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Thanks to Nick Carr’s wonderful blog, ScoutingNY.com. Published 11/19/10
You’ve probably passed it a million times in your travels through downtown Manhattan.
Certainly anyone who has ever visited J&R Row or hit the Starbucks on the opposite corner for a post-Brooklyn-Bridge-walk bathroom break has noticed its twin towers, and perhaps wondered how much its wealthy tenants pay to live behind its beautiful brick and terra-cotta facade.
Except, 5 Beekman Street doesn’t have any tenants. In fact, it’s completely empty, essentially abandoned, and has been for a decade, with a portion of its interior shuttered since 1940…
And then you look up…
…and up…
…and up…
…to the most beautiful atrium in New York City, over nine stories overhead…
…enclosed by a beautiful, fully-restored iron and glass skylight.
Looking back on these pictures, I still can’t believe this property has sat vacant just a block from City Hall for so long. The entire atrium is in incredible condition, due to the fact that it has been shuttered for more than 65 years, preserving it like a mosquito in amber.
Each floor is lined with beautifully detailed cast iron railings:
The ceilings are also cast iron, and covered in detail:
And that upward view…I’ve never seen anything like it in New York.
Once known as Temple Court, 5 Beekman Street was built in 1882 and today is the earliest surviving “fireproof” office building of the pre-skyscraper period. It is also the third building in the city to have had an elevator installed.
See a lot more right here: http://www.scoutingny.com/?p=2164
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