The Engineers' Club Building, also known as Bryant Park Place, is a residential building at 32 West 40th Street in the

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...

neighborhood of

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 U ...

, United States. Located on the southern edge of

Bryant Park Bryant Park is a public park located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Privately managed, it is located between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas ( Sixth Avenue) and between 40th and 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan. The e ...

, it was constructed in 1907 along with the adjoining

Engineering Societies' Building The Engineering Societies' Building, also known as 25 West 39th Street, is a commercial building at 25–33 West 39th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, United States. Located one block south of Bryant Park, it was ...

. It served as the clubhouse of the Engineers' Club, a social organization formed in 1888. The building was designed by

Henry D. Whitfield Whitfield & King was an architectural partnership of Henry Davis Whitfield and Beverly Sedgwick King (1876–1935). A number of the firm's works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Whitfield was brother-in-law of Andrew Carnegi ...

and

Beverly S. King Beverly Sedgwick King (December 22, 1876 – March 4, 1935), of New York City, was an American architect, a partner with Henry D. Whitfield in the firm Whitfield & King. He is now known primarily for his work as a philately, philatelist who specia ...

, of the firm

Whitfield & King Whitfield & King was an architectural partnership of Henry Davis Whitfield and Beverly Sedgwick King (1876–1935). A number of the firm's works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Whitfield was brother-in-law of Andrew Carne ...

, in the

neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ...

style. The building's facade is divided into three horizontal sections. The lowest three stories comprise a base of light-colored stone, including a

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

with Corinthian-style

capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

. Above that is a seven-story shaft with a brick facade and stone

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 ...

s. The top of the building has a double-height

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

and 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). Al ...

s. Inside, the building contained accommodations for the Engineers’ Club, including 66 bedrooms and club meeting rooms. In the early 20th century, the Engineers' Club Building was connected to the Engineering Societies' Building. The Engineers' Club Building was partially funded by

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans in ...

, who in 1904 offered money for a new clubhouse for New York City's various engineering societies. The Engineers' Club did not want to share a building with the other societies, so an

architectural design competition An architectural design competition is a type of design competition in which an organization that intends on constructing a new building invites architects to submit design proposals. The winning design is usually chosen by an independent panel ...

was held for two clubhouse buildings. The Engineers' Club Building served as a clubhouse until 1979, after which it became a residential structure. The building became a

cooperative apartment A housing cooperative, or housing co-op, is a legal entity, usually a cooperative or a corporation, which owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings; it is one type of housing tenure. Housing cooperatives are a distinc ...

called Bryant Park Place in 1983. The building 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 artist ...

in 2007, and 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 ...

designated the building as a landmark in 2011.

Site

The Engineers' Club Building is at 32 West 40th Street in the

neighborhood of

. The building occupies a rectangular land lot with a

frontage Frontage is the boundary between a plot of land or a building and the road onto which the plot or building fronts. Frontage may also refer to the full length of this boundary. This length is considered especially important for certain types of ...

of along 40th Street, a depth of , and an area of . Two adjacent buildings were once affiliated with the Engineers' Club Building: 28 West 40th Street to the east and 36 West 40th Street to the west. The building was also once connected to the

to the south. The Engineers' Club Building faces the southern border of

between Fifth and

Sixth Avenue Sixth Avenue – also known as Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers, p.24 – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown". It is commercial ...

s. On the same block are

The Bryant The Bryant is a residential building at 16 West 40th Street, south of Bryant Park, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, developed by HFZ Capital Group and designed by the firm of architect David Chipperfield. The building topped out in 2016, an ...

and

452 Fifth Avenue 452 Fifth Avenue (also the HSBC Tower and formerly the Republic National Bank Building) is an office building at the southwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 40th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The building includes ...

to the east; the

Haskins & Sells Building Haskins may refer to: * Haskins (surname) * Haskins, Iowa, U.S. * Haskins, Ohio, U.S. * Haskins Laboratories, non-profit researcher See also * Haskin (disambiguation) * Hoskins (disambiguation) Hoskins is a surname. Hoskins may also refer t ...

to the south; and the

American Radiator Building The American Radiator Building (also known as the American Standard Building) is an early skyscraper at 40 West 40th Street, just south of Bryant Park, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It was designed by Raymond Hood and ...

