Tribeca South Historic District

When the fire of 1835 destroyed an earlier dry-good district on Pearl Street, Tribeca became the new home for the textile and dry goods trade, which developed northward from Cortlandt Street. Dry-goods merchants sought to reestablish their businesses in one central location, and, influenced by the success of the A.T. Stewart Store, settled into the area, which, from the 1850s to the 1860s was transformed by the construction of store-and-loft buildings. After the Civil War, as the dry-goods trade began to migrate north, hardware and cutlery merchants later occupied the buildings, maintaining the mercantile nature of the district.

Architecturally, this historic district is characterized by a row of well-preserved five-story store-and-loft buildings that were constructed in the mid-1800s. The buildings differ in their Italianate detailing – window openings are variously emphasized, for example, by pediments, arched hoods, or flat lintels. The widths of the buildings vary from three to six bays and collectively create continuous, striking unified streetscapes crowned by deep cornices. At street level, they are linked by the rhythmic patterns created by the succession of columned cast-iron and glass storefronts. Important cast-iron fronted structures in the district include the Gary Building, which has retained ornamental cast-iron facades on the Chambers and Reade Street elevations. The 147 West Broadway Building, built in 1869, provides a rare example of cast-iron cladding designed to mimic ashlar construction. The 2002 extension added 28 buildings, constructed during the 1850s, to the district. ©2014