The Van Tassell and Kearney Horse Auction Mart is a building in East Village,

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 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 ...

. The building was constructed in 1903-04 to the designs of Jardine, Kent & Jardine in the Beaux-Arts Style. It originally served as a horse auction mart that catered to New York's elite families, including the Vanderbilts and Delanos. Each Tuesday and Friday, Van Tassell & Kearney held auctions in the building. Though carriages remained an important part of the business, most advertisements and newspaper stories about the mart concerned the sale of horses, particularly high-priced ribbon winners, polo ponies, hunters, and thoroughbreds. Other sales were devoted to breeding stock and coach horses, including a large group of horses co-owned by Alfred W. Vanderbilt and Robert L. Gerry in 1906. As automobiles and other forms of public transit became much more common after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the practical need for horses and stables decreased. The auction mart ceased functioning in the 13th Street building. It served as an assembly-line training center for women during World War II. From 1978 to 2005, artist Frank Stella owned the building and used it as his studio. His nearly 30-year stewardship of the building resulted in the facade being cleaned and restored. In 2006, after discovering plans of a new owner to demolish the building and replace it with a condo development, the

Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation Village Preservation (formerly the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, or GVSHP) is a non-profit organization which advocates for the preservation of architecture and culture in several neighborhoods of Lower Manhattan, New York. ...

(GVSHP) asked the

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission 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 ...

(LPC) to hold an emergency hearing on the structure. There was significant support for designation, including City Councilmember

Rosie Mendez Rosie may refer to: Geography * Rosie, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Rosie River, Northern Territory, Australia People and characters * Rosie (given name) * Rosie the Rocketeer (aka "Rosie"), a Boeing spaceflight test dummy * Rosie t ...

. Playing on the history of the building as an assembly line training center for women during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, GVSHP used the iconic "

We Can Do It! "We Can Do It!" is an American World War II wartime poster produced by J. Howard Miller in 1943 for Westinghouse Electric as an inspirational image to boost female worker morale. The poster was little seen during World War II. It was rediscove ...

" image (often associated with Rosie the Riveter) on stickers, flyers, and T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "We Can Save It! Landmark 128 East 13th Street" as part of the campaign to secure landmark designation for the building. The LPC held a public hearing and halted demolition plans, but did not immediately designate the building. On November 29, 2007, the building was listed on the State and

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 ...

. GVSHP and other advocates continued to push for designation. In May 2012, after a 6-year campaign, the LPC voted unanimously to designate the former Van Tassell & Kearney Horse Auction Mart 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 ...

. In January 2010 after an extensive renovation, Peridance Capezio Center opened here at its new location.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in New York Beaux-Arts architecture in New York City Buildings and structures completed in 1903 Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan East Village, Manhattan History of auctions

See also

References