and

Bryant Park Studios The Bryant Park Studios (formerly known as the Beaux-Arts Building) is an office building at 80 West 40th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, at the corner of 40th Street and Sixth Avenue. The building, overlooking the ...

to the west. Other nearby places include the

New York Public Library Main Branch The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, commonly known as the Main Branch, 42nd Street Library or the New York Public Library, is the flagship building in the New York Public Library system in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. T ...

across 40th Street to the north, as well as the

Lord & Taylor Building The Lord & Taylor Building is an 11-story commercial building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that formerly served as Lord & Taylor's flagship department store in the city. It is at 424–434 Fifth Avenue between 38th and 39th Streets. ...

to the southeast. The surrounding block of 40th Street had contained brownstone

row houses In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...

through the 1920s. The Engineers' Club Building had directly replaced two brownstone row houses at 32 and 34 West 40th Street. Each of these houses was five stories tall with an

English basement An English basement is an apartment (flat in UK English) on the lowest floor of a building, generally a townhouse or brownstone, which is partially below and partially above ground level and which has its own entrance separate from those of th ...

and was situated on a lot measuring . The city block already had several social clubs, including the Republican Club and the New York Club, both later demolished. The Engineering Societies and Engineers' Club buildings collectively served as a center for the engineering industry in the United States during the early and mid-20th century. The adjoining area included the offices of three engineering publications on 39th Street, as well as Engineers' Club member

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla ( ; ,"Tesla"
''

Architecture

The Engineers' Club Building was designed by

and

, of the firm

, in the

style. It is 13 stories tall, also cited as 12 stories. There is also a basement and subbasement under the above-ground stories. The building occupies its whole land lot at the base. Above the third story, the building is shaped like a dumbbell, with light courts to the west and east.

Facade

The primary facade is on the north, facing 40th Street. It is three

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...

wide and is organized into three horizontal sections: a base, shaft, and capital. It uses a combination of white marble and red brick.. ''The New York Times'' wrote the building design "strikes even the layman as sumptuous in the extreme. It is doubtful if anywhere in this country so luxurious a club dwelling exists." The lowest three stories on 40th Street are clad in stone and are each tall. The ground story is designed with rusticated blocks and contains a central entrance flanked by round-arched windows. Above the entrance are large console brackets carrying 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 ...

. The entrance was designed as a doorway wide, while the windows to either side are wide and twice as high. There is a plaque commemorating Nikola Tesla, who received an

IEEE Edison Medal The IEEE Edison Medal is presented by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) "for a career of meritorious achievement in electrical science, electrical engineering, or the electrical arts." It is the oldest medal in this fi ...

at the building in 1917. There is a Corinthian-style

of fluted

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s on the second and third stories, with

at the top of each pilaster. According to the ''

AIA Guide to New York City The ''AIA Guide to New York City'' by Norval White, Elliot Willensky, and Fran Leadon is an extensive catalogue with descriptions, critique and photographs of significant and noteworthy architecture throughout the five boroughs of New York City ...

'', the pilasters "give this a scale appropriate to the New York Public Library opposite". The second-floor windows have eared surrounds, above which are entablatures with swags. The third story has round-arched windows with carved frames. Above is a decorative

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

, as well as a

with

dentil A dentil (from Lat. ''dens'', a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice. Dentils are found in ancient Greek and Roman architecture, and also in later styles such as Neoclassical, Federal, Georgian ...

On 40th Street, the fourth through tenth stories are clad in brick, and the outer edges of the facade have stone

s. The windows are square and have marble frames for the most part. The fourth story is a transitional story and consists of a stone entablature. Four urns flank the fourth-story windows. On the fourth through ninth stories, there is a console bracket above each window, serving as a keystone. At the tenth story, the windows are flanked by carved shields. A stone balustrade runs above the tenth story and is carried on brackets. The top stories contain a double-height colonnade supported by Ionic-style stone columns. The arches have a slightly different window arrangement at the base, and there is a brick wall behind each column. Atop each arch is a console bracket supporting an attic. The facade is topped by a cornice with dentils, supporting a stone balcony. The west and east elevations are visible above the fifth story and are mostly clad in plain brick with some windows. There are air shafts on both elevations and a fire escape on the western elevation. The Engineers' Club Building was also attached to the immediately adjacent buildings on either side. To the east, the Engineers' Club Building adjoins a brick-and-brownstone structure at 28 West 40th Street, containing four stories and an attic. To the west is a brick structure over a stone storefront at 36 West 40th Street.

