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The Bowery Savings Bank Building, also known as 130 Bowery, is an event venue and former bank building in the
Little Italy Little Italy is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an Urban area, urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian cul ...
and
Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...
neighborhoods of
Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Constructed for the defunct Bowery Savings Bank from 1893 to 1895, it occupies an L-shaped site bounded by
Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighbourhood, neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row (Manhattan), Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th ...
to the east, Grand Street to the south, and Elizabeth Street to the west. The Bowery Savings Bank Building was designed by
Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect and a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms at the turn of the 20th century. White designed many houses ...
of
McKim, Mead & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm based in New York City. The firm came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in ''fin de siècle'' New York. The firm's founding partners, Cha ...
. Since 2002, it has hosted an event venue called Capitale. The building's facade and interior are
New York City designated landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and c ...
s, and the building is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. The building's basement is clad with a granite
water table The water table is the upper surface of the phreatic zone or zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with groundwater, which may be fresh, saline, or brackish, depending on the loc ...
, while the
superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...
is clad with Indiana limestone. The exterior features
Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, ...
and sculpted pediments by Frederic MacMonnies. The main entrance is through a
triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...
on the relatively narrow Bowery
elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...
, which is designed to resemble a Corinthian temple. The Grand Street and Elizabeth Street elevations contain Corinthian
pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
s, and there is a secondary entrance
portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...
on Grand Street. The interior was designed to give the impression of a Roman temple, with a waiting room to the east and a banking room to the west. Both spaces are decorated with mosaic-tile floors and marble
colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...
s, and the banking room also features a double-height
coffered ceiling A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also ...
with a square
skylight A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes. History O ...
. A
bank vault A bank vault is a secure room used by banks to store and protect valuables, cash, and important documents. Modern bank vaults are typically made of reinforced concrete and steel, with complex locking mechanisms and security systems. This article ...
and offices for the president and secretary were to the west of the banking room, while a director's room was placed above the waiting room. The Bowery Savings Bank was founded in 1834, occupying a house at 128 Bowery; this structure was replaced with a larger building in 1853. The bank acquired additional land through the late 19th century and announced plans for a new headquarters in 1891. Construction on the banking room commenced in May 1893, and the banking hall opened in June 1894. The waiting room was built as part of a second phase that was completed in 1895. The building remained relatively unchanged in the 20th century as the Bowery Savings Bank continued to expand. The Bowery Savings Bank's successor company, Greenpoint Bank, sold the building to Jeffrey Wu in 2000. The Capitale event venue opened in October 2002, and the building was sold again in 2023.


Site

The Bowery Savings Bank Building is on 130
Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighbourhood, neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row (Manhattan), Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th ...
, in the
Little Italy Little Italy is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an Urban area, urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian cul ...
and
Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...
neighborhoods of
Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. The L-shaped building is bounded by Bowery to the east, Grand Street to the south, and Elizabeth Street to the west. It wraps around the Bowery Bank of New York Building at 124 Bowery, which occupies the northwest corner of Bowery and Grand Street. It consists of two primary sections: an eastern portion on Bowery, measuring wide and deep, and a western portion on Grand and Elizabeth Streets, measuring 100 by 100 feet. This gives the site a total depth of between Bowery and Elizabeth Street. The site covers . Because of the street grid of the surrounding neighborhood, none of the building's sides are parallel. The current building is the third to be built for the Bowery Savings Bank on the same site. It was built on an assemblage of six land lots: two on Bowery and four on Elizabeth and Grand Streets. The lot at 128 Bowery was previously occupied by the Butchers' and Drovers' Bank, which had been founded in 1830 and later became the Bowery Savings Bank's first building on the site. This structure had been torn down to make way for the Bowery Savings Bank's second building, which opened in 1853. The four lots on Elizabeth and Grand Streets had contained houses until 1893.


