it wrapped around a parcel on Chambers Street that was not acquired until 1872. The fourth and final expansion, in 1884, was a rectangular parcel on Chambers and Reade Streets, extending through the entire block.
Previous uses
Prior to the settlement of
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...
(now New York City) in the 17th century, the site was largely a ravine that drained into
Collect Pond
Collect Pond, or Fresh Water Pond,, p. 250. was a body of fresh water in what is now Chinatown in Lower Manhattan, New York City. For the first two centuries of European settlement in Manhattan, it was the main New York City water supply syste ...
in the northeast.
The surrounding area contains evidence of the interments of individuals, mostly of African descent.
Interments may have begun as early as the 17th century.
These corpses were part of a cemetery called the
Negros Burial Ground, which operated until the 1790s.
During the next two centuries, historians were aware of the burial ground's existence but had believed that the corpses were destroyed.
The section of the Negros Burial Ground between Duane and Reade Streets, east of Broadway, was initially lower than the surrounding ground. The land was raised by up to , and subsequent buildings' foundations were relatively shallow, thus preserving this section of the cemetery.
Just prior to the construction of the current building, the northwest corner of the site had contained Washington Hall, the former headquarters of the
Federalist Party
The Federalist Party was a Conservatism in the United States, conservative political party which was the first political party in the United States. As such, under Alexander Hamilton, it dominated the national government from 1789 to 1801.
De ...
.
The red-brick hotel was built from 1809 to 1812 on the site of the African Burial Ground.
Designed by
John McComb Jr.
John McComb Jr. (1763 – 1853) was an American architect who designed many landmarks in the 18th and 19th centuries. Between 1790 and 1825, McComb was New York city's leading architect.
John McComb Jr. was born on October 17, 1763 in New Yo ...
, the building was converted to a hotel in 1828.
Washington Hall became less prominent during the mid-19th century, as the oyster bar in its basement became more important than the hotel itself.
The hotel burned down in July 1844 and was replaced by the original section of the current building.
The rest of the site contained residences, which were all demolished by 1884.
Architecture
280 Broadway was originally a dry-goods store operated by
Alexander Turney Stewart and was designed in five stages by four architects.
The original store, as well as its first two additions in 1850–1851 and 1852–1853, were both designed by
John B. Snook
John Butler Snook (1815–1901) was an American architect who practiced in New York City and was responsible for the design of a number of notable cast-iron buildings, most of which are now in and around the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan, as ...
and
Joseph Trench of the firm
Trench & Snook.
The third annex was designed in 1872 by a person who is named in planning documents as "Schmidt".
The fourth annex was designed in 1884 by Edward D. Harris. The building was originally only four stories tall but was expanded upward in two stages. The fifth story was added between 1850 and 1852, and the sixth and seventh stories were added during the 1884 expansion.
The sculptor Ottaviano Gori likely carved much of the building's stonework,
while Signor Bragaldi was responsible for the frescoes and other decorations.
The building's design was inspired by that of the
Travellers Club
The Travellers Club is a private gentlemen's club situated at 106 Pall Mall in London, United Kingdom. It is the oldest of the surviving Pall Mall clubs and one of the most exclusive, having been established in 1819. It was described as "the ...
in London and
Frances Trollope
Frances Milton Trollope, also known as Fanny Trollope (10 March 1779 – 6 October 1863), was an English novelist who wrote as Mrs. Trollope or Mrs. Frances Trollope. Her book, '' Domestic Manners of the Americans'' (1832), observations from a ...
's Bazaar in Cincinnati.
Until the late 20th century, there was confusion over who was responsible for 280 Broadway's design. At the store's opening on September 21, 1846, Trench, Gori, and Bragaldi were all variously cited as the architects.
The ''New York Herald'' did not mention any specific architect on opening day, but it credited Bragaldi as the "designer of the entire building" the next day,
likely under pressure from Bragaldi himself.
By the 1970s, evidence from historian Mary Ann Smith indicated that the original building and the early-1850s expansions were designed by Trench & Snook.
There is also some uncertainty as to whether Snook was involved in the design of the original store, as he was a junior partner in Trench's firm, but both men were definitely involved in the early-1850s expansions.
Facade
280 Broadway's facade is made primarily of
Tuckahoe marble
Tuckahoe marble (also known as Inwood and Westchester marble) is a type of marble found in southern New York (state), New York state and western Connecticut. Part of the Inwood Formation (New York), Inwood Formation of the Manhattan Prong, it dates ...
. It was supported by
cast iron
Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...
on the first floor after 1850.
Stewart had planned to expand the building since before it even opened.
As a result, Trench and Snook designed the facade so that its design could be copied easily.
The first story initially contained plate-glass windows imported from France.
After the first two expansions were completed in 1853, the building had 2,000 pieces of plate glass. The first floor contained doors and windows, each with a single pane of plate glass, while the upper floors contained
sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned window (architecture), paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double gla ...
s with plate-glass panes separated by
mullion
A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...
s.
Broadway
![Civic_Center_NYC_Aug_2022_179](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Civic_Center_NYC_Aug_2022_179.jpg)
From north to south, the Broadway
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...
of the facade is divided vertically into five sections, each with three
bays on the first five stories.