Features

The building is served by a set of service stairs and three elevators. The three elevators and the stairs run from basement to roof; one elevator is designed for freight and the two others are for passengers. The passenger elevators fit 12 to 15 people and originally skipped the third floor, while the freight elevator serves the whole building. Also in the clubhouse was a

dumbwaiter A dumbwaiter is a small freight elevator or lift intended to carry food. Dumbwaiters found within modern structures, including both commercial, public and private buildings, are often connected between multiple floors. When installed in restau ...

, connecting the lobby, clubroom, and billiards floor. In addition to the thirteen above-ground levels are two basement levels. The first basement had a restroom and some storage and staff rooms, while the sub-basement had the building's mechanical plant with heat, light, power, and refrigeration.

Lower stories

Engineers Club Building AABN 1907 pl 651 (stairs 1)

The main entrance leads to a vestibule, which in turn is connected to the lobby. The lobby's piers and Ionic columns made of wood; the wall and the column capitals are made of marble; and the molded ceiling is made with plaster. On the left was the reception room for visitors, while on the right was the writing room for members, containing such furniture as writing tables and mailboxes. The reception room was high with predominantly marble decorations. It adjoined a coat room that could store at least 500 items of clothing, and the writing room adjoined an administration office. The ground floor also had a bar, cigar stand, four telephone booths, and a small bathroom. At the end of the hall was a cafe with a grill, as well as a connection to the Engineering Societies' Building. Both sides of the lobby have been converted into stores. The old grill in the rear of the lobby was converted into an apartment with ceilings. A grand staircase leads from the west side of the lobby near the center of the house. The staircase has carved

newel A newel, also called a central pole or support column, is the central supporting pillar of a staircase. It can also refer to an upright post that supports and/or terminates the handrail of a stair banister (the "newel post"). In stairs having str ...

s as well as a

banister A handrail is a rail that is designed to be grasped by the hand so as to provide safety or support. In Britain, handrails are referred to as banisters. Handrails are usually used to provide support for body or to hold clothings in a bathroom o ...

with metal decorations. It splits into two legs above the lobby, serving the second- and third-story landings. An oil painting of the businessman

, who financed part of the building's construction, was hung on the stairway. The third-story landing has a plaster ceiling, a colored-glass oval

skylight A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes. History Ope ...

, and wooden walls. The skylight illuminates the lobby floor below. The second story was devoted to a lounge/clubroom in the front and a club library in the rear. The lounge did not contain any columns across its entire width. Two large fireplaces were placed in the lounge, one on either side, and the windows on 40th Street provided ample illumination. The library had an oil painting of John Fritz, as well as bookcases on all four sides, with capacity for 18,000 volumes. The third story had a billiards room large enough to accommodate six tables. It was surrounded by a platform about high, with benches for spectators, and contained an ornamental fireplace at each end. In the rear of the third floor were three large rooms, one each for cards, the house committee, and the board of governors. While these spaces have been converted into apartments in the late 20th century, they retain many original design details. The second-floor lounge and library were converted into four apartments, one of which had a mezzanine and an original fireplace.

Upper stories

The fourth through ninth stories contained sixty-six bedrooms. These floors were planned so the rooms could be used

en suite A bathroom or washroom is a room, typically in a home or other residential building, that contains either a bathtub or a shower (or both). The inclusion of a wash basin is common. In some parts of the world e.g. India, a toilet is typically i ...

or separately. Each bedroom either had an attached bathroom or was connected to one. A common toilet, bath, and shower were also provided off the main corridor of each story. After 1979, the former bedrooms were rearranged into apartments. Unit 4G, a one-bedroom apartment described by the website ''

Curbed New York ''Curbed'' is an American real estate and urban design website founded as a blog by Lockhart Steele in 2006. The full website, founded in 2010, featured sub-pages dedicated to specific real estate markets and metropolitan areas across the Uni ...