Architecture

The Bowery Savings Bank Building was designed by
Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect and a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms at the turn of the 20th century. White designed many houses ...
of
McKim, Mead & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm based in New York City. The firm came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in ''fin de siècle'' New York. The firm's founding partners, Cha ...
and was built between 1893 and 1895. The contractor was David H. King Jr. It was one of three major bank buildings that White designed during the 1890s recession, the others being the New York Life Building at 346 Broadway and the State Savings Bank of Detroit. The building is designed in the
Classical Revival Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassic ...
and Beaux-Arts styles. According to architectural historian
Leland M. Roth Leland M. Roth (born 22 March 1943) is an American architectural historian who is the Marion Dean Ross Distinguished Professor of Architectural History emeritus in the Department of the History of Art and Architecture in the University of Oregon ...
, the building was "designed to stimulate and elevate", similarly to McKim, Mead & White's designs for the
Boston Public Library The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also Massachusetts' Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse''), meaning all adult re ...
and the
World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...
.


Facade

The building's facade is split into two sections: the Bowery
elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...
and the connected Grand Street and Elizabeth Street elevations. The exterior features
Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, ...
and sculpted pediments by Frederic MacMonnies. According to Stanford White's descendants, the building's exterior "invoked the authority of ancient Rome" with its design details, including
portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...
s on Bowery and on Grand Street.
Wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...
grilles are also placed in front of numerous windows and doors. The building's basement is clad with a granite
water table The water table is the upper surface of the phreatic zone or zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with groundwater, which may be fresh, saline, or brackish, depending on the loc ...
, while the
superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...
is clad with Indiana limestone. In addition, the roof is largely covered with Roman tile, except above the banking room, where there is a glass
skylight A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes. History O ...
with metal ribs.


Bowery

The main entrance is through the relatively narrow Bowery
elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...
. The facade consists of a
triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...
, which in turn is surrounded by a frame that is designed like a Corinthian temple. The
spandrel A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame, between the tops of two adjacent arches, or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fil ...
s of the arch contain
roundel A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of differ ...
motifs, while the arch's keystone is a console bracket. The entrance is recessed within the arch, accessed by a set of steps leading up from Bowery. The space under the arch contains mosaic floors and a
coffered ceiling A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also ...
, while the entrance itself is via two small doors. The steps are flanked by a pair of Corinthian columns and flat
pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
s. Iron lamps and bronze signs are also placed next to the entrance. Above the columns and pilasters is an
architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; , also called an epistyle; ) is the lintel or beam, typically made of wood or stone, that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can also apply to all sides, including the vertical members, ...
with
acroteria An acroterion, acroterium, (pl. akroteria) is an architectural ornament placed on a flat pedestal called the ''acroter'' or plinth, and mounted at the apex or corner of the pediment of a building in the classical style. An acroterion placed ...
. The center of the architrave contains a tablet surrounded by floral motifs; the words "The Bowery Savings Bank" are inscribed on the tablet in capital letters. The architrave is topped by a triangular
pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...
with a
sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
by MacMonnies. The pediment depicts a clock flanked by two figures, each accompanied by a lion. The figures, depicting a man and woman, represent the concepts of time and industry. The attic of the Bowery elevation rises above the pediment. There are three
anthemion The palmette is a motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree. It has a far-reaching history, originating in ancient Egypt with a subsequent development through the art o ...
-shaped acroteria on the attic: one on either end of the facade and one directly above the center of the pediment. In addition, the attic is decorated with lions' masks and
antefix In architecture, an antefix () is a vertical block which terminates and conceals the covering tiles of a tiled roof (see imbrex and tegula, monk and nun). It also serves to protect the join from the elements. In grand buildings, the face of e ...
es.