The northern three sections are part of the original building, while the southern two sections were completed in 1851.
The southern two sections differ slightly in width from the northern three sections.
The second and fourth sections, as counted from north, project slightly from the facade
by about .
At ground level, the bays are flanked by either flat engaged
pilaster
In classical architecture
Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...
s or
fluted
Fluting may refer to:
*Fluting (architecture)
* Fluting (firearms)
* Fluting (geology)
* Fluting (glacial)
*Fluting (paper)
Arts, entertainment, and media
*Fluting on the Hump
''Fluting on the Hump'' is the first album by avant-garde band Kin ...
freestanding columns, both of which are placed atop pedestals and capped by
Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to:
*Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible:
**First Epistle to the Corinthians
**Second Epistle to the Corinthians
**Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox)
*A demonym relating to ...
-style capitals.
There are recessed windows or doorways between each set of pilasters and columns. An
entablature
An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...
, as well as a
cornice
In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...
with
modillion
A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a cornice which it helps to support. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally translated as small teeth). All ...
s, run above the ground story.
The upper stories are all made of marble, and each section is delineated by vertical
quoin
Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th century encyclopedia, t ...
s.
The second through fifth stories all contain rectangular windows, which gradually decrease in height on upper stories. A
band course
A course is a layer of the same unit running horizontally in a wall. It can also be defined as a continuous row of any masonry unit such as bricks, concrete masonry units (CMU), stone, shingles, tiles, etc.
Coursed masonry construction arranges ...
extends under all of the second-story windows.
In the projecting sections of the facade, the band course is interrupted by marble balustrades under the second-story windows, and there is a carved
keystone and a triangular
pediment
Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape.
Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds.
A pedimen ...
above each of these windows. Within these sections, there are eared
architrave
In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns.
The term can ...
s above the windows on the third through fifth stories. In the non-projecting groups of windows, only the second-story windows have eared architraves, while the third to fifth stories have flat architraves. In all bays, each
window sill
A windowsill (also written window sill or window-sill, and less frequently in British English, cill) is the horizontal structure or surface at the bottom of a window. Window sills serve to structurally support and hold the window in place.
The ...
on the third through fifth stories is supported by two
corbel
In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...
s; the sills below the third-story and fifth-story windows are linked by band courses.
A cornice with dentils runs above the fifth story.
On the sixth and seventh stories, the projecting sections each have three windows and two blank panels, while the non-projecting sections have five windows. The windows on both stories are separated by pilasters with capitals; the sixth-story capitals are in the
Tuscan order
The Tuscan order (Latin ''Ordo Tuscanicus'' or ''Ordo Tuscanus'', with the meaning of Etruscan order) is one of the two classical orders developed by the Romans, the other being the composite order. It is influenced by the Doric order, but with u ...
while those on the seventh floor are in the
Scamozzi
Vincenzo Scamozzi (2 September 1548 – 7 August 1616) was an Italian architect and a writer on architecture, active mainly in Vicenza and Republic of Venice area in the second half of the 16th century. He was perhaps the most important figure th ...
style. There are cornices above both stories. A balustrade runs on the roof above the seventh story, but the projecting pavilions have
parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...
s instead of balustrades.
![280BroadwayClockSouthFace](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/280BroadwayClockSouthFace.jpg)
At the corner of Broadway and Chambers Street is a four-sided clock. It was installed in 1917 when ''
The New York Sun
''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...
'' moved into the building.
Designed by
Gerald A. Holmes and manufactured by the
International Time Recording Company
The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) was a holding company of manufacturers of record-keeping and measuring systems subsequently known as IBM.
In 1911, financier and noted trust organizer, "Father of Trusts", Charles R. Flint ama ...
, the clock consists of a bronze case measuring across, tall, and weighing . Each clock face had an octagonal dial; an hour hand with a star-shaped tail and a heart-shaped pointer; and a minute hand with a crescent-shaped tail and a rhombus-shaped pointer. Over each clock dial is the inscription "The Sun", while under each dial is the text "It Shines for All".
Since 1992, the clock has been maintained by the city's "clock master", Marvin Schneider.
There is a two-sided analog thermometer on the northern end of the Broadway elevation, near Reade Street. The thermometer was installed in 1936 and is housed in a bronze case manufactured by the
United States Bronze Sign Company. The case measures and contains dials measuring across. The triangular hands measure long and indicate the temperature in increments of , from .
The motto "The Sun / It Shines for All" is also inscribed on this thermometer.
Chambers Street
![Civic_Center_NYC_Aug_2022_169](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Civic_Center_NYC_Aug_2022_169.jpg)
The Chambers Street elevation is divided into eight sections, each with three bays on the first five stories. Counting from west to east, the first three sections are part of the first expansion, completed in 1850.
The fourth section from the west was constructed in 1872, since Stewart was unable to acquire a
holdout plot for more than two decades.
The fifth and sixth sections were built in 1853, while the seventh and eighth sections were built in 1884. The second, fifth, and seventh sections from the west project slightly from the facade.
At ground level, the bays are flanked by either pilasters or columns, similar to those on Broadway. The columns and pilasters in the westernmost three sections are made of marble, while those in the easternmost five sections are made of cast iron (painted to resemble marble). An entablature and a cornice with modillions run above the ground story.