'' as a "mini-

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

", is decorated with hand-painted murals throughout. Engineers Club Building AABN 1907 pl 649

Above the bedroom stories were the dining-room stories. The tenth story had two large private dining rooms and a spacious reception room in the front. Next to the elevators was a breakfast room, which could also be used for large private dinners. This was connected by a covered bridge to the ninth floor of the Engineering Societies' Building. The tenth story also had its own serving rooms and a "tapestry room". The eleventh story had a dining room seating 300 people. Across the eastern light court was a balcony for service staff. The banquet room opens onto the balcony overlooking Bryant Park. The twelfth story was entirely for the service staff. It had a main kitchen in the rear, adjacent to a butcher shop and a refrigerator. These stories also have been converted into apartments but retain much of their old wooden decoration. One apartment has a mezzanine. About half of the attic/roof story was reserved for an open roof garden, while the rear of that floor had service rooms. The building's elevators ran directly to the roof garden, and two staircases ran to the attic, one each for workers heading upstairs and downstairs. Part of the roof garden was enclosed in glass. The attic had a kitchen, refrigerator room, servants' bedrooms, and servants' dining rooms. During the 1940s and 1950s, the attic contained a masseuse and barbershop. The modern attic contains two

duplex Duplex (Latin, 'double') may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Duplex'' (film), or ''Our House'', a 2003 American black comedy film * Duplex (band), a Dutch electronic music duo * Duplex (Norwegian duo) * Duplex!, a Canadian children's music ...

penthouse apartments.

History

In 1888, the Engineers' Club of New York was founded at the clubhouse of the

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

(ASCE) on 23rd Street. The Engineers' Club moved to its own space on 29th Street the following April; its goal was to "embrace all the States of the Union, as well as Canada and Mexico". The club was intended as a social club and initially had 350 members, but its constitution allowed up to 1,000. ''The New York Times'' wrote in 1891 that "no end of prominent men have secured admission" to the club, which had grown to 650 members by 1896. As a result of its rapid membership growth, the Engineers' Club moved to the Drayton mansion on

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 populatio ...

and 35th Street that year. Even after that relocation, the club's membership had grown to 769 by the end of 1898, prompting the club's officers to survey members about building a larger clubhouse.

Development

Site acquisition

In 1902, the club's board of management unanimously decided to build a new clubhouse and raise funds for such a building. The next year, the board formed the Engineers’ Realty Company and asked all members to buy stock in that company. By then, the club had reached 1,000 members and the membership limit had to be increased. The Engineers' Realty Company bought a pair of dwellings at 32 and 34 West 40th Street from William M. Martin in February 1903. The club's management cited the site's proximity to transit options, the Theater District, and Fifth Avenue as reasons for selecting the 40th Street site for its clubhouse. The site would also overlook Bryant Park and the under-construction main library building. The Engineers' Club would purchase the property from the Engineers' Realty Company subject to a $110,000 mortgage. The realty company would receive 1,150 bonds from the club, each with a

par value Par value, in finance and accounting, means stated value or face value. From this come the expressions at par (at the par value), over par (over par value) and under par (under par value). Bonds A bond selling at par is priced at 100% of face val ...

of $100 and a maturity of 20 years; the realty company would distribute one bond to each stockholder and then dissolve thereafter. Andrew Carnegie acquired five land lots on 39th Street, measuring , in May 1903. Carnegie had acquired these lots specifically because they were directly behind the Engineers' Club. Carnegie offered to donate $1 million (about $ million in ) to fund the construction of a clubhouse for several engineering societies on that site. The engineering building would house the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

(ASME),

American Institute of Mining Engineers The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) is a professional association for mining and metallurgy, with over 145,000 members. It was founded in 1871 by 22 mining engineers in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Uni ...

(AIME), and

American Institute of Electrical Engineers The American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) was a United States-based organization of electrical engineers that existed from 1884 through 1962. On January 1, 1963, it merged with the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) to form the Institut ...

(AIEE). Originally, the Engineers' Club was to occupy space in the engineering building. However, this was deemed logistically prohibitive, so two buildings connected at their rears were developed. In March 1904, Carnegie increased his gift to $1.5 million (about $ million in ). The gift was to be shared by both the club and the societies, with $450,000 for the Engineers' Club and $1,050,000 for the engineering societies. Carnegie's gift only covered the costs of the respective buildings, and the club and societies had to buy their own respective land lots. The Engineers' Realty Company formally transferred the land to the Engineers' Club in August 1904. The Engineers' Club site cost $225,000.

