254-260 Canal Street

254-260 Canal Street

(2012)
Location 254-260 Canal Street
Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates 40°43′6″N 74°0′5″W / 40.71833°N 74.00139°W / 40.71833; -74.00139Coordinates: 40°43′6″N 74°0′5″W / 40.71833°N 74.00139°W / 40.71833; -74.00139
Architect James Bogardus
Architectural style Italian Renaissance Revival
NRHP Reference # 06000475[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP June 7, 2006
Designated NYCL March 12, 1985

254-260 Canal Street, also known as the Bruce Building,[2] on the corner of Lafayette Street in the Chinatown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, was built in 1856-57 and was designed in the Italian Renaissance revival style. The cast-iron elements of the facade may have been provided by James Bogardus, a pioneer in the use of cast iron in architecture.[3] The building was constructed for George Bruce, a prosperous printer and inventor of new technologies in the printing industry, which was then one of New York's leading industries.[4] It was converted to offices in 1987 by architect Jack L. Gordon.[5]

The use of cast-iron columns in the large, five-story tall building allowed for the installation of large windows that improved manufacturing conditions and efficiency. The lot had become available because a lumber mill standing on the site had recently been destroyed by fire, making fire-retardant cast-iron construction attractive. The mildly Italinate style of the building, makes it a particularly handsome example of nineteenth century industrial architecture.[4] It has been called "Beautiful!"[5] and "an important early example of cast-iron architecture in New York City".[3] If the cast iron did in fact come from Bogardus' iron works, the building would be "the largest and most important of his extant works."[5]

The building was designated a New York City landmark in 1985, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ Miller, Tom. "The 1857 James Bogardus "George Bruce Building" No. 254 Canal Street" Daytonian in Manhattan (MArch 1, 2011)
  3. 1 2 New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission; Dolkart, Andrew S. (text); Postal, Matthew A. (text) (2009), Postal, Matthew A., ed., Guide to New York City Landmarks (4th ed.), New York: John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 978-0-470-28963-1, p.36
  4. 1 2 Margot Gayle, Cast Iron Architecture in America, Dover Books, 1974, p. 166
  5. 1 2 3 White, Norval & Willensky, Elliot (2000), AIA Guide to New York City (4th ed.), New York: Three Rivers Press, ISBN 978-0-8129-3107-5, p.74


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