Grand Street and Elizabeth Street

The Grand Street and Elizabeth Street elevations are connected, but the decorations on both elevations do not wrap around the corner. According to architectural critic
Russell Sturgis Russell Sturgis (; October 16, 1836 – February 11, 1909) was an American architect and art critic of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He was one of the founders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1870. Sturgis was born in Baltimore Count ...
, this was done not only to give the impression of an "applied facade" but also to hide the fact that the two streets met at an obtuse angle. Both elevations contain Corinthian pilasters, which divide either elevation into five bays. Except for the center bay on Grand Street, each bay contains a large
aedicula In religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (: ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a Niche (architecture), niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns an ...
r window at ground level, above which is a plaque or a smaller window. The windows are covered by metal grilles, and a cornice runs above the attic on both elevations. The center bay on Grand Street contains a secondary doorway, which has iron lamps and bronze signs. Above the secondary entrance on Grand Street is a slightly projecting portico, which is similar in design to the pediment over the Bowery entrance. The portico is supported by four columns, which are directly in front of the pilasters on the Grand Street elevation. MacMonnies designed a similar pedimental sculpture for the Grand Street portico. The pediment on Grand Street contains two female figures with lions, in contrast to the Bowery pediment. One of the women is depicted placing a laurel of garlands over her lion's head, while the other woman is depicted placing ribbons on her lion.


Interior

The interior was intended to give the impression of a Roman temple. The L-shaped space consists of a waiting room to the east and a banking room to the west. The banking room features a double-height coffered ceiling with a square skylight, supported by double-height Corinthian columns. Marble is used extensively in the teller's counters, walls, and
mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
floors. In addition, White employed stairs and skylights made of
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
. The skylights allowed natural light into the building, while cast-iron registers and radiators, integrated with the rest of the bank's design, respectively provided hot air and hot water. The basement contained a restaurant, an electric plant, and boilers, in addition to heavyweight safes. After the building was converted into an event venue in 2002, a VIP seating area with a fireplace was placed one story above the main banking room. In addition, several spaces next to the banking room, including the former vault, were converted into private party rooms.


Waiting room

Because the Bowery Savings Bank was mostly intended for working-class clients, White designed a waiting room on the narrower eastern section of the plot. The rectangular space measures and contains two
colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...
s of six columns each, which divide the northern and southern sides of the room into five bays. The colonnades separated the main section of the room from "aisles" to the north and south. Because the layout resembled that of a
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...
, the space was nicknamed "the Chapel". The waiting room was used mainly by customers who were withdrawing money, since the process for withdrawals was extremely laborious. Above the waiting room was a directors' room. The waiting room's floor is made of mosaic tiles. The floor largely consists of gray and white
tessera A tessera (plural: tesserae, diminutive ''tessella'') is an individual tile, usually formed in the shape of a square, used in creating a mosaic. It is also known as an abaciscus or abaculus. Historical tesserae In early antiquity, mo ...
e, although there are marble floor slabs between the columns on the north and south walls. The floor is surrounded by red, orange, yellow, and black tesserae, which are arranged in classical-style
check Check or cheque, may refer to: Places * Check, Virginia Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Check'' (film), a 2021 Indian Telugu-language film * "The Check" (''The Amazing World of Gumball''), a 2015 episode of ''The Amazing World of Gumball'' ...
,
meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the Channel (geography), channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erosion, erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank, cut bank or river cl ...
, and wave patterns. Two revolving doors lead from the Bowery entrance on the east; originally, men used the northern door and women used the southern door. Both sets of revolving doors are made of
sheet metal Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process. Thicknesses can vary significantly; extremely thin sheets are considered foil (metal), foil or Metal leaf, leaf, and pieces thicker than 6 mm (0.25  ...
and are flanked by Corinthian pilasters with brass capitals. A railing formerly divided the room into a northern section for men and a southern section for women. The columns on the north and south walls rest on white-marble pedestals and are made of black-veined marble, which has been repainted. The columns contain Ionic capitals. In the center three bays on the north and south walls, there were seating areas with railings. The walls are wainscoted in marble, above which are panels decorated with
fretwork Fretwork is an interlaced decorative design that is either carved in low relief on a solid background, or cut out with a fretsaw, coping saw, jigsaw or scroll saw. Most fretwork patterns are geometric in design. The materials most commonly u ...
and floral motifs. The southern wall contains an elevator, which was installed after the building's completion but harmonizes with the original design. The ceiling is divided into panels and is also decorated with fretwork and floral motifs. The central bay includes cast-iron ceiling grilles, which originally concealed a skylight that abutted the second-story committee and trustees' rooms. Each of the grilles is made of cast iron and consists of a meander-patterned border, a central rosette, and a glazed panel that conceals a cast-iron grid. Hanging from the center of the ceiling, in each bay, are cylindrical brass fixtures with indirect lighting; these fixtures were designed in 1980 by the Rambusch Decorating Company.


