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Century Building (Union Square, Manhattan)
The Century Building (formerly also known as the Drapery Building) is a Queen Anne style building at 33 East 17th Street between Park Avenue South and Broadway in Union Square, Manhattan, New York City. It was designed by William Schickel and built in 1880–1881 by Arnold Constable & Company. The Century Building consists of five floors topped by a 1+1⁄2-story attic.
The Century Building was constructed as a speculative development with no main tenant. The building contained the headquarters of the Century Publishing Company from 1881 until 1915, and was also occupied by various other commercial and industrial concerns. Left vacant in the late 1970s, it was renovated into a Barnes & Noble bookstore in 1995. The Century Building was designated a New York City landmark in 1986, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
Union Square was first laid out in the Commissioners' Plan of 1811, expanded in 1832, and then made into a public park in 1839. The completion of the park led to the construction of mansions surrounding it, and the Everett House hotel, located at 33 East 17th Street, was among several fashionable buildings completed around Union Square. After the American Civil War, Union Square became a primarily commercial area and many mansions were destroyed, including Everett House. This coincided with a general trend in development where previously vacant lots north of Lower Manhattan were being developed. Arnold Constable & Company was one of the companies that acquired land in the area, buying several lots on the north end of Union Square, including the site of the former Everett House, in 1867. Arnold Constable & Co. intended to develop the Everett site for their new store, and even signed an agreement with the previous owners to preserve a "light court" on the site, but ultimately decided instead to build their store at the nearby corner of Broadway and 19th Street.
The Arnold family held onto the property for over a decade, with the intention of earning rental income from the as-yet-undeveloped site; in 1879, the family's architect J. William Schickel was commissioned to create plans for a "speculative commercial building" at the site, without an anchor tenant for the building. At the time, real estate market activity had recovered from the Panic of 1873, though properties were still relatively inexpensive and the population was growing. According to the Real Estate Record & Guide, retail development was being concentrated around 14th Street, 23rd Street, and Union Square. Construction on the building started in April 1880, and it was completed 11 months later in March 1881, with the total construction cost being $300,000.
Arnold & Constable Co. was able to rent out the building floor-by-floor despite not having a main tenant. One of the building's original tenants was the Century Company, which published the popular The Century Magazine for adults and St. Nicholas Magazine for children. They started renting fifth-floor space for their headquarters in September 1881, having been drawn by the proximity to a park, as well as the building's location within what was then Manhattan's commercial center. Arnold & Constable also rented space to several long-term tenants, including upholsterers Johnson & Faulkner and architect George B. Post, as well as milliners Worthington & Smith and clothing manufacturers Earl & Wilson. The appellation "Century Building" likely came into popular use after the company erected a sign on the rooftop in November 1882.
The bookbinders G. W. Alexander moved to the top floor in 1886, prompting several other tenants to complain that the firm's flammable materials posed a fire hazard, but with no reaction from the owners. On July 7, 1888, a burning glue pot caught fire, destroying the roof and the top floor. Significant damage to the building's other floors occurred when the New York City Fire Department broke holes in the ceiling to stop the fire. The building and its tenants recorded $195,000 in damage. Two firefighters were later dismissed from the force after being accused of stealing collars from Earl & Wilson.
The Century Building became known nationally due to the cachet of its tenants. The Century Company showed its World's Columbian Exposition exhibit at the Century Building in December 1893. One story concerned a runaway child from Indiana who ran away in 1895 "to seek [her] fortune", only to be found with a paper containing the address "33 East Seventeenth Street New-York".
Another fire on the third floor, in August 1903, destroyed much of the stock of the H. S. Tavshanjian Rug Company, which was located on the fourth floor. The rug company's subsequent losses were estimated at $55,000, and the company auctioned off their entire inventory for nearly $0.5 million.
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Century Building (Union Square, Manhattan)
The Century Building (formerly also known as the Drapery Building) is a Queen Anne style building at 33 East 17th Street between Park Avenue South and Broadway in Union Square, Manhattan, New York City. It was designed by William Schickel and built in 1880–1881 by Arnold Constable & Company. The Century Building consists of five floors topped by a 1+1⁄2-story attic.
The Century Building was constructed as a speculative development with no main tenant. The building contained the headquarters of the Century Publishing Company from 1881 until 1915, and was also occupied by various other commercial and industrial concerns. Left vacant in the late 1970s, it was renovated into a Barnes & Noble bookstore in 1995. The Century Building was designated a New York City landmark in 1986, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
Union Square was first laid out in the Commissioners' Plan of 1811, expanded in 1832, and then made into a public park in 1839. The completion of the park led to the construction of mansions surrounding it, and the Everett House hotel, located at 33 East 17th Street, was among several fashionable buildings completed around Union Square. After the American Civil War, Union Square became a primarily commercial area and many mansions were destroyed, including Everett House. This coincided with a general trend in development where previously vacant lots north of Lower Manhattan were being developed. Arnold Constable & Company was one of the companies that acquired land in the area, buying several lots on the north end of Union Square, including the site of the former Everett House, in 1867. Arnold Constable & Co. intended to develop the Everett site for their new store, and even signed an agreement with the previous owners to preserve a "light court" on the site, but ultimately decided instead to build their store at the nearby corner of Broadway and 19th Street.
The Arnold family held onto the property for over a decade, with the intention of earning rental income from the as-yet-undeveloped site; in 1879, the family's architect J. William Schickel was commissioned to create plans for a "speculative commercial building" at the site, without an anchor tenant for the building. At the time, real estate market activity had recovered from the Panic of 1873, though properties were still relatively inexpensive and the population was growing. According to the Real Estate Record & Guide, retail development was being concentrated around 14th Street, 23rd Street, and Union Square. Construction on the building started in April 1880, and it was completed 11 months later in March 1881, with the total construction cost being $300,000.
Arnold & Constable Co. was able to rent out the building floor-by-floor despite not having a main tenant. One of the building's original tenants was the Century Company, which published the popular The Century Magazine for adults and St. Nicholas Magazine for children. They started renting fifth-floor space for their headquarters in September 1881, having been drawn by the proximity to a park, as well as the building's location within what was then Manhattan's commercial center. Arnold & Constable also rented space to several long-term tenants, including upholsterers Johnson & Faulkner and architect George B. Post, as well as milliners Worthington & Smith and clothing manufacturers Earl & Wilson. The appellation "Century Building" likely came into popular use after the company erected a sign on the rooftop in November 1882.
The bookbinders G. W. Alexander moved to the top floor in 1886, prompting several other tenants to complain that the firm's flammable materials posed a fire hazard, but with no reaction from the owners. On July 7, 1888, a burning glue pot caught fire, destroying the roof and the top floor. Significant damage to the building's other floors occurred when the New York City Fire Department broke holes in the ceiling to stop the fire. The building and its tenants recorded $195,000 in damage. Two firefighters were later dismissed from the force after being accused of stealing collars from Earl & Wilson.
The Century Building became known nationally due to the cachet of its tenants. The Century Company showed its World's Columbian Exposition exhibit at the Century Building in December 1893. One story concerned a runaway child from Indiana who ran away in 1895 "to seek [her] fortune", only to be found with a paper containing the address "33 East Seventeenth Street New-York".
Another fire on the third floor, in August 1903, destroyed much of the stock of the H. S. Tavshanjian Rug Company, which was located on the fourth floor. The rug company's subsequent losses were estimated at $55,000, and the company auctioned off their entire inventory for nearly $0.5 million.