The section above the first floor is made of marble. Above the ground floor, each section is separated by a strip of quoins. The non-projecting and projecting sections are designed in a very similar manner to those on the Broadway elevation. The only difference is that, above the seventh story, there is a parapet above the sixth and eighth sections, even though these sections do not project from the facade.
Reade Street
![Civic_Center_NYC_Aug_2022_207](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Civic_Center_NYC_Aug_2022_207.jpg)
The Reade Street elevation is divided into eight sections. Counting from west to east, the first three sections are part of the original store, completed in 1846. The fourth to sixth sections were built in 1853, while the seventh and eighth sections were built in 1884.
The fifth and seventh sections from the west project slightly from the facade. Unlike on the other two elevations, part of the basement is visible, as Reade Street slopes down from west to east.
The westernmost three sections contain eleven tall windows, which are flanked by twelve pilasters with Corinthian capitals. Beneath these windows are metal grilles, which cover the basement openings.
Drawings suggest that there was originally an
areaway in front of these grilles.
The easternmost five sections contain a cast-iron storefront on the first story. Below this is a parking garage at basement level, which was installed at some point in the 20th century. An entablature and a cornice with modillions run above the first story, but the cornice and entablature are misaligned where the original building and the annexes meet.
The section above the first floor is made of marble.
The western three sections differ from the remainder of the facade in that they are not divided by quoins. Additionally, the second section is wider than the others, with four bays on the basement through fifth stories.
The windows in the western three sections are also spaced farther apart, likely to accommodate the building's original rotunda, and the second-story windows are of simpler design. Otherwise, the facade is similar to those of the Broadway and Chambers Street elevations. Each section of the Reade Street elevation (except the second-westernmost one) contains three bays on the basement through fifth stories. There is a brick penthouse above the easternmost two sections.
Features
There are few written accounts of the building's original interior, and no images exist.
The building's main entrance on Broadway led to an oval rotunda, capped by a dome measuring tall,
with a circumference of .
The main floor of the rotunda contained mahogany sales counters and maple drawers.
A balcony encircled the rotunda. The dome was supported by columns, which in turn were topped by capitals signifying the themes of "commerce" and "plenty".
This motif was used throughout the store, with various frescoes symbolizing commerce.
The western end of the rotunda connected with the main entrance, while the eastern end contained a flight of stairs leading to the balcony.
The walls of the rotunda were originally decorated with mirrors measuring wide and tall.
When the store was expanded between 1850 and 1853, the rotunda was relocated to the center of the enlarged store, and the dome was expanded.
The rotunda was turned into a rectangular hall,
which measured tall and across.
The store was New York City's largest at the time of its opening, with slightly more than of space devoted to sales.
The second, third, and fourth stories were used for wholesale operations and were divided into several spaces, each for a different department.
The basement was split into a carpet room and a sales floor. On the first story, the main entrance and rotunda was for "miscellaneous and fancy articles", the north wing was used for shawls, and the south wing contained a linen and furnishing room. The second story was divided into three sections, one each for selling dress goods, silk goods, and embroidery; these all led onto the rotunda's balcony. The third floor contained a shawl room and a hosiery and glove room, while the fourth floor contained a storeroom for wholesale operations.
Next to the store, on Reade Street, Stewart constructed a boardinghouse and private library for the store's clerks.
After 1853, the store's basement contained carpets, the first floor included retail items, and the upper floors were for wholesalers.
When the building was converted into offices in 1884, the dome was replaced with an open courtyard measuring , which was surrounded by gray brick walls.
Following the renovation, the building had five passenger elevators and one freight elevator.
On the first through third floors, the corridors were paved in English Minton tiles, and the doorways on each corridor were made of Philadelphia brick and decorated with terracotta. In addition, on the first through fourth stories, the walls of each room had terracotta wainscoting and black marble moldings. These were all accessed by an ornate entrance on the Broadway elevation. The ''New-York Tribune'' described the building as "absolutely fireproof".
History
Irish-born merchant
Alexander Turney Stewart opened his first store at 283 Broadway, on the western sidewalk between Chambers and Reade Streets, in 1823.
At the time, even the largest stores were generally housed in small buildings,
and the surrounding neighborhood was largely residential.
As his business expanded, Stewart moved to 262 Broadway, then to 257 Broadway, during the late 1820s and early 1830s.
Stewart's store featured a number of marketing innovations.
For instance, he was among the first merchants to set fixed prices for his goods;
he bought inventory with cash, rather than on credit;
and he allowed customers to browse his shop without employee supervision.
By 1837, at the age of 34, Stewart was a millionaire, having sold expensive merchandise at low prices during the
Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major depression, which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages went down, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment went up, and pessimism abound ...
.
Stewart's stature was such that the 1845 book ''Wealthy Citizens of New York'' described other dry-goods merchants as "the Stewarts of their day".
A. T. Stewart store
Development and opening
![A great day in Manhattan, NYC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/A_great_day_in_Manhattan%2C_NYC._%282955111134%29.jpg)
Stewart bought all the lots on the eastern side of Broadway from Reade to Chambers Street in April 1844, paying about $90,000 to $100,000.
These included Washington Hall on the southeast corner of Broadway and Reade Street, which measured on Broadway and on Reade Street.