Banking room

The banking room was designed to maximize space usage on the irregular lot. The central portion of the banking room surrounded by two-story-tall Corinthian columns. The columns are arranged in a square layout of five by five bays. Although the bays are of equal width on the west and east walls, the center bay on the north and south walls is slightly wider than the other bays. The south wall is parallel to Grand Street, but, because of the 98-degree angle between Grand and Elizabeth Streets, there is a triangular aisle on the west wall next to Elizabeth Street. As planned, the columns were to be made of "Mycenean marble". The columns are similar in design to those in the waiting room, but the pedestals are made of Siena marble. Each of the columns is aligned with a double-height Corinthian pilaster on the room's outer walls. The banking room's mosaic-tile floors are similar in design to those in the waiting room. Between the double-height columns are rectangular floor panels with red, yellow, and black tesserae arranged in an ornate pattern. The walls are largely made of gypsum plaster, although the lower section of the wall includes a Siena-marble dado. There are mahogany doors on the eastern wall, which lead to other rooms. At ground level, the western and southern walls contain aedicular windows, each of which is flanked by Ionic pilasters and is topped by an architrave and a triangular pediment. Above are molded
grotesque Since at least the 18th century (in French and German, as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...
-like frames, which surround windows or marble panels. The northern and eastern walls contain aedicular blind openings on ground level and marble panels above. The northern two bays of the eastern wall originally contained windows, which have since been covered. Above the upper windows and panels is an architrave decorated with swags in high
relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
. The banking room's northern aisle contains a travertine stairway to the basement. Directly above is a cast-iron staircase to the second floor, held up by three stylized Corinthian columns. The second-floor stairway contains an ornate steel-and-brass balustrade decorated with semicircle motifs, as well as marble treads. The second-floor staircase leads to a cast-iron balcony with a wooden floor. On the south wall is the entrance vestibule from Grand Street, which contains a white marble floor and gray-marble walls. The Grand Street entrance is flanked by Ionic pilasters, which support a small porch. The middle of the banking room had a Siena-marble teller's desk measuring high. It was shaped like a "U", with a men's counter to the north, a women's counter to the south, and a cashiers' window to the east. Behind the tellers' desk was a raised platform with a steel
bank vault A bank vault is a secure room used by banks to store and protect valuables, cash, and important documents. Modern bank vaults are typically made of reinforced concrete and steel, with complex locking mechanisms and security systems. This article ...
and the president's and secretary's rooms. The eastern face of the bank vault contains sunken panels above a meander motif, and the vault contains doors to its north and south. A clock, preserved from the previous building on the same site, is installed atop the bank vault. The president's and secretary's rooms were separated from the main banking room by glazed partitions made of
mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...
, although most of the partitions have since been removed. Mahogany panels also surround a cloakroom to the west of the vault, as well as a restroom in the west aisle. The center of the ceiling contains a pyramidal skeletal-steel skylight measuring across. This skylight rises above the banking floor. The skylight contains two layers of glass; the outer layer contains a heavy grid of ribs and is covered with opaque panels. When the building was constructed, the Bowery Savings Bank's directors had suggested including a dome atop the banking hall, but such a dome would have been very dimly lit, so the skylight was installed instead. The skylight is surrounded by a
coved ceiling A coved ceiling is a ceiling that has had the visual appearance of the point where the ceiling meets the walls improved by the addition of coving. It can also refer to a ceiling, like in a Mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a ...
with deep coffers, similar to those in the Basilica of Constantine in Rome. The room is illuminated by uplights on the coved ceiling, as well as on the capitals of the pilasters on the outer walls. The Grand Street entrance contains a rectangular ceiling with three rectangular panels, each containing a
rosette Rosette is the French diminutive of ''rose''. It may refer to: Flower shaped designs * Rosette (award), a mark awarded by an organisation * Rosette (design), a small flower design *hence, various flower-shaped or rotational symmetric forms: ** R ...
with an acanthus motif. The remainder of the ceiling is generally made of gypsum plaster. The ceiling originally contained spiked lanterns, most of which have been removed.


