The Schermerhorn Row Block, located at #2 through #18
Fulton Street in the
Financial District
A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies and other related finance corporations have their head offices. In major cities, financial districts are often home to s ...
of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, was constructed in 1811–12 in the
Federal style,
and is now part of the
South Street Seaport
The South Street Seaport is a historic area in the New York City borough of Manhattan, centered where Fulton Street meets the East River, and adjacent to the Financial District, in Lower Manhattan. The Seaport is a designated historic district ...
. Each of the individual houses were designated
New York City Landmarks in 1968, and the block was collectively 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 ...
in 1971.
History
Peter Schermerhorn
Peter Schermerhorn (October 1, 1749 – January 28, 1826) was a wealthy New York City merchant and land owner. He was the father of Abraham Schermerhorn and the paternal grandfather of Caroline Schermerhorn Astor.
Early life
Schermerhorn was b ...
, father of
Abraham Schermerhorn
Abraham Schermerhorn (April 9, 1783 – February 3, 1850) was a wealthy New York City merchant who was also prominent in social affairs. He was the father of Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, known as the Mrs. Astor.
Early life
Schermerhorn was b ...
, built these
counting house
A counting house, or counting room, was traditionally an office in which the financial books of a business were kept. It was also the place that the business received appointments and correspondence relating to demands for payment.
As the use of ...
s in 1811–12 to serve the growing New York seaport. No 2 & No 4 Fulton Street were occupied from 1847 to the 1990s by Sweet's Seafood House, for over a century New York City's oldest fish restaurant. The building at the corner of Fulton and South Street (#2) was once a hotel; at that time it was altered – in 1868 – to add a
mansard
A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...
roof.
The buildings were purchased in 1974 by the State of New York. During the 2003 redevelopment, these buildings were linked to the
A.A. Low Building, which faces John Street, to create gallery space. The permanent exhibits include paintings by the maritime artist
James E. Buttersworth.
Nearly contemporaneous to the building of Schermerhorn Row, other counting houses and warehouses were built in the immediate area, at 180-195 Front Street, 159-171 John Street, and 91-92 South Street, many of them in the
Greek Revival style. These buildings were all restored in the 1980s under the supervision of the architect Jan Hird Pokorny, and are now part of the South Street Seaport.
See also
*
*
References
External links
*
Commercial buildings completed in 1811
Financial District, Manhattan
Historic districts in Lower Manhattan
New York City designated historic districts
New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan
Office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan
Schermerhorn family
South Street Seaport
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