Most of the site was inadvertently cleared when the hall burned down in July 1844.
Stewart hired Joseph Trench and John Snook to design a new dry-goods store on the site,
and construction had begun by April 1845.
During the store's construction, some skeletons from the old Negros Burial Ground were found on the site. Critics objected that the building was too far "uptown",
in spite of the fact that three major competitors (Hearn Brothers,
Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor was the oldest brick and mortar department store in the United States, in business from 1826 to 2020. The brand was purchased during former owner Le Tote's 2020 liquidation bankruptcy and relaunched by new owner, Saadia Group, as ...
, and
Arnold Constable & Company
Arnold Constable & Company was a department store chain in the New York City metropolitan area. At one point it was the oldest department store in America, operating for over 150 years from its founding in 1825 to its closing in 1975. At the comp ...
) were all located further north.
Other criticism came from the fact that the building was on the eastern side of Broadway, which was directly lit by sunlight during the afternoon, discouraging upscale shoppers who preferred shops on the shaded western sidewalk.
At the time, no dry-goods stores existed on the eastern side of the avenue.
The original store ultimately cost $150,000 ().
Stewart's new store opened on September 21, 1846,
and was initially known as the Marble Palace.
The Marble Palace was New York City's first commercial structure designed in the Italianate style,
and it was one of the first structures in the U.S. designed in a Romano-Tuscan style.
It was also the first store in the city to contain a marble facade.
At the time, most buildings in New York City were generally clad in brick, but public buildings including
City Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
, the
Subtreasury
The Independent Treasury was the system for managing the money supply of the United States federal government through the U.S. Treasury and its sub-treasuries, independently of the national banking and financial systems. It was created on August 6 ...
, and the
Merchants' Exchange had marble facades.
Inside the Marble Palace was a grand rotunda,
the second one to be built in a commercial building in the United States.
The first story included plate-glass windows, which had never before been used in a store in the U.S.
Merchandise was sold in multiple departments across several floors, in contrast to competing stores, which generally had only one selling floor.
The building was the United States' first
department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
,
leading historian Harry E. Resseguie to refer it as the "cradle of the department store".
The ''
Herald
A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms.
Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...
'' and the ''
New York Evening Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established i ...
'' reported that the store was popular on and after opening day.
The store initially contained $600,000 worth of imported European merchandise, which Stewart's partner Francis Warden had acquired during various trips. Warden continued to manage A. T. Stewart & Company's European import business for several decades, buying items such as carpets, costumes, laces, shawls, and silks.
Anticipating that he might need to expand the store, Stewart bought seven land lots on Chambers Street and Broadway in 1847.
By 1850, the store was prosperous;
James Gordon Bennett Sr. had observed that the store had done four times as much business in January 1850 than in January 1849.
Initial expansion
![Civic_Center_NYC_Aug_2022_162](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Civic_Center_NYC_Aug_2022_162.jpg)
From 1850 to 1851, the store was expanded south, measuring wide on Broadway and on Reade and Chambers Streets.
Trench and Snook designed these modifications.
Work on the foundations began in May 1850, and the annex had been constructed to the fourth story by that October.
The dome was also relocated, and Stewart added a fifth story above the original building.
The expanded store was decorated with Corinthian columns and pilasters on Broadway, Reade Street, and Chambers Street; there were entrances on all three streets.
To deliver the granite and marble, masonry contractor James Hall built temporary railroad tracks on Chambers Street.
In addition, Stewart asked the
New York State Legislature
The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...
for an exemption from the state's fire-safety codes, allowing him to build the Chambers Street annex out of marble instead of cast iron.
The project cost $200,000 in total ().
The expanded structure had about seven times more selling space, or approximately .
As work on the southern annex was proceeding, Stewart bought four lots on Chambers and Reade Streets during 1850 and 1852.
The owner of the lot at 61 Chambers Street refused to sell his building, so Stewart decided to build around it.
Stewart was able to extend the Reade Street frontage eastward; plans indicate that he either demolished or remodeled the boardinghouse to the east of his original store.
This expansion was completed by 1853.
The store was still the only dry-goods retailer on the eastern side of Broadway, although it was extremely profitable. An 1853 account noted that the store had an annual profit of $7 million ().
In addition, the store had 300 clerks after the expansions were completed, compared with 100 clerks at the store's opening seven years earlier.
The store became one of the city's major visitor attractions in the 1850s. Part of the store's success arose from the fact that Broadway and Chambers Street was the city's busiest intersection at the time. In addition, wealthy residents frequently traveled along Broadway in their carriages.
Continued growth and relocation
By the mid-1850s, the retail department had expanded into the upper floors, which had been intended exclusively for wholesale business.
By the end of the decade, wealthy residents had started to
move uptown, and Stewart began planning a new location for his retail business.
He started developing a building on Broadway between
9th
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
and
10th Streets in 1859, occupying a full city block,
and the store's retail department moved to the new building in 1862.
In the year before the retail department relocated from the Marble Palace, the store employed an estimated 400 to 500 clerks and earned $5 million a year.
The wholesale department continued to operate at the Marble Palace,
and Stewart maintained an office on the second floor.
Stewart leased the lot at 61 Chambers Street in 1872, allowing him to build an annex on that site.