Design and construction

After Carnegie's gift, the ASME, AIME, AIEE, and Engineers' Club formed a Conference Committee to plan the new buildings. Because of Carnegie's international fame and his large gift, the design process was to be "a semi-public matter of more than ordinary importance". The Conference Committee launched an

in April 1904, giving $1,000 each (about $ in ) to six longstanding architecture firms who submitted plans. Other architects were allowed to submit plans anonymously and without compensation. Any architect was eligible if they had actually practiced architecture under their real name for at least two years. The four best plans from non-invited architects would receive a monetary prize.

William Robert Ware William Robert Ware (May 27, 1832 – June 9, 1915), born in Cambridge, Massachusetts into a family of the Unitarian clergy, was an American architect, author, and founder of two important American architectural schools. He received his ow ...

was hired to judge the competition. That July, the committee examined over 500 drawings submitted for the two sites. Whitfield & King, a relatively obscure firm that had nonetheless been formally invited, won the commission for the Engineers' Club Building. Nepotism may have been a factor in the Engineers' Club commission, as Carnegie was married to Whitfield's sister Louise. Hale & Rogers and Henry G. Morse, who had not been formally invited, were hired to design the Engineering Societies' Building. By September 1904, the Engineers' Club site was being demolished by the F. M. Hausling Company, and Whitfield & King were preparing the plans. Plans for the Engineers' Club Building were filed with 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 t ...

in January 1905, with a projected cost of $500,000. After the site had been cleared, work began on the steel frame in September 1905. During an informal ceremony on December 24, 1905, Louise Carnegie laid the building's

cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over ti ...

, which contained a capsule filled with various contemporary artifacts. The architects, high-ranking club officials, and Andrew Carnegie attended the ceremony. At the time, the steel frame had reached the ninth story and the facade had been built to the third. Despite a steelworkers' strike in early 1906 and a plasterers' strike that November, the work was completed on schedule. The Mechanical Engineers' Library Association leased some office space in the Engineers' Club Building.

Clubhouse

The clubhouse opened on April 25, 1907, with a ceremony attended by 1,500 guests. The new clubhouse involved an expenditure of $870,000, of which the building itself cost $550,000. In addition to the $225,000 cost of the site, the club members had to raise $175,000. Media of the time described the clubhouse as "the finest in the country". A journal from the time described the club as having 1,750 members and a "long waiting list". The Engineers' Club Building was formally dedicated on December 9, 1907, with a humorous speech by

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

. The club's members over the years included Carnegie himself, as well as Nikola Tesla,

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These invent ...

Henry Clay Frick Henry Clay Frick (December 19, 1849 – December 2, 1919) was an American industrialist, financier, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company, and played a major ...

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, holding o ...

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...

, and

Henry Herman Westinghouse Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal ...

1900s to 1940s

In its early years, the building held events such as an exhibition of impressionist art, a dinner discussing the

City Beautiful movement The City Beautiful Movement was a reform philosophy of North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of introducing beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. It was a part of the ...

, and a meeting in which Edison refused the 1911

Nobel Prize for physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

as an "award for poor inventors". By 1909, the club had 2,000 members, a 35 percent increase from three years prior. In a report issued by the club's Board of Management the following year, the board noted that the maximum membership had been reached. The board recommended that new facilities be erected for the growing membership. In 1913, plans were filed for a six-story addition at 23 West 39th Street, above the carriage entrance of the Engineering Societies' Building. This structure was to contain bedrooms, bathrooms, and a restaurant. The addition was designed by Beverly King. The United Engineering Societies agreed to let the Engineers' Club use the eastern wall of the Engineering Societies' Building as a

load-bearing wall A load-bearing wall or bearing wall is a wall that is an active structural element of a building, which holds the weight of the elements above it, by conducting its weight to a foundation structure below it. Load-bearing walls are one of the ...

. The parties also agreed to share the walkways behind both buildings and construct a steel-and-glass loading dock for freight. The 39th Street annex opened in April 1915 and the clubhouse continued to be used for major events afterward. The clubhouse was flooded in April 1917 due to a water main break on 40th Street. The clubhouse's top floors were damaged in a fire in December 1919, causing $100,000 worth of damage to the building. The clubhouse continued to expand in later years. In 1920, the Engineers' Club purchased a house at 36 West 40th Street in 1920 from the Janeway family, intending to use the site as offices. Three years later, the club purchased 28 West 40th Street from the Wylie family. Number 36 was used as an office and stores and number 28 was used as a lounge and additional bedrooms. Clubhouse activities included a 1924 speech where