History


Original structures

The Bowery Savings Bank opened on June 2, 1834, in a three-story house at 128 Bowery, receiving $2,020 from fifty customers on its first day. The site had been occupied by the Butchers' and Drovers' Bank; at first, the two banks shared the building, operating at different times of day. By 1836, the Butchers' and Drovers' Bank relocated next door to 124 Bowery. The Bowery bank had $3 million in deposits by 1850, when the bank hired its first paid employees. By then, increasing business prompted the Bowery Savings Bank to purchase an adjacent lot on 130 Bowery in January 1852. The Bowery bank's trustees hired the firm of Thomas & Son to design an Italianate structure at 128 and 130 Bowery, the bank's second building on the site. Work on the edifice commenced in May 1852, and it opened in March 1853. The second building included a U-shaped tellers' counter, a ceiling skylight, and basement vaults. The bank bought further land lots in 1856, 1864, and 1865. The Bowery Savings Bank's deposits continued to grow in the late 19th century, from $6.5 million in 1863 to about $83 million by 1903. Technological advances during this time prompted the bank to upgrade its headquarters. The first expansion, in 1856, was built with an iron frame, which the bank officials believed would be resistant to burglaries and conflagrations. A ventilation system was installed in 1865, and the banking hall's ceiling was raised in the late 1870s. In addition, the bank implemented a new bookkeeping system in 1879, grouping depositors' ledgers into sections overseen by different bookkeepers. By the 1870s, there were many savings banks on the surrounding segment of Bowery. Many of lower Manhattan's savings banks were moving uptown during that time, as many of their depositors had started relocating northward. Contravening this trend, the Bowery Savings Bank's officials said in 1876 that it would continue to serve the surrounding community, and bank officials began planning to expand the existing building instead. By 1884, the bank had an L-shaped frontage on Grand and Elizabeth Streets and on Bowery. The bank's second building was overcrowded by the early 1890s.


Replacement

In November 1891, the Bowery Savings Bank's trustees paid $155,500 for three land lots at 222 to 226 Grand Street. Shortly after, the trustees announced that they would build a new bank structure on Grand Street; the bank's charter required that the new building include an entrance from Bowery. The trustees invited Charles W. Clinton, Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz,
George B. Post George Browne Post (December15, 1837November28, 1913) was an American architect trained in the Beaux-Arts tradition. Active from 1869 almost until his death, he was recognized as a master of several contemporary American architectural genres, an ...
,
Napoleon LeBrun Napoleon Eugene Charles Henry LeBrun (January 2, 1821 – July 9, 1901) was an American architect. He began his career in Philadelphia designing churches and theatres including St. Augustine's Church, the Cathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Pa ...
, and McKim, Mead & White to participate in an
architectural design competition An architectural competition is a type of design competition, in which an entity that intends to build new work, or is just seeking ideas, invites architects to submit design proposals. The winning scheme is usually chosen by an independent panel ...
for the site. The bank also organized a subcommittee, which went to six savings bank buildings in Manhattan and
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
to gain inspiration for the new building's design. The subcommittee then outlined their requirements for the competition, which called for a banking room to the west and a waiting room to the east. The five participating architects submitted their design proposals to the bank in September 1892. Architectural professor
William Robert Ware William Robert Ware (May 27, 1832 – June 9, 1915), born in Cambridge, Massachusetts into a family of the Unitarian clergy, was an American architect, author, and founder of two important American architectural schools. He received his o ...
reviewed all of the entries and recommended that the bank use McKim, Mead & White's design; the details of the other four proposals are unknown. Work on the western part of the site began in May 1893, following the expiration of existing leases. The bank's existing building initially continued to operate as normal during this time, although a gallery was added within the old building. A temporary partition separated the new banking hall from the older structure on Bowery. The houses on the western part of the site, along Grand and Elizabeth Streets, had been demolished by July 1893, and excavations for the foundation and cellar had commenced. ''The New York Times'' estimated that the new building would cost $500,000. The Bowery Savings Bank rented safe-deposit boxes while the new banking room was being constructed. In addition, the bank's directors met in the Butchers' and Drovers' Bank at 124 Bowery during the new building's construction. The new banking room on Grand and Elizabeth Streets was in operation by June 1894. At this point, the bank had just over 100,000 depositors. According to a book about the Bowery Savings Bank, "Particular pride was taken in the enormous vaults, which were constructed with protective ingenuity beyond that applied to any similar storage facilities in the world." The older building was then demolished, and the waiting room and directors' room were constructed on the eastern part of the site. The eastern section of the building opened in January 1895. The waiting room's decorations were still being completed at the end of that year, at which point the bank had spent $570,000 on the new building.