The owner still refused to sell the site, so Stewart instead agreed to lease the lot at a cost of $11,000 a year, which at the time was an exorbitant amount.
Stewart agreed to spend at least $30,000 on a marble-faced annex on the site, and he ultimately spent $35,000 on the annex.
An architect, known only as "Schmidt", designed the annex in a similar style to Trench and Snook's original building.
Also in 1872, Stewart acquired four lots on Chambers and Reade Streets, adjacent to the store building.
Stewart continued to maintain his offices at the Marble Palace until his death in 1876.
Henry Hilton Judge Henry Hilton (October 4, 1824 – August 24, 1899) was an American jurist and businessman. He became best known for the so-called "Hilton-Seligman Affair" in 1877, his refusal to admit financier Joseph Seligman to the Grand Union Hotel ...
, the executor of Stewart's estate, took over the store's operation.
The Marble Palace's sales suffered because of the executor's mismanagement, and the wholesale department moved uptown to 9th Street in January 1879.
Subsequently, the building was vacant for over a year.
Use as offices
Hilton ownership
![Civic_Center_NYC_Aug_2022_199](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Civic_Center_NYC_Aug_2022_199.jpg)
After the Stewart store relocated uptown, there were rumors that the building would be converted into a hotel.
Instead, Hilton hired Edward D. Harris in September 1882 to renovate the building and convert the interior into offices.
The building was expanded eastward, and two floors were added.
The main facade on Broadway remained intact, but Harris rebuilt the rear of the building on Reade and Chambers Streets.
The Marble Palace was combined with two properties that Hilton owned on 53 and 55 Chambers Street, which themselves were remodeled to complement the original store's design.
The store's rotunda was removed and replaced with an open courtyard.
Hilton bought the property from Stewart's widow for $2.1 million in February 1884.
By then, the New York City government was reportedly planning to buy the building, since its proximity to City Hall made the building an ideal spot for municipal offices.
The Marble Palace was renamed the Stewart Building when it was remodeled.
The
New York City Department of Finance
The New York City Department of Finance (DOF) is the revenue service, taxation agency and recorder of deeds of the government of New York City. Its Parking Violations Bureau is an administrative court that adjudicates parking violations, while its ...
leased space there after the renovation was completed. Additional departments of the New York City government moved into the building in the late 19th century, including the Department of Taxes and Assessments, the Commissioner of Jurors, the Commissioners of Accounts, and the Aqueduct Commissioners.
By 1897, the city government was paying over $85,000 per year to rent space at the Stewart Building.
Meanwhile, in August 1893, financier
Hetty Green
Hetty Green (November 21, 1834 – July 3, 1916), nicknamed the Witch of Wall Street, was an American businesswoman and financier known as "the richest woman in America" during the Gilded Age. She was named by the '' Guinness Book of World Reco ...
loaned $1.25 million to Hilton's firm Hilton, Hughes & Co., which operated the Stewart stores but was experiencing financial difficulties. In exchange, Green took a five-year mortgage on 280 Broadway as a
security
Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social ...
.
''The New York World'' described the loan as a "great blow to Henry Hilton's pride".
Shortly after the loan was placed, elected officials questioned whether Green was using the loan to commit
tax evasion
Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the taxp ...
.
Hilton, Hughes & Co. went bankrupt in 1896,
but the loan was paid off before Green died two decades later.
By the early 1900s, the city government was considering erecting a municipal building on the site.
State senator
Patrick H. McCarren
Patrick Henry McCarren (July 8, 1849 in East Cambridge, Massachusetts – October 23, 1909 in Brooklyn, New York City) was an American politician from New York (state), New York.
Life
The family removed to Brooklyn when Patrick was still a child. ...
proposed a bill in 1900, which would construct a building on the blocks bounded by Broadway and Reade, Centre, and Chambers Streets; 280 Broadway would have been demolished as part of the plan. The city government filed plans for a $10 million courthouse on the Stewart Building's site in January 1904. The courthouse plans were dropped that September, as the site would have been too costly, and the surrounding neighborhood was too noisy.
Isman ownership and foreclosure
Felix Isman paid $4.5 million in April 1906 for an
option to acquire the building.
Isman would be able to purchase the Stewart Building from Hilton's estate after one year.
According to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', a few minutes after signing the purchase agreement, Isman refused an offer to make a $1 million profit from the purchase.
Isman was subsequently injured in a railroad accident in 1907 and was unable to exercise his option at the time;
he received a further extension following the
Panic of 1907
The Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic or Knickerbocker Crisis, was a financial crisis that took place in the United States over a three-week period starting in mid-October, when the New York Stock Exchange fell almost 50% from ...
.
Despite reports that Isman planned to renege the deal,
he ultimately bought the building in June 1908 from Hilton's executors, Horace Russell and Edward Harris.
Isman received a mortgage loan of $3.7 million for the property,
although his wife at the time, actress
Irene Fenwick
Irene Fenwick (born Irene Frizell; September 5, 1887 – December 24, 1936) was an American stage and silent film actress. She was married to Lionel Barrymore from 1923 until her death in 1936. Fenwick has several surviving feature films fr ...
, officially held the mortgage.
The next year, Isman's architect Charles G. Jones filed plans to renovate the building at a cost of $50,000.
