14th street and union square preservation plan - Columbia ...

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FIRST AVENUE TO THE EAST RIVER 1 4th Street from the East River to First Avenue serves as a border between the Lower East Side to the south and Stuyvesant Town to the north. The north side of the street is characterized by large-scale, post-war urban renewal masonry development, while the south side features low-scale, mid-twentieth-century commercial developments (taxpayers) interspersed with tenements dating from the 1860s to the 1910s. The area terminates at the Consolidated Edison Company’s historical heavy industrial facility. 628-640 EAST 14 TH STREET Designed in 1890 by George F. Pelham, one of New York City’s most prolific housing developers of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, the series of nine connected “dumbbell” tenements at 628-640 East 14 th Street are significant as one of the earliest experiments in large-scale, immigrant housing development. While the façade of the Pelham row (still largely intact) exhibits attention to detail in the use of popular architectural styles and durable materials, the interior layout of each tenement reflects the minimum quality of light, ventilation and sanitary facilities required under the 1879 Tenements Law. (Figure 57) EAST RIVER GENERATING STATION The Consolidated Edison Company’s East River Generating Station dominates the eastern section of 14 th Street. It was erected primarily in two phases, the first campaign completed in 1926 and the second in the 1950s. The station is a powerful presence on the East River, not only hearkening back to the industrial nature of this waterfront throughout history but, more specifically, Consolidated Edison’s prominence and importance in the city’s viability. The strong architecture of the the phases is indicative of New York Edison’s transformation from a young, civic-minded company into a government-regulated corporation. To sustain these buildings as a symbol of historic significance and an iconic New York corporation will appropriately maintain this strong presence on 14 th Street at the East River. (Figure 58) 58. EAST RIVER GENERATING STATION. STUYVESANT TOWN Stuyvesant Town is New York City’s largest moderate-income housing project, begun in 1943 and completed in 1947 as a joint venture of the city and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Architecturally, Stuyvesant Town is significant as an embodiment of the revolutionary “tower in the park” planning ideals of the first half of the 20 th century. However, it also possesses transcendent historical importance as the site of an early Civil Rights struggle to win equal housing opportunity for African American citizens. (Figure 59) 59. STUYVESANT TOWN. 57. 628-640 EAST 14 TH STREET. SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES: FIRST AVENUE TO THE EAST RIVER 22
602 EAST 14 TH STREET As a “taxpayer” building, meant to generate the taxes on an expensive piece of land, 602 East 14 th Street is by definition a transient structure. However at some point select long-lived taxpayers such as this one become an establishment within the neighborhood. 602 East 14 th Street stands as a counterbalance to towering Stuyvesant Town and its presence is essential to the local neighborhood 60. 602 EAST 14 TH STREET. character. Since this site and many others like it are highly under built, the numerous taxpayers on East 14 th Street will play a vital role in its future redevelopment. (Figure 60) EAST SIDE TENEMENTS Historically, these blocks were part of a larger immigrants’ neighborhood that was formed when the Lower East Side, the traditional residential location for this group, began pushing north. Many of the former industrial sites were replaced with tenements as early as the 1850s. About twenty tenements and flats still remain on the south side standing in contrast to Stuyvesant Town to the north. (Figure 62) UNITED STATES POST OFFICE—STUYVESANT BRANCH The Stuyvesant Branch of the United States Post Office was designed by architects Wechsler & Schimenti in 1949. Along with several banks and retail stores, this building is a wholly intact remnant of the residential boom following World War II and the opening of Stuyvesant Town in 1947. (Figure 61) 61. UNITED STATES POST OFFICE—STUYVESANT BRANCH. 62. EAST SIDE TENEMENTS. SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES: FIRST AVENUE TO THE EAST RIVER 23
Page 1 and 2: 14TH STREET AND UNION SQUARE PRESER
Page 3 and 4: STATEMENT OF PURPOSE As first-year
Page 5 and 6: its manufacturing use to the narrow
Page 7 and 8: SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES 1 4th Street
Page 9 and 10: NINTH TO SEVENTH AVENUES Surrounded
Page 11 and 12: LITTLE SPAIN 11. JEANNE D’ARC. 20
Page 13 and 14: SEVENTH AVENUE TO UNIVERSITY PLACE
Page 15 and 16: (FORMER) BAUMANN BROTHERS’ STORE
Page 17 and 18: FIFTH AVENUE COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS T
Page 19 and 20: (FORMER) TAMMANY HALL Tammany Hall
Page 21 and 22: FOURTH TO FIRST AVENUES This neighb
Page 23: THE CONSOLIDATED GAS COMPANY BUILDI
Page 27 and 28: BALANCING PUBLIC & PRIVATE INTEREST
Page 29 and 30: ENCOURAGING SENSITIVE DEVELOPMENT T
Page 31 and 32: wide lots. Through its modern inter
Page 33 and 34: structure. This would not require t
Page 35 and 36: Materials Assessment and Proposals
Page 37 and 38: Example: The Dix Building The consi
Page 39 and 40: the West Side Highway that divides
Page 41 and 42: CONCLUSION What we hope will be ins

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