The E.V. Haughwout Building at Broadway and Broome Street was built in 1856-57, and has a cast-iron facade
This naming convention has become a model for the
names of new and emerging neighborhoods in New York such as NoHo, for
"NOrth of HOuston Street", TriBeCa ("TRIangle BElow CAnal
Street"), Nolita ("NOrth of Little ITAly"), NoMad ("NOrth
of MADison Square"), and DOMBO ("Down Under the Manhattan Bridge
Overpass").
Almost all of SoHo is included in the SoHo-Cast Iron
Historic District, which was designated by the New York City Landmarks
Preservation Commission in 1973, extended in 2010, and was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places and declared a National Historic Landmark
in 1978. It consists of 26 blocks and approximately 500 buildings, many of them
incorporating cast iron architectural elements. The side streets in the
district are notable for being paved with Belgian blocks.
Cast-iron architecture
SoHo boasts the greatest collection of cast-iron
architecture in the world. Approximately 250 cast iron buildings stand in New
York City and the majority of them are in SoHo. Cast iron was initially used as
a decorative front over a pre-existing building. With the addition of modern,
decorative facades, older industrial buildings were able to attract new
commercial clients. Most of these facades were constructed during the period
from 1840 to 1880. In addition to revitalizing older structures, buildings in
SoHo were later designed to feature the cast iron.
The E.V. Haughwout Building at Broadway and Broome Street was built in
1856-57, and has a cast-iron facade by Daniel D. Badger.
An American architectural innovation, cast iron was
cheaper to use for facades than materials such as stone or brick. Molds of
ornamentation, prefabricated in foundries, were used interchangeably for many
buildings, and a broken piece could be easily recast. The buildings could be
erected quickly; some were built in four months. Despite the brief construction
period, the quality of the cast iron designs was not sacrificed. Bronze had
previously been the metal most frequently used for architectural detail.
Architects found that the relatively inexpensive cast iron could provide
intricately designed patterns. Classical French and Italian architectural
designs were often used as models for these facades. Because stone was the
material associated with architectural masterpieces, cast iron, painted in
neutral tints such as beige, was used to simulate stone.
There was a profusion of cast iron foundries in New York,
including Badger's Architectural Iron Works, James L. Jackson's Iron Works, and
Cornell Iron Works.
Since the iron was pliable and easily molded, sumptuously
curved window frames were created, and the strength of the metal allowed these
frames considerable height. The once-somber, gas-lit interiors of the
industrial district were flooded with sunlight through the enlarged windows.
The strength of cast iron permitted high ceilings with sleek supporting
columns, and interiors became expansive and functional.
During cast iron's heyday, many architects thought it to
be structurally more sound than steel. It was also thought that cast iron would
be fire-resistant, and facades were constructed over many interiors built of
wood and other flammable materials. When exposed to heat, cast iron buckled,
and later cracked under the cold water used to extinguish fire. In 1899, a
building code mandating that the backing of cast iron fronts with masonry was
passed. Most of the buildings that stand today are constructed in this way. It
was the advent of steel as a major construction material that brought an end to
the cast iron era.
Thanks for the share. I didn't experience the walking tour in Broome. Hope I can make it.
ReplyDeleteDay tours broome