The alterations included rebuilding the sidewalk, lowering the first story to ground level, and dividing the first story into multiple storefronts.
The Hilton estate sued in June 1912 to foreclose on a $4 million mortgage that had been placed on the Stewart Building.
Isman owed $3.838 million on the mortgage by that December.
By January 1913, there were rumors that the building would be sold to make way for a skyscraper.
The city government opened a municipal reference library in the building in April 1913.
A foreclosure auction for the building was delayed because the executor of the Hilton estate was deciding whether he should sell the building off or take back ownership. The Hilton estate would lose money in both cases, but it would lose less in a foreclosure auction than in a buyback.
The Stewart Building continued to lose money while it remained in foreclosure. In 1916, one of Henry Hilton's sons requested that the building be sold, alleging that it was losing $60,000 to $100,000 a year.
In February 1917, a state judge announced that the building would be sold at a foreclosure auction that April.
Sun Building
Frank Munsey, publisher of the New York ''
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
'', purchased the Stewart Building in October 1917 for $4 million.
He also acquired the
fee ownership to a small portion of the site from Martha A. Andrews;
the building's previous owners had never been able to buy that plot.
Munsey initially planned to raze the Stewart Building and erect a skyscraper for his newspapers.
The next year, he leased part of the basement and first story to
Frank Winfield Woolworth, who opened a
Woolworth five-and-ten-cent store there.
The ''Sun'' moved into the second floor, a portion of the ground floor, and two basement levels in 1919.
The Mohican Company, the Frank Munsey Company, and ''Sun'' president William T. Dewart's "other interests" took up space in the building's top story.
Munsey sued New York City's board of commissioners in 1922, seeking to reduce the building's valuation for tax purposes. In legal filings, Munsey indicated that he wanted to replace the old Stewart Building.
The building had 2,000 workers by the mid-1920s.
When Munsey died, the building passed to the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
.
The museum sold the building in 1928 to Dewart, who renamed the edifice the Sun Building.
Although Fenwick had long since divorced Isman, she still held the mortgage on the property, and she was obligated to pay $2.5 million as a result of a
default judgment against her in 1926. Two years afterward, Fenwick sued to have the default judgment vacated.
The building's tenants in the mid-20th century included insurance brokerage Davis, Dorland & Company (which leased much of the fourth floor), as well as the Publishers' Association of New York City. After World War II, businessman Henry Modell opened a store in the building, selling surplus wartime material.
The ''Sun'' continued to be a major tenant until January 1950, when the ''
New York World-Telegram
The ''New York World-Telegram'', later known as the ''New York World-Telegram and The Sun'', was a New York City newspaper from 1931 to 1966.
History
Founded by James Gordon Bennett Sr. as ''The Evening Telegram'' in 1867, the newspaper began ...
'' acquired the ''Sun''. Afterward, all ''Sun'' staff either lost their jobs or were transferred to the offices of the ''World-Telegram''.
The sale of the newspaper did not include 280 Broadway.
A syndicate, led by the respective presidents of the Charles F. Noyes Company and the City Investing Company, bought the site from Dewart in 1951. The syndicate planned to construct a 40-story building on the site with of space.
At the time, the building could not be demolished due to temporary restrictions placed by the city government.
The plan was ultimately never carried out because of a lack of essential construction materials such as steel. Noyes and City Investing renovated the property and sold it in November 1952 to a syndicate led by David Rapoport.
The owners refinanced the building in 1955 with a $1.3 million first mortgage loan from the Charles F. Noyes Company.
Tenants at this time included the
Better Business Bureau
Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a private, 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization founded in 1912. BBB's self-described mission is to focus on advancing marketplace trust, consisting of 97 independently incorporated local BBB organizations in the Unit ...
. Part of the ground-story facade was replaced with aluminum and glass in 1959, after
Modell's Sporting Goods
Modell's Sporting Goods is an American online sporting goods retailer that had locations in the Northeastern United States. Modell's carries both sporting goods and related apparel. Modell's had more than 150 retail locations in ten states and ...
leased a storefront at the base of the building.
City government ownership
Proposed redevelopment
By 1962, the government of New York City wanted to redevelop the Civic Center as part of the "ABC plan".
The New York Sun Building, the Emigrant Savings Bank Building, and several other structures were to have been demolished to make way for a new Civic Center municipal building and a plaza.
At the time, the New York City Rent and Rehabilitation Association occupied the structure.
Edward Durell Stone
Edward Durell Stone (March 9, 1902 – August 6, 1978) was an American architect known for the formal, highly decorative buildings he designed in the 1950s and 1960s. His works include the Museum of Modern Art, in New York City, the Museo de A ...
had been hired to design the new building.
After receiving negative criticism, the city presented a revised proposal in April 1964.
Later that year, the
government of New York City
The government of New York City, headquartered at New York City Hall in Lower Manhattan, is organized under the New York City Charter and provides for a mayor-council system. The mayor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for the ...
received authorization to buy the Sun Building and several surrounding plots, which would be demolished to make way for a new Civic Center municipal building.
The New York City government filed plans for a new building on the site in January 1965, and the city government acquired the site through
condemnation the same year.
The clock faces on the building's exterior had stopped operating by 1966.
