appendix c-3 historic resource inventory forms …web.mta.info/capital/esa_docs/eafiles06/appendix...

Appendix C-3 Historic Resource Inventory Forms Submitted to the

New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for Buildings at 44, 46, 48, and

50th East 50th Street, April 2004

Historic Resource Inventory Form for Building at 45 East 49th Street, May 2004

OFFICE USE ONLY

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HISTORIC RESOURCE INVENTORY FORM NYS OFFICE OF PARKS, RECREATION & HISTORIC PRESERVATION P.O. BOX 189, WATERFORD, NY 12188 (518) 237-8643

IDENTIFICATION Property name (if any) five-story former rowhouse Address or Street Location 44 East 50th Street County New York Town/City New York Village/Hamlet: Owner Bertha Schweller Address 50 Sutton Place South, New York, NY 10007 Original use Residence Current use Offices Architect/Builder, if known Buchman & Deisler, architects, Jeremiah C. Lyons, developer Date of construction, if known 1899 DESCRIPTION Materials – please check those materials that are visible

Exterior Walls: wood clapboard wood shingle vertical boards plywood

stone brick poured concrete concrete block

vinyl siding aluminum siding cement-asbestos other:

Roof: asphalt, shingle asphalt, roll wood shingle metal slate

Foundation: stone brick poured concrete concrete block Other materials and their location: Alterations, if known: See following page Date: Condition: excellent good fair deteriorated Photos Provide several clear, original photographs of the property proposed for nomination. Submitted views should represent the property as a whole. For buildings or structures, this includes exterior and interior views, general setting, outbuildings and landscape features. Color prints are acceptable for initial submissions. Please staple one photograph providing a complete view of the structure or property to the front of this sheet. Additional views should be submitted in a separate envelope or stapled to a continuation sheet. Maps Attach a printed or drawn locational map indicating the location of the property in relationship to streets, intersections or other widely recognized features so that the property can be accurately positioned. Show a north arrow. Include a scale or estimate distances where possible. Prepared by: Jennifer Morris/Claudia Cooney address AKRF, 117 East 29th Street, New York, New York 10016 Telephone: 212-696-0670 email [email protected]/[email protected] Date April 2004

PLEASE PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IF YOU ARE PREPARING A NATIONAL REGISTER NOMINATION, PLEASE REFER TO THE ATTACHED INSTRUCTIONS

Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Agency

Narrative Description of Property: Briefly describe the property and its setting. Include a verbal description of the location (e.g., north side of NY 17, west of Jones Road); a general description of the building, structure or feature including such items as architectural style (if known), number of stories, type and shape of roof (flat, gabled, mansard, shed or other), materials and landscape features. Identify and describe any associated buildings, structures or features on the property, such as garages, silos, privies, pools, gravesites. Identify any known exterior and interior alterations such as additions, replacement windows, aluminum or vinyl siding or changes in plan. Include dates of construction and alteration, if known. Attach additional sheets as needed. 44 East 50th Street is a five-story building located on the south side of East 50th Street between Park and Madison Avenues. It was erected as a single family dwelling in 1899 by Jeremiah C. Lyons., and designed in the Renaissance Revival still by Buchman & Deisler. As originally built, the rowhouse was clad in buff brick with limestone ornament. The third through fifth floors retain original architectural detailing, including stone window surrounds at the third story containing cartouches set within a segmented pediment, Doric pilasters framing the windows at the fifth story, and a modillioned stone cornice above the fourth floor. However, the eastern windows have been enclosed with concrete block. The first and second floors of the building have been altered for commercial uses. The second floor contains a nail salon; this façade is articulated with plate glass windows and brick block. The ground floor contains two small stores with plate glass storefronts. The building is capped by a plain stone cornice, above which is a small, six-floor addition. Narrative Description of Significance: Briefly describe those characteristics by which this property may be considered historically significant. Significance may include, but is not limited to, a structure being an intact representative of an architectural or engineering type or style (e.g., Gothic Revival style cottage, Pratt through-truss bridge); association with historic events or broad patterns of local, state or national history (e.g., a cotton mill from a period of growth in local industry, a seaside cottage representing a locale's history as a resort community, a structure associated with activities of the "underground railroad."); or by association with persons or organizations significant at a local, state or national level. Simply put, why is this property important to you and the community. Attach additional sheets as needed. This building is one of a group of seven single family residences erected by Jeremiah C. Lyons and designed by Buchman & Deisler. Of these seven, four remain, including 46, 48, and 50 East 50th Street (please see separate historic resource inventory forms for these buildings). Jeremiah C. Lyons was a prominent real estate developer, who formed and was president of one of the largest New York City real estate development and management firms at the time, the J.C. Lyons Building and Operating Company. The company owned a number of properties throughout New York City, with most of their real estate holdings located along Fifth Avenue. The building was used as a residence until 1926, when it was leased by Brody Weiss, Inc. for a period of 21 years. During that time, the building was remodeled by architect Joseph D. Weiss. The building contained shops, offices, and apartments between 1926 and 1971. In 1971, it was purchased and remodeled by Warner Brothers Records, Inc. as a headquarters for their executives and biggest talents to include offices, two kitchens, an indoor-outdoor dining room, a screening room, and a playroom (with a baby grand piano, juke box, pool table, a hammock, etc). The headquarters were decorated by Jay Steffy, a Los Angeles-based decorator, to attract West Coast executives who shunned the company’s former Madison Avenue offices. Warner Brothers sold the building in 1974 to Bertha Schweller, the current owner. It is presently occupied by commercial uses on the ground and second floors; the upper floors appear to be vacant. The architects, Buchman & Deisler, designed several notable structures in New York City. As the staff architects for the Edison Electric Illuminating Company (now the Consolidated Edison Company), they were responsible for many of the company’s early power plants. 121 East 12th Street, built in 1896, is one of the earliest Con Edison buildings attributed to them, and is still extant. Buchman & Deisler also designed the Mount Sinai Dispensary (now the Kennedy Child Study Center and a New York City Landmark), ca. 1890, at 149-151 East 67th Street; the New Era Building, ca. 1896, at 491 Broadway (within the S/NR and New York City SoHo Cast Iron Historic District); