The E. V. Haughwout Building is a five-story, commercial loft building in the

SoHo SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

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 ...

, at the corner of

Broome Street Broome Street is an east–west street in Lower Manhattan. It runs nearly the full width of Manhattan island, from Hudson Street in the west to Lewis Street in the east, near the entrance to the Williamsburg Bridge. The street is interrupted ...

and

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

. Built in 1857 to a design by John P. Gaynor, with cast-iron facades for two street-fronts provided by Daniel D. Badger's Architectural Iron Works, it originally housed Eder V. Haughwout's fashionable emporium, which sold imported

cut glass Cut glass or cut-glass is a technique and a style of decorating glass. For some time the style has often been produced by other techniques such as the use of Molding (process), moulding, but the original technique of cutting glass on an abrasiv ...

and silverware as well as its own handpainted china and fine chandeliers,, p.102, p.668 and which attracted many wealthy clients – including

Mary Todd Lincoln Mary Ann Todd Lincoln (Birth name, née Todd; December 13, 1818July 16, 1882) was First Lady of the United States from 1861 until the assassination of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln, in 1865. Mary Todd was born into a large and wealthy ...

, who had new official White House china painted here. It was also the location of the world's first successful passenger

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

Description

Architecturally, the building is fairly typical of the period, with

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 ...

facings in an arcaded system with two orders of columns that was derived from the

Sansovino Library The Marciana Library or Library of Saint Mark (, but in historical documents commonly referred to as the ) is a public library in Venice, Italy. It is one of the earliest surviving public libraries and repositories for manuscripts in Italy and ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. In one respect, though, the building was different from other cast-iron buildings of the time: because it fronted on two streets, it would need two cast-iron facades, the weight of which might bring down the structure. To avoid this, rather than hanging the facades off the brickwork, as was usually done, Gaynor and Badger convinced Haughwout to allow them to use the strength of the cast-iron itself to support the building. This use of a structural metal frame was a precursor to the steel-framed skyscrapers that would start to be built in the early 20th century; in fact, some consider it to be the first skyscraper and "the most important cast-iron structure ever built". pp.101-103

World's first elevator

The building installed the world's first successful passenger

on March 23, 1857, a hydraulic lift designed for the building by

Elisha Graves Otis Elisha Graves Otis (August 3, 1811 – April 8, 1861) was an American industrialist and founder of the Otis Elevator Company. In 1853, he invented a safety device that prevents elevators from falling if the hoisting cable fails. On March 23, 18 ...

. It cost $300, had a speed of , and was powered by a steam-engine installed in the basement. Although the five-story structure was no taller than other buildings of the time, and did not actually require an elevator, Haughwout knew that people would come to see the new novelty, and stay to buy merchandise. The elevator has since been removed.

Landmark status

The building was in danger of being razed for

Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid-20th century. Moses is regarded as one of the most powerful and influentia ...

' planned

Lower Manhattan Expressway Interstate 78 (I-78) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Union Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, to New York City. In the US state of New York, I-78 extends . The entirety of I-78 consists of the Holland Tunne ...

, which was proposed in 1941 and not finally defeated until 1969. While the building was not in the direct path of the planned highway, the construction of the new highway could have posed a negative effect on the old building. The building was designated a

New York City 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 ...

in 1965, and 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 ...

in 1973. Its facade was restored, and the columns re-painted to their original "Turkish drab" color, in 1995, under the supervision of

Joseph Pell Lombardi Joseph Pell Lombardi is a New York City-based architect and real estate investor. Born in New York City where he spent his childhood, Lombardi moved to Irvington, New York for his high-school years. He received his Bachelor of Architecture degree ...

., pp.41-42

References

Notes

External links

New York Architectural images: E.V. Haughwout Building
includes archival photographs. {{Authority control Cast-iron architecture in New York City Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Commercial buildings completed in 1857 SoHo, Manhattan New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Broadway (Manhattan) 1857 establishments in New York (state)

Description

World's first elevator

Landmark status

See also

References

External links