Charles Algernon Parsons Sir Charles Algernon Parsons, (13 June 1854 – 11 February 1931) was an Anglo-Irish engineer, best known for his invention of the compound steam turbine, and as the eponym of C. A. Parsons and Company. He worked as an engineer on d ...

suggested digging a 12-mile shaft for scientific research, as well as a 1925 viewing of a lunar eclipse. 40th_Street_between_Fifth_and_Sixth_Avenues,_Manhattan

40th_Street_between_Fifth_and_Sixth_Avenues,_Manhattan

The Engineers' Club proposed yet again to expand its facilities in 1936, this time erecting a 16-story office building on the adjacent site at 28 West 40th Street. This expansion was never built. In 1946, the company of the late architect Thomas W. Lamb was hired to design a renovation for the Engineers' Club Building. This prompted the New York state government to accuse Lamb's company of practicing architecture illegally; these charges were ultimately dropped.

1950s to 1970s

By the 1950s, the Engineering Societies' and Engineers' Club buildings were becoming overburdened, in large part due to their own success. A 1955 ''New York Times'' article described the buildings as "the engineering crossroads of the world", with the Engineers' Club hosting diners and overnight guests from around the world. The engineering societies in the neighboring 39th Street building had originally considered moving to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. By 1956, the societies were instead planning to stay at 39th Street, constructing an entrance from 40th Street on property owned by the Engineers' Club. The engineering societies ultimately sold their building in 1960. This marked the decline of the old engineering center that had been centered around Bryant Park. An oil portrait of Herbert Hoover was dedicated at the clubhouse in 1963 and hung on a wall in a hallway there, which was named in Hoover's memory. The clubhouse continued to host events in the 1960s and 1970s, such as a speech on donating engineering books to developing countries and a discussion on electric traffic signals. By 1972, ''Mechanical Engineering'' said the club "looks confidently toward the future". At the time, the Engineers' Club was the only remaining clubhouse on the block. Even so, the club was experiencing financial difficulties during this time. The Engineers' Club finally declared bankruptcy in June 1977, and was forced to liquidate many of its furnishings and decorations over the next year. The club also put its main clubhouse and its three auxiliary buildings, at 28 and 36 West 40th Street and 23 West 39th Street, for sale.

Residential era

In 1979, developer

David Eshagin David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

bought the Engineers' Club Building, who converted it to residential use under plans by architect Seymour Churgin. The attic units were converted into penthouses that covered more of the roof than in the original design. Some of the original spaces were preserved, including the main staircase between the first and third stories, as well as some of the larger communal spaces, which were used as hallways. The taller spaces were divided into duplex apartments with sleeping accommodations on balconies; a ''New York Daily News'' article described the apartments as "strangely shaped" but having "a great deal more character than the usual bland shoeboxes of most New York apartments". The redeveloped building was initially called "The Columns", after the columns at its base, and it had ground-floor storefronts. By 1981, one of the ground-floor storefronts contained a florist. The building was further converted to a housing cooperative in 1983. The penthouses above the twelfth story, dating from 1980, were expanded to duplex apartments circa 1992. The facade was degrading by the 1990s, and Midtown Preservation was hired to restore the facade. The co-op originally wished to reuse the marble, but this proved impractical when the stone broke apart while the restorers were removing the stone. Afterward, the marble on the facade was replaced with fiberglass, although the marble staircase inside remained intact. The cornices above the third story, as well as the eleventh-story balcony, were replaced with fiberglass. In addition, the twelfth-story keystones, arches, and cornice were replaced. The restoration cost $350,000 in total. The exterior was further restored in 2001. In the 21st century, the Engineers' Club Building came to be known as an 82-unit co-op called Bryant Park Place. In 2007, the building was added to the

, along with the Engineering Societies' Building, as the "Engineering Societies' Building and Engineers' Club". The same year, Bryant Park Place's co-op board placed a plaque to the left of the main entrance, outlining the building's history. By 2010, Bryant Park Place contained a women's clothing shop, SoHo Woman on the Park. The

designated the Engineers' Club Building as a city landmark on March 22, 2011. While the exterior is protected under landmark status, the interiors have no such designation, so they have been altered.

References

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Citations

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External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places in New York 1907 establishments in New York City Bryant Park buildings Buildings and structures completed in 1907 Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Neoclassical architecture in New York City New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Residential buildings completed in 1907 Residential buildings in Manhattan