The Forgotten Vaults Under No. 675 Hudson Street

No. 675 Hudson Street (right) in 1927 shortly after the vaults were sealed (photo by Percy Loomis Speer -- NYPL Collection)

Commercial sailing ships arriving from Europe and England in the 19th century carried small cut stone blocks as ballast.  As the ships were loaded with American goods, the ballast stones were offloaded and abandoned.  The city, in turn, used the uniform, rectangular stones as paving bricks, creating the cobblestone streets seen throughout many sections of the city even today.

Early in 2005, one of the stone curbstones on Ninth Avenue suddenly collapsed into a void.  The cobblestones abutting it began sagging towards the hole.  The area was fenced off and bus traffic routed away.  And the ancient vaults beneath the streets were rediscovered.

Workers gained entrance through the basement of 675 Hudson Street. The 1848 vernacular neo-Greco-style building is an attention-grabbing triangular structure bounded by Ninth Avenue, Hudson Street, 14th Street at its point, and West 13th Street.  At the time of its construction, the neighborhood was changing from one of small Federal houses to a bustling commercial district a few blocks from the riverfront.  By the early 20th century, the area would become known as the Meat Packing District.

Originally No. 675 housed factory space with, possibly, rooms rented above for sailors and workers. In 1892, Gardiner & Estes shoe manufacturers employed 175 workers here.

When built, the building had access through the basement to the great brick-lined vaults that stretched underneath the busy streets above, crisscrossing and interconnecting.  Vast brick arches and square masonry pillars were hefty enough to withstand the enormous weight of the horse-drawn freight drays and coal sleds above.

Predating 675 Hudson Street by almost a decade, the vaults were used for a variety of purposes in the years before the Civil War.  Horses were stabled here, cargo and supplies were stored, and according to one account, a foundry operated.  Then, around 1920, they were abandoned and sealed, for the most part to be forgotten, although small portions of the old vaults were still available and used for storage by the business in the triangular building.

By the time the curbstone fell into the vault, the Meat Packing District was experiencing a renaissance.  The area that had become seedy and crime-ridden towards the end of the 20th century was now filling with high-end boutiques and trendy clubs.

Ari Ellis, who owned No. 675--now called the Triangle Building--was intrigued by the subterranean space.  He and the city discussed the ownership, and it was decided the space belonged to him–a gargantuan area of up to 6,500-square-feet.

Ellis initiated extensive structural repairs, restoring the pillars, arches and brickwork, waterproofing, and adding support where necessary.  (The modern trucks and other vehicles on the streets above were significantly heavier than the vaults were designed to support.)

Ellis partnered with Matt Abramcyk to convert the distinctive space into 675 Bar, 40 feet under Ninth Avenue.  Abramcyk designed the lounge which opened a few years later, making use of the unique ambience in its several rooms.

Bar 675, 40 feet below 9th Avenue -- photo joonbug.com

Meanwhile, on street level 675 Hudson Street was discovered by movie makers.  It was the setting for the apartment of Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction, in The Hours Ed Harris jumps from a window on the north corner, and in Serpico, Al Pacino nabs Rudi Casaro here.

No. 675 Hudson as seen from West 13th Street -- photo Alice Lum

Now part of the Gansevoort Historic District, both 675 Hudson Street and the once-forgotten vaults beneath the streets around it are active once again.