Emery Roth's Art Nouveau 557 Eighth Avenue

The street level has been obliterated and the cornice has been shoddily repaired, however Emery Roth's stunning little building retains most of its decorative elements.

On February 8, 1902, Matthew Hettrick sold the one-story building at the southwest corner of Eighth Avenue and 38th Street.  Changes were happening in 1902–motorcars were seen more frequently, more and more buildings were being illuminated by electric lights, and a new art form was taking hold: Art Nouveau.

While the sinuous, flowing lines of Art Nouveau--as reflected in Tiffany Studios lamps, silverware and stained glass--made its way into New York City parlors and dining rooms, the style was unable to get a foothold in Manhattan architecture.

The new owner of the Eighth Avenue property commissioned the architectural firm Stein, Cohen and Roth to replace the building.  Emery Roth’s refreshing confection that would replace Hettrick’s mundane building was an exception.

Plans were filed with the Department of Buildings for a three-story “dwelling and office” building.  Completed in 1903, it was an modest structure with exuberant detailing.  Cream-colored brick was trimmed in carved brownstone and pressed galvanized metal.  To enhance its presence, Roth designed a bold and ambitious cornice that caught the eye of the passerby.

Surprisingly, Roth chose carved brownstone rather than opting for the versatile and relatively inexpensive terra cotta for the repeating elements.

The two, tw0-story angled bays the ends of the 38th Street facade, more traditionally Renaissance Revival in style than Roth's overall Art Nouveau design.  The second story windows were framed in brownstone, capped with undulating, sensuous Art Nouveau swirls.  Shallow brick pilasters rose between the openings to the third floor.

The decorative bays with pressed metal ornamentation added dimension to the long 38th Street facade.

Between the windows at the third floor were maidens’ heads in deep relief, each sheltered by a shell.  Below each, brownstone garlands stretched from window to window in a continuous line.

A corner entrance would have served the shop; the hotel entrance was at the western-most end of the 38th Street side.

Roth chamfered the corner, allowing for a more dramatic entrance way while providing extra sunlight to the rooms above.  In all, it was a architecturally theatrical treatment of what normally would be a commonplace commercial building.

Inland Architect reflected, “In a district of dry loft buildings, this little building calls out for attention like a scoop of ice cream on a hot summer sidewalk.”

Sadly abused, the hotel entrance still shows touches of both art nouveau and Victorian detailing.

The upper floors were managed as a residential hotel, its tenants being, for the most part, long-term.  The commercial space at street level was originally a jewelry store, run by Emil Moescher who lived with his wife in the rear.

In 1906 the building was sold and would remain in the same hands for nearly half a century.

On August 15, 1908, the distraught Moescher, who suffered from stomach cancer, struggled with his wife in their apartment.  He managed to get control long enough to shoot himself in the mouth, ending his miseries.  Moescher’s jewelry store soon after was converted to a saloon.

Because of its proximity to the theatre district, the hotel quickly became a favorite among actors.  Among them was Charles Hendrix, who was living here in 1908 when he got into a dispute over a glass of beer with Patrick McCafferty, the bartender at a Third Avenue saloon near 22nd Street.  To settle the argument, McCafferty drew a knife and fatally stabbed the actor in the stomach and slashed the back of his head.

The carved brownstone beauties stare down from under their protecting seashells

Among the 14 residents in 1910 were shoe salesman Philip Blass, married actors Phyllis and John Ellis, and 49-year-old London McCormack (listed simply as “widower”).  Among the thespians who often called No. 557 home were, reportedly, Buster Keaton and his family.

Until 1919, John J. Quigley held the saloon's liquor license.  That came to a halt on October 28 of that year when the Volstead Act ushered in the age of Prohibition.  Apparently believing that if you can’t beat them, join them, Quigley became a Prohibition Agent.

While ownership did not change, the United Cigar Stores Co., leased the building for a period of ten years, from April 11, 1930 through December 30, 1940.  Understandably, the commercial space during this time was a tobacco shop.

Three years after the end of World War II, the property changed ownership for the first time since 1906 when it was purchased by the Lenger Realty Corporation.

The flashy little building had a moment in the spotlight when, in 1951, the exterior was used as the fictional Actors Hotel in the short-lived ABC series by the same name.

The storefront of Emery Roth’s exuberant building at 557 Eighth Avenue has been obliterated.  Above, the metal cornice is patched and dented.  Yet, despite its abuse, much of its original design survives--demanding attention by passersby as it did in 1903.

Although Mary Beth Betts of the Landmarks Preservation Commission once said “it’s the kind of building we would take a serious look at,” it remains unprotected and under-appreciated.

 A pizza shop and a DVD store occupy the space where Emil Moescher's jewelry store was.  The elaborate metal cornice has lost much of its detail and suffered shoddy repairs.

One of only a handful of art nouveau structures in Manhattan, it is a rare and wonderful example in a desperately tenuous situation.

photographs taken by the author