Puck Building facts for kids
|
Puck Building
|
|
from Houston Street (2010)
|
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Location | 295-307 Lafayette Street Manhattan, New York City |
|---|---|
| Built | 1885–86 |
| Architect | Albert Wagner and Herman Wagner (later expansion) |
| Architectural style | Rundbogenstil |
| NRHP reference No. | 83001740 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
|
| Added to NRHP | July 21, 1983 |
The Puck Building is a famous historic building in New York City. It's located in the Nolita neighborhood of Manhattan. The building takes up a whole block, surrounded by Lafayette, Houston, Mulberry, and Jersey Streets.
This building is a great example of the German Rundbogenstil style of architecture. This style uses rounded arches, making buildings look strong and grand. The Puck Building was designed by Albert Wagner. It was built in two main parts. The first part was finished in 1885–86, and a second part was added in 1892–93.
In 1899, the front of the building on Lafayette Street had to be moved. This happened when the street, which was then called Elm Place, was made wider. Herman Wagner oversaw this big change. The building was updated in 1983–84 and again in 1995.
The building has two shiny gold statues of a character named Puck. Puck is a playful spirit from Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. These statues were made by sculptor Henry Baerer. One statue is on the northeast corner at Houston and Mulberry Streets. The other is above the main entrance on Lafayette Street.
The Puck Building is at the northwest edge of Manhattan's NoLIta area. It is near SoHo and the NoHo part of Greenwich Village. Today, the building is owned by Kushner Properties. This company belongs to Charles Kushner and his son Jared Kushner. Jared Kushner is the son-in-law of former United States President Donald Trump.
Building History
The Puck Building was first built as a large printing factory. It was home to the J. Ottmann Lithographic Company. The first part of the building had seven stories. A nine-story section was added in 1892.
The building got its name from Puck magazine. This magazine was founded in St. Louis in 1871. It moved into the building in 1887 and stayed there until it stopped being published in 1918.
The building had a few fires over the years. In June 1887, a fire caused a lot of damage, including water damage to the magazine's offices. Another fire in November caused damage when a can of turpentine caught fire.
After Puck magazine left, many other printing companies used the building. These included typesetters and an ink company. For many years, the smell of printing ink filled the building. An office supply company, S. Novick & Son, was once on the second floor. A famous person named Alger Hiss worked there as a salesman.
Modern Changes
The Serra family bought the building in 1978. They let the building slowly empty out as businesses moved away. In 1981, there was a plan to turn the building into homes. However, this idea was changed because it was too expensive to pay the businesses to leave.
The building was reopened in April 1983. It had an $8 million renovation and restoration project. This project created spaces for businesses, especially those related to the arts.
Later, the owner Jared Kushner wanted to build six fancy apartments on top of the red-brick building. The Landmarks Preservation Commission first said no in October 2011. But after Kushner made some changes to his plans, they were approved. The first of these apartments was sold in May 2014 for $28 million.
Current Tenants
The Puck Building has been home to many different groups over the years. In the 1980s, Spy Magazine started there. From 1986, the building also housed part of the Pratt Institute. Pratt used the space for computer and technical labs for its School of Computer, Information, and Library Science.
Since 2004, New York University has used parts of the building. It is home to the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and the sociology department.
The building also has offices and stores. It has large ballrooms for events on the top and ground floors. The Skylight Ballroom can hold 250 guests. The Grand Ballroom is even bigger, fitting up to 1,000 people.
New retail spaces were added when the building had a big renovation starting in October 2011. In 2011, REI opened a large store there. It covers three levels of the building. The store's design includes an area that shows the history of the Puck Building.
Thrive Capital, a company run by Josh Kushner (Jared Kushner's younger brother), has its office in the building. Some companies that Thrive Capital has invested in also have their main offices in the Puck Building.
Images for kids
-
Houston and Mulberry, 1893
_pg644_PUCK_BUILDING_-_EAST_HOUSTON_AND_MULBERRY_STREETS.jpg)
See also
In Spanish: Puck Building para niños