A local group advocated for the clock's restoration after the city acquired the building.
The clock was reactivated in June 1967 after a restoration costing $1,350.
The redevelopment plans were ultimately scrapped due to the
1975 New York City fiscal crisis, but the city retained ownership of the Sun Building.
Because the Civic Center redevelopment was legally dormant and had not yet been canceled outright, the city initially decided not to refurbish either 280 Broadway or 49 Chambers, even though both buildings were in need of renovation.
The Sun Building's ground story contained Modell's, while the upper stories contained city government offices.
Restoration and 21st century
![A](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/A.T._Stewart_Dry_Goods_Sun_Building_280_Broadway.jpg)
The Sun Building was severely dilapidated by 1981, with large cracks, broken windows, falling ceilings, malfunctioning lights, and extensive leaks.
The building was also inaccessible to disabled guests and lacked modern fire-safety features.
The city no longer planned to demolish the structure, and 16 tenants paid $280,000 in rent every year, but the city government claimed that it did not even have the funds to conduct routine maintenance.
The ''New York Daily News'' wrote that the building's offices were "reviled by generations of city workers". The clock outside the Sun Building was restored again in 1988,
but the structure was still dilapidated in 1994, when the city government considered selling it to a private developer under a
leaseback
Leaseback, short for "sale-and-leaseback", is a financial transaction in which one sells an asset and leases it back for the long term; therefore, one continues to be able to use the asset but no longer owns it. The transaction is generally done f ...
agreement.
William J. Diamond, the city's commissioner of general services, said of 280 Broadway and the neighboring 49 Chambers: "The excitement from the private sector is that they are coming in and saying to us, 'We can make these buildings financially viable if you either sell it to us and/or lease it to us.'"
The administration of mayor
Rudolph Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
announced in early 1995 that it planned to lease the buildings to a private developer, who would then renovate both buildings for up to $50 million.
In November 1995, the Giuliani administration announced that the
Starrett Corporation
Starrett Corporation, formerly known as Starrett Brothers, Inc. and Starrett Brothers and Eken, is a real estate development and construction firm known for having built the Empire State Building, Stuyvesant Town, Starrett City and Trump Tower in ...
would renovate the building's garage and storefronts,
leasing the retail space from the city government for 49 years.
Beyer Blinder Belle
Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLP (BBB) is an international architecture firm. It is based in New York City and has an additional office in Washington, DC. The firm's name is derived from the three founding partners: John H. Beyer, Ri ...
was hired to design a renovation of the building, which commenced in 1995.
As part of a
public–private partnership
A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sector institutions.Hodge, G. A and Greve, C. (2007), Public–Private Partnerships: An International Performance Review, Public Administ ...
, the building was renovated in two phases: one funded by the city and the other by Starrett.
The city spent $15.7 million to restore the facade, replacing the Tuckahoe stone with Italian marble.
In the second phase, Starrett would renovate the basement, first floor, and second floor for $21.5 million, then lease out the retail space.
During the renovation, the Modell's store at the building's base was closed around 1998.
The
New York City Department of Buildings
The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) is the department of the New York City government that enforces the city's building codes and zoning regulations, issues building permits, licenses, registers and disciplines certain construction ...
(DOB) moved its offices to 280 Broadway in 2002, relocating from
MetroTech Center
Brooklyn Commons, formerly MetroTech Center, is a business and educational center in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City.
Location
Brooklyn Commons lies between Flatbush Avenue Extension and Jay Street, north of the Fulton Street Mall and south o ...
and
60 Hudson Street
60 Hudson Street, formerly known as the Western Union Building, is a 24-story telecommunications building in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Built in 1928–1930, it was one of several Art Deco-style buildings design ...
.
Modell's store on the first floor reopened the same year.
Dance Space Center (later renamed Dance New Amsterdam, or DNA
) leased on the lower stories in 2004.
The group had expressed interest in revitalizing Lower Manhattan after the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
.
With some funding from the city government, DNA spent $5.5 million renovating the space into seven studios, a cafe, and offices, moving into its new space in 2006.
Due to cost overruns relating to the renovation, DNA fell behind on rent payments in 2010 and was in danger of eviction.
The group renewed its lease in 2012 and started renovating the lower floors,
but it filed for bankruptcy in 2013.
Gibney Dance
Gibney Dance, founded in 1991 by choreographer Gina Gibney, is a multi-faceted dance organization occupying two locations in New York City: one at 890 Broadway in the Flatiron District and the other at 280 Broadway in Tribeca. The organization’ ...
leased a space at the building's base in 2014, taking over both the old DNA space and a former bank location.
Gibney Dance then refurbished its space with $3 million from the
Agnes Varis
Agnes Varis (''née'' Koulouvaris; January 11, 1930 – July 29, 2011) was an American businesswoman and philanthropist who was the founder and president of Agvar Chemicals Inc. and Aegis Pharmaceuticals.
Early life and family
Varis was born ...
Trust.
A restoration of the facade commenced in 2017;
the project, designed by Urbahn Associates, cost $17.5 million.
Prior to the restoration, the building had been surrounded by a
sidewalk shed
A sidewalk shed is a temporary structure or scaffold installed over a sidewalk. It is used to protect pedestrians from falling debris during the course of construction. As of 2022, New York City
New York, often cal ...
since 2008,
but the shed was disassembled in 2019 when the renovation was completed.