Use as bank

In the 25 years after the new bank building opened, the Bowery Savings Bank continued to expand due to the rapid population growth of the Lower East Side. Although the bank had 140,000 accounts by 1904, it had only four tellers, two draft clerks, and an information clerk. Customers could create a new account or deposit money relatively easily, since male and female customers used the same window for either task. On the other hand, the process of withdrawing money was much more complex, and customers frequently had to wait in the "Chapel" for two or three hours. In addition, each savings bank in New York was mostly limited to one location until 1923, when the state legislature passed a law allowing savings banks to construct branches. By World War I, many of the area's residents had relocated northward, leaving the bank "too far downtown to continue the fullest exercise of its functions", but the bank was still unable to relocate from the Bowery neighborhood or open a branch. The Bowery Savings Bank had wanted to open a branch in
Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...
since the early 20th century. The bank decided to construct a new structure at
110 East 42nd Street 110 East 42nd Street, also known as the Bowery Savings Bank Building, is an 18-story office building in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The structure was designed in the Italian Romanesque Revival style by York and Sawye ...
in 1920, and construction of the new branch began in 1921. Taking advantage of an exemption in New York state law, the bank acquired the Universal Savings Bank in lower Manhattan, which then relocated to 42nd Street. By the time the 42nd Street branch opened in 1923, there were 155,000 people with accounts at the Bowery Savings Bank, of which 5,600 were at the 42nd Street branch. In June 1923, the bank moved $202 million of deposits (equal to $ billion in ) from the original branch to the new branch, using 14 armored cars guarded by 100 heavily armed policemen. The bank retained its original offices on Bowery. Even though lower Manhattan was losing population, the "Old Bowery" continued to grow, and the older branch's deposits increased from $100 million in 1910 to $250 million in 1930. The Bowery Savings Bank installed safe-deposit boxes in its Bowery branch in April 1930. The bank had introduced safe-deposit boxes at its 42nd Street branch the previous year, and the boxes were highly popular with that branch's customers. A new chromium-steel vault, with a door and space for 10,000 safe-deposit boxes, was constructed at the Bowery branch. The addition also included coupon and conference rooms. By the bank's centenary in 1934, the surrounding neighborhood had devolved into a "dingy resort of the city's poorest derelicts", although the bank still held tens of millions of dollars in deposits. The bank started selling
life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typical ...
in 1942. To attract customers, the Bowery Savings Bank placed
weighing scales A scale or balance is a device used to measure weight or mass. These are also known as mass scales, weight scales, mass balances, massometers, and weight balances. The traditional scale consists of two plates or bowls suspended at equal dis ...
in the building for its patrons. The building also hosted events in the mid-20th century, including meetings of the East Side Chamber of Commerce, training programs for schoolchildren, and art exhibitions. As the Bowery Savings Bank continued to grow, the 130 Bowery building remained the bank's main branch. By 1972, the bank had over $3 billion in deposits at ten branches. Although the surrounding neighborhood had been part of Little Italy during the mid-20th century, the area's Chinese population was expanding by the 1970s. During this time, bank officials said they were "very pleased" with the Bowery branch, due to the growth in the number of Chinese depositors. The Bowery Savings Bank was acquired by H. F. Ahmanson & Co. in 1987, two years after it nearly went bankrupt. Greenpoint Bank took over the banking spaces in 1995 after having bought many of Ahmanson's branches. The building continued to host events such as an exhibit of historic photographs.


