Park Row Building - by Robert H. Robertson

[ddny]

Architect: Robert H. Robertson

Year: 1899

Style: Beaux-Arts

Description: Former world’s tallest at 380 feet. The building housed the offices of the Associated Press news agency which had been incorporated in New York in 1900. The building's location was originally called "Newspaper Row," due to the number of New York press in the area.

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/DDNY%20%20Y2K/contest/parkrow.jpg

[sirhcman]

Very cool building!!!

[North2South]

^ I agree completely!

Hmmm, this was the world's tallest, eh? Well it looks a lot better than other world's tallest buildings of late.

[JACKinNYC]

I love the old beaux arts buildings. They used to put some thought into their designs before they started putting them up. Look at Grand Central, Woolworth.

[TLOZ Link5]

Most of the building has been converted to apartments now.

(Edited by TLOZ Link5 at 1:22 pm on July 28, 2003)

[billyblancoNYC]

My friend lived there. Nice place, great views, convenient, overlooking City Hall and the park. *Not bad.

[North2South]

I wonder how much is the starting rent in a place like that?

[Kommissar]

Here's a question: Does anyone else not like the patina (or is it verdigris?) where copper/bronze used to be? There's a certain charm to it but bronze is so much better in my opinion.

[Kris]

I agree, but you can't do much against wear.

[TLOZ Link5]

The twin cupolas were once the observation decks. *All ornamental details are devoted to the main facade; the other sides completely lack artistic touches.

[Kris]

Actually, Kommissar, I think the metal's original color can easily be recovered, but people appreciate verdigris.

[Jasonik]

Actually the green is a protective layer caused by sulfate corrosion. If you cleaned it off all the time the metal would degrade. *Leave it on and it'll be there for(almost)ever.
http://architecture.copper.org/finishes-natural-weathering.html

[TLOZ Link5]

Like the roof of 40 Wall Street, or even the Statue of Liberty. *The Seagram Building, in fact, would turn the same shade of green if it were not cleaned once a year with a special lemon solvent.

[Jasonik]

Neat, I've always wondered about the Seagram Building.

The exterior bronze I-beams are Mies' own proportionally 'corrected' profiles. *It would be so different green, can you imagine...
http://www.thecityreview.com/seagram9.gif

[NYatKNIGHT]

Early photos of the Park Row building show flagpoles atop the cupolas. Might be a more conspicuous building if they were still there.

I was going to use this photo for Guess the Location a while back. These and other statues are located over the entrance.

http://galleries.soaringtowers.org/albums/NYatKNIGHT/blg1.sized.jpg

[Fabb]

The statue on the left is strangely realistic and scarry.

[Bob]

Last time I was in lower Manhattan, I made it a point to take a good look at the Park Row building. All this building needs is a good exterior cleaning. It's a great design.

And yes, putting the flags back on the cupolas is a terrific, relatively inexpensive way to put this building back on the map.

[TLOZ Link5]

The cupolas themselves should be floodlit.

[lizbeth li]

of all the ones taken down is probably the least interesting, and partly because of the side walls which weren't then finished like the facade. I would have died to see the whole row together, Pulitzer World and Hearst Herald and the very strange St.Paul building. The NYTimes building is more interesting than the than this one -- but Pace College should be blown off the face of the universe. Does anyone have any pictures of what is supposed to be built in the parking lot of the old Beekman Hospital (whoever owns it this minute), I haven't been in NY in about four months and don't even know if they started work (I am still looking for a thread for this building, if I didn't find it yet I apologize).

[lofter1]

That ^ is a famous and much-discussed HOLE in these parts.

A THREAD \/ with everything -- 102 pages !!! -- you'd want to know (except for what it will look like :mad: ) ...

8 Spruce St - Ratner's Beekman Street Tower (Gehry) (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4305&highlight=gehry+beekman)

[lizbeth li]

I tend not to look at all the infighting development plans and am just a couch potato kind of what does it finally look like? kind of person. I did hear it was going to be about 70-stories, is this wrong now? That's huge and would dwarf everything around it, and be murder if it were ugly. The Potter Buidling and other condo developments on Nasau would be eaten up.

[lofter1]

We all fear that Gehry is being nickled & dimed by Ratner -- hence the lack of renderings.

And now that the new Nouvel proposal for MoMA (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3418&highlight=nouvel) has been made public me thinks that Gehry has taken his model / renderings for this site and locked himself in the basement in shame.

[Simonfieldhouse]

Here's a painting of Park Row Building New York (1899) which may be of interest. The painting was a commision and was completed in 2006. It was once the tallest office building in the world.

http://www.simonfieldhouse.com/new_york.htm

http://www.simonfieldhouse.com/ParkRowBuildingSonyJPEG1-custom;size_308,735.jpg

[Jim856796]

The Park Row Building may be a residential building now, but does it still have any offices? The building still needs an exterior cleanup.

[GVNY]

The single attractive front of the Park Row Building (http://aycu32.webshots.com/image/47871/2005257675904728592_rs.jpg).

[Jim856796]

The two 3-story turrets on top of the building are not up to current building and fire codes and are unsuitable for use. Plans for redeveloping those cupolas are unknown.