The project received the 2020 Lucy Moses Preservation Award from the
New York Landmarks Conservancy
The New York Landmarks Conservancy is a non-profit organization "dedicated to preserving, revitalizing, and reusing" historic structures in New York state. It provides technical assistance, project management services, grants, and loans, to owne ...
.
Impact
Critical reception
![Civic_Center_NYC_Aug_2022_157](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Civic_Center_NYC_Aug_2022_157.jpg)
When 280 Broadway opened, it received broad praise.
A ''
New York Evening Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established i ...
'' article from 1849 described the building as "the looming front of a marble palace, five stories high, decorated in the most beautiful style of art".
Just before the store opened, former New York City mayor
Philip Hone
Philip Hone (October 25, 1780 – May 5, 1851) was Mayor of New York City from 1826 to 1827.Minutes of the Common Council of the City of New York, 1784-1831. Volume XV, November 10, 1825 to December 25, 1826'. New York: City of New York, 1917. p. ...
wrote: "There is nothing in Paris or London to compare with this dry goods palace".
His only concern was that the plate-glass windows were a "useless piece of extravagance" that were prone to breaking.
British writer
Lady Emmeline Stuart-Wortley said in 1849 that the store was "one of the finest structures I ever saw".
Following the first expansion, an observer wrote for ''
Harper's Magazine
''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...
'' in 1854 that the building "rises out of the green foliage of
ity HallPark, a white marble cliff, sharply drawn against the sky".
British novelist
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ar ...
said in 1861: "I wish we had nothing approaching to it. For I confess to a liking for the old-fashioned private shops."
According to Stewart's historian Harry Resseguie, some observers criticized the 1850s expansions for "lacking architectural beauty".
Art critic
Clarence Cook
Clarence Chatham Cook (September 8, 1828 – June 2, 1900) was a 19th-century American author and art critic.
Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Cook graduated from Harvard in 1849 and worked as a teacher. Between 1863 and 1869, Cook wrote a serie ...
wrote that, while the specific architectural details could be subject to debate, "as a whole, it is an imposing structure, and an ornament to the city".
Cook's objections largely centered around the building's ornamentation, which he felt was too flat; he believed that these details over-emphasized the building's height.
After the building's final expansion in 1884, Resseguie wrote that the renovations had "wrecked
he store'sdistinctive interior and obscured the beautiful facade of the original building".
Influence and landmark designations
The Stewart Building's completion inspired the construction of other large dry-goods stores, a trend that continued until
early skyscrapers
The earliest stage of skyscraper design encompasses buildings built between 1884 and 1945, predominantly in the American cities of New York and Chicago. Cities in the United States were traditionally made up of low-rise buildings, but significan ...
were built in the late 19th century.
Winston Weisman wrote in 1954 that the building "created architectural repercussions up and down the Atlantic seaboard";
after the Stewart Building had been completed, most large commercial buildings were built in the palazzo style for about 25 years.
Within the immediate area, the building's construction inspired the development of other stores on Broadway that were clad with brownstone, cast-iron, or marble.
The ''
Hartford Courant
The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is considered to be the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven ...
'' New York City correspondent, writing about these stores in 1850, said the newer buildings were "far from being equal to the 'palace' and cannot in any sense be viewed as rivals".
According to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), the building's impact on mid-19th century architecture in New York City was comparable to the impact of
Lever House
Lever House is a office building at 390 Park Avenue (Manhattan), Park Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The building was designed in the International style (architecture), International Style by Gordon Bunshaft a ...
on the city's mid-20th century architecture.
''The New York Times'' wrote in 2019 that the building raised "a commercial enterprise into a public institution and Stewart into an entrepreneurial prince".
280 Broadway was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
(NRHP) as a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
on June 2, 1978.
The LPC designated the building's exterior as a city landmark on October 7, 1986.
Although it was not originally built for the ''Sun'', 280 Broadway is one of several former newspaper headquarters designated as New York City landmarks, along with the
Daily News Building
The Daily News Building, also known as The News Building, is a skyscraper at 220 East 42nd Street in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The original building was designed by architects Raymond Hood and John Me ...
, the ''New York Times'' buildings at
41 Park Row and
229 West 43rd Street, and the
New York Evening Post Building
The New York Evening Post Building, also known as the New York Post Building or the Post Towers, is a historic commercial building located in Lower Manhattan, New York City, New York. The building was designed by architect Horace Trumbauer a ...
. 280 Broadway is also located within two historic districts. It is part of the African Burial Ground and the Commons Historic District, which was designated a city landmark district in 1993.
The building is also part of the
African Burial Ground Historic District, a
National Historic Landmark District
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
.
See also
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List of National Historic Landmarks in New York City
*
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
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External links
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{{New York City Historic Sites
{{National Register of Historic Places in New York
{{Broadway (Manhattan)
{{Civic Center, Manhattan
1846 establishments in New York (state)
Broadway (Manhattan)
Civic Center, Manhattan
Commercial buildings completed in 1846
Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan
Department stores on the National Register of Historic Places
National Historic Landmarks in Manhattan
New York City Department of Buildings
New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan
Office buildings in Manhattan