Use as event venue

In 2000, Greenpoint Bank sold the Bowery Savings Bank Building to food importer and developer Jeffrey Wu. The former bank's records were relocated to
Lake Success, New York Lake Success is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The populat ...
. Subsequently, Wu hired architect Anthony J. Moralishvili to design plans for converting the building into a catering hall. Wu also negotiated with potential catering-hall operators, including
Cipriani S.A. Cipriani S.A. is an Italian hotel and leisure company domiciled in Luxembourg that owns and operates luxury restaurants and clubs around the world including Harry's Bar in Venice and formerly the Rainbow Room in New York City. It specialises in ...
Nightclub manager Margaret Millard announced in January 2002 that she wanted to turn the building into an event venue called Capitale, named as an allusion to the bank's history. Millard had not yet formally leased the building from Wu, who supported the plans and had spent the previous year renovating the structure. Millard also wanted to obtain a
cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...
license, which would allow customers to dance at private events in the building, but residents of Chinatown and Little Italy expressed concern that the building would function as a nightclub.
Manhattan Community Board 2 The Manhattan Community Board 2 is a New York City community board encompassing the neighborhoods of Greenwich Village, West Village, South Village, NoHo, SoHo, Little Italy, NoLIta, and a portion of Chinatown in the borough of Manhattan. It ...
asked the New York State Liquor Authority to deny the venue a liquor license, but the authority granted the license anyway. Seth Greenberg, who later became Capitale's general manager, leased the building and renovated it into an event space. The project cost $4 million or $5 million; the interior of the building remained relatively intact during this time. Prior to the venue's opening, Greenberg said of the building's location on Bowery: "I think that the fact that we're here will make us sort of an anchor for other places to follow". Capitale opened in late 2002 and quickly became popular among celebrities. Among the venue's early guests were
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
,
Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...
,
David Blaine David Blaine (born David Blaine White; April 4, 1973) is an American magician, mentalist, and Endurance art, endurance performer. Born in New York City, Blaine became interested in magic at a very young age. He gained prominence in 1997, when h ...
, and
Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Aykroyd was a writer and an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" cast on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Nigh ...
. Capitale's business mainly consisted of private events, such as weddings and
bar mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age ...
s. The building also hosted events by performers
Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...
,
Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He first gained prominence for his stand-up routines in the 1980s in which he tackled subjects including race relations, human sexuality, and obse ...
, and
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
and the band
Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, d ...
. In addition, after its conversion to an event venue, the building was used as a filming location for the TV series ''
Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...
'', '' Gotham'', and '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''. A ''
lis pendens In United States law, a (Latin for 'suit pending') is a written notice that a lawsuit has been filed concerning real estate, involving either the title to the property or a claimed ownership interest in it. The notice is usually filed in the ...
'' was filed against the building in 2011 because the owners had failed to repay a $3.5 million loan on the building. Michael and David Marvisi bought the building for $33 million in 2017. Paramount Realty and Atelier WM placed 130 Bowery for sale in early 2019. Paramount and Atelier considered marketing the building for sale without any tenants, but a spokesperson for Capitale contested this move, saying their lease did not expire until 2032. The sellers did not specify an asking price, but Wendy Maitland of Atelier reported that the building might be sold for more than $50 million. The Capitale event space inside the building closed indefinitely during the
COVID-19 pandemic in New York City The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City was confirmed on March 1, 2020, though later research showed that the novel coronavirus had been circulating in New York City since January, with cases of community transmission confirme ...
. The building's owners sought to sell it for $35 million in March 2022, and they filed for
Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...
bankruptcy in September 2022 after defaulting on their $12 million loan. The Marvisis requested permission to sell the building to SC Holdings in July 2023, and SC Holdings bought the building that September for $25.7 million.


