photo by Alice Lum |
On New Years Eve of that year The New York Times noted “The
plot is one of the choicest in the lower Seventh Avenue district, which is
likely, in the next few years, to witness a marked business transformation due
to the extension of the avenue south of Eleventh Street to Varick Street and
the prospect of a subway improvement under Seventh Avenue.”
Indeed, scores of buildings were being razed as 7th
Avenue was being cut through Greenwich Village as an additional thoroughfare to
downtown. And discussions were underway
for the 7th Avenue subway which would transport thousands of workers
and shoppers daily.
Palmer formed a syndicate called the Fourteenth Street and
Seventh Avenue Construction Company and purchased the large plot from Adams
Express Company for about $260,000. Included
in the sale of was the old residence that still survived at No. 51 7th
Avenue. The New York Times reported that
Palmer intended “to tear down the present old structures and erect on the site
a high-class twelve-story office and loft building.”
The developer would develop a close working relationship
with architect Herman Lee Meader who received the commission. Meader would go on to design four more
buildings for Palmer who took advantage of this project to spotlight the work
of the New York Architectural Terra Cotta Co.
And the architect did not disappoint.
In the last years of the 19th century European
designers and architects had revolted from traditional restraints. By now the ground-breaking styles had reached
the United States. For No. 154 West 14th
Street Meader created a taster’s menu of Arts & Crafts, Mission, Art
Nouveau and Vienna Secessionist styles.
Completed in 1913 at a cost of approximately $350,000 the
building was praised by The Times for its modern design as well as its bold use
of color. Meader used an aggressive palette
of Arts & Crafts inspired earthy tones—mustard, beige, white, celadon,
green and cobalt—most noticeably in the sinuous Art Nouveau three-story base
and in the 11th story Secessionist decoration. The newspaper noted that expanses of glass
and absence of the customary cornice.
Sinuous, colorful art nouveau decoration covers the base -- photo by Alice Lum |
The 154 West 14th Street Building stood out in
Manhattan. While the modern
architectural styles that Meader showcased here were embraced in American
cities such as Chicago, New York’s staid tastes tended towards the accepted and
safe. Very few Art Nouveau or Mission buildings
appeared as compared with other urban centers.
![]() |
The 12th story with its intricate Mission-inspired motifs can be seen here in 1931 -- photo NYPL Collection |
In 1921 Lago, who by now had Anglicized his first name to
Joseph, enlarged his banking space and the following year renewed his lease for
14 years at $3600 a year. Things were
looking good for Joseph V. Lago. That
same year the Corn Exchange Bank took the corner street level space, signing a
lease of 21 years with an annual rent of $22,000.
Vibrant Vienna Secessionist ornamentation wraps the facade beneath the ruined top floor -- photo by Alice Lum |
Along with the banks were various tenants. The Postal Telegraph Cable Co. took the 8th
floor and in 1927 S. Bruner, Inc., jewelers was here. June 21 would be a day long remembered by Max
Wolf, one of Bruner’s salesmen.
Around 9:00 that morning Wolf left the store with his sample
case. Inside were 192 gold wrist
watches, 149 gold rings and 24 monogram button insets for the rings. The goods were valued at around $4,000. When he reached his car parked at the curb,
he found it wedged in by a delivery truck.
Wolf sat the case on the sidewalk and worked his automobile
little-by-little back and forth until he could finally pull out of the tight
parking space. And off he sped to New
Rochelle to meet with buyers—leaving his case of gold watches and rings on the
pavement.
Throughout the morning hundreds, if not thousands, of busy
New Yorkers rushed past the case.
Finally at approximately 2:00 George Bovens stopped to investigate what
today would be called “an unaccompanied package.” He immediately rushed the case to the Charles
Street police station.
In the meantime Max Wolf reached his first appointment. Within minutes he was headed back to the
city at a greater speed than he had left.
For his honesty Boven received a gold watch from the jeweler.
In July of 1928 Jaime V. Lago’s streak of good fortune came
to an end. The 35-year old banker was
arrested and held on $5,000 bail for accepting deposits while knowing his bank
was insolvent. A shortage of $250,000
had been discovered by Superintendent of Banks Frank H. Warder.
Investigation found that Lago had skimmed the money to
finance the maintenance of a “rooming house for fellow-countrymen at 317 West
fourteenth Street and a bookstore,” said The Times; as well as stock
transactions.
Other tenants came and went including the New York Globe
Ticket Company who moved in in 1930. The
United States Treasury Department took three floors—about 33,000 square feet—in
July 1937 for the WPA Cartographic and Map Making Project. The project produced relief maps of New York
City, models of tunnels, and maps of foreign countries.
In the mid-1950s, Hugo Gernsback moved his several companies
into the building. Called the “father of
modern science fiction,” his businesses included the Popular Book Corp.,
Gernsback Publications, Inc. and Hudson Specialties, Company. It was around this time that the top floor of
the building was stripped of its wonderful Mission façade of curved gables,
winged cobalt blue disks, brackets and floral bosses.
Other important tenants were the related Vanguard record
companies. From around 1959 through 1966
The Vanguard Recording Society, Vanguard Stereolab, Inc., Vanguard Record Sales
Corp. and the Bach Guild were here; among the preeminent record labels
representing folk, popular and classical music at the time.
photo by Alice Lum |