On November 29, 1890, the Real Estate Record & Builders' Guide reported that Francis C. Lawrence, Jr. had purchased "two three-story brick stores and tenements" with two two-story frame dwellings in the rear at 727 and 729 Washington Street. He paid Robert and Annie E. Pollock $16,000 for the properties, equal to about $553,000 in 2024. Three years later Lawrence replaced the structures with what the Record & Guide described as a "five-story brick stable." The Romanesque Revival design featured a symmetrical ground floor with two large, arched carriage bays that flanked two smaller arched openings--a doorway and window. The windows of the second and third floors were square-headed, while those of the two upper floors were fully arched.
When photographed on July 20, 1932, the building was essentially intact. from the collection of the New York Public Library
In January 1894, W. H. Bennett leased 727 and 729 Washington Street, giving as collateral "horses, &c.," as reported by the Record & Guide. He opened the Belvedere Stables, a substantial livery stable business.
The operation required a significant staff and consistent hiring. On August 29, 1899, an advertisement in The World read, "Harness-Cleaner and groom wanted. Stable, 727 Washington st."
Francis A. Lawrence, Jr. made significant updates to the building in 1901. In January, he hired architect C. A. Donahue to make $3,500 in renovations. Nine months later, Donahue filed additional plans for "new stalls." The combined cost of the two projects would equal $196,000 today.
The day-to-day routines of the stable workers was sometimes interrupted by violence. On March 14, 1906, for instance, The Evening World reported, "John Kock, one of the firm's drivers, was struck on the head with an iron pipe in the stables at No. 727 Washington street."
The following year a shocking incident occurred. On the night of April 21, 1907, several workers were in the building. One of them, Joseph Bennett, had been drinking when two men returned a rig they had hired. The Sun reported, "Bennett and the men got into an argument over the price of the rig and Bennett drew a long butcher's cleaver and rushed on the two." (The reporter most likely got the implement wrong. The New-York Tribune called it a "butcher's hook." In either case it made a formidable weapon.)
The two men fled down Washington Street, but the stable hand was now worked up. The New-York Tribune said, "Bennett was apparently seized with a fighting mania without any particular reason." Another employee, Thomas Brennan, heard the uproar and came to see what was happening. Bennett, who was "wildly enraged," according to The Sun, rushed at him, cutting a long gash in his head. He then, "proceeded to pound him until he became unconscious."
The noise now attracted a third employee, John Rogers. The Sun reported, "Rogers came to see what was going on and Bennett also slashed him and beat him into insensibility." Before losing consciousness, Rogers had screamed for help, drawing a number of passersby to the stable doors. No one dared enter as Bennett attacked other workers inside, but someone ran for help.
Police soon arrived and Bennett's fury turned on them. The Sun said, "it was not until he had been knocked out with a nightstick that he was taken." As Bennett was taken away, the crowd tried to get to him. "Nightsticks were again drawn, and with the help of additional policemen, Bennett was finally landed in the police station," said the article.
A search was made of the stable. One worker, Rocco Winchell, was found hiding under a wagon on the third floor. The New-York Tribune said, "Winchell said he did not hear or see any part of the fight." The wounded men were taken to St. Vincent's Hospital. In addition to his scalp wounds, Rogers suffered a broken nose and broken arm. The most seriously injured was Thomas Brennan, whose skull was fractured. The New-York Tribune said, "he may die."
In February 1912, the Francis Lawrence estate sold 727-729 Washington Street to Spark L. Dixon for $33,000 (just over $1 million today). He converted the building to a storage warehouse. It was most likely at this time that a loading dock was installed at the northern carriage bay.
In 1930, a loading dock filled part of the northern opening. from the collection of the New York Public Library.
The New York Sun reported on September 30, 1936 that the "five-story warehouse at 727-729 Washington street," had been sold to the H. H. Bell Steel Company, Inc. "The purchaser will occupy the premises after extensive alterations," said the article.
Indeed, the alterations were extensive. The top three floors were chopped off, the loading dock was bricked shut, and the southern carriage bay was enlarged, its Romanesque arch replaced with a square-headed garage door.
image via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.
The renovated building was used for storage until 1946, when it was remodeled as factory space for Donnelly, Blanthorn & Co., Inc., a tool and die manufacturing firm. The building was used as a trade school beginning in 1966, and then became home to the Gothic Color Company by the early 1970s.
Gothic Color Company was owned by Irving Goldman. His rags-to-riches story started when, according to The New York Times on December 11, 1972, he was "an errand boy for a paint-supply company." He made deliveries to the Shubert Theater scenic department on Broadway, where sets were constructed. J. J. Shubert "admired his industry," said the article, "and put up $5,000 to start him in the paint business." Gothic Color Company had the contracts to supply paints for the scenery for all the Shubert theaters, as well as the Metropolitan Opera House and Radio City Music Hall. By the time of the article, Goldman was "one of the most powerful men in the legitimate theater" and the city's Commissioner of Cultural Affairs.
But in 1974, Goldman became the target of a Federal grand jury investigation. On December 24, The New York Times reported he was accused of using family ties "to criminally evade income taxes."
In 1989, architect Steven Mensch and his wife, Pamela Newhouse, purchased 727-729 Washington Street. In January 1990, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a plan to alter the façade and a month later The Villager reported that Mensch "is planning to add another story to the 1893 structure."
Completed in 1992, the renovations were stark. Mensch mimicked the original configuration of the southern openings in red brick, then chopped away portions of the beige brick facade to give the illusion of a romantic, partial ruin. The new interior sat back from the facade, creating a courtyard or "loggia," as described by realtors. The building held office space on the ground floor and a triplex residence above.
In 2009, a three-year project was begun to convert 727-729 Washington Street to a single family home. While only the partial façade of the 1893 Belvedere Stables survives, it is a striking presence in its Greenwich Village neighborhood.
many thanks to historian Anthony Bellov for suggesting this post.
photograph by the author
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