Impact

White's choice of a Roman classical style set a trend for bank buildings, first in New York, then across the United States. The structure was one of the first bank buildings in the nation with natural ventilation and marble surfaces that could be cleaned easily. Henry Hope Reed Jr. wrote of the building in 1984: "It was claimed, on the basis of the monumental portico and lofty interior banking hall, that this was the first truly splendid bank building in New York City." Christopher Gray of ''The New York Times'' wrote in 2010: "The bank as a work of architecture went from the merely big to the colossal with the Bowery Savings Bank of 1895."
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
architecture professor Lance Jay Brown said the building "still stands as a marker of a pivotal moment in the history of American architecture". The building's design also had a positive impact on the surrounding neighborhood. Sandee Brawarsky of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' said in 2000 that the Bowery Savings Bank Building was "a monumental temple of a bank near Grand Street that gives the Bowery a bit of grandeur". Fred Ferretti of the ''Times'' described the building as "a sort of fortress on the Bowery", denoting the eastern end of Manhattan's Little Italy neighborhood. Other authors wrote that the structure also served as the "architectural anchor" of Bowery in the 20th century, when the corridor was a
skid row A skid row, also called skid road, is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to people who are poor or homeless, considered disre ...
. Critics praised the building's details as well.
Mimi Sheraton Miriam "Mimi" Sheraton ( Solomon; February 10, 1926 – April 6, 2023) was an American food critic. Early life and education Sheraton's mother, Beatrice, was described as an excellent cook and her father, Joseph Solomon, as a commission merchan ...
of the ''Times'' said: "One can only imagine the awe with which these refugees from the slums of Naples and Canton and the shtetls of Poland and Russia entered this magnificent cathedral of a bank with its marble, brass and mosaics, to deposit small savings proudly." After the building was converted into Capitale, John Mariani of ''
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...
'' magazine wrote: "With its sixty-foot ceilings, humbling Corinthian columns, and Tiffany-style skylight, the building lives up to its landmark status." Nick Paumgarten of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' characterized the interior in 2003 as having "nearly an acre of marble", with potted palm trees, while '' Time Out'' magazine called the banking room the "most jaw-dropping venue for a meal" in New York City. The
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the Government of New York City, New York City agency charged with administering the city's Historic preservation, Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting Ne ...
(LPC) designated the exterior of the 130 Bowery branch as a city landmark in 1966. The building was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
(NRHP) in 1980. The LPC hosted public hearings in June 1993 to determine whether to designate the Bowery Savings Bank Building's interior as a city landmark, along with those of four banks in Brooklyn and another bank in Manhattan. The original banking room's interior was designated a New York City landmark on August 23, 1994. The building was added in 2013 to the Bowery Historic District, an NRHP district, after local residents had advocated for the historic district's creation for more than a year.


See also

*
List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan below 14th Street The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), formed in 1965, is the Government of New York City, New York City governmental commission that administers the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. Since its founding, it has designated ov ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan below 14th Street This is intended to be a complete list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Manhattan Island below 14th Street, which is a significant portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan Manhatt ...


References


Notes


Citations


Sources

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External links

* {{Lower East Side 1895 establishments in New York City Bank buildings in Manhattan Bank buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City Beaux-Arts architecture in New York City Bowery Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Commercial buildings completed in 1895 Event venues on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City Historic district contributing properties in Manhattan Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in New York (state) McKim, Mead & White buildings New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan New York City interior landmarks New York State Register of Historic Places in New York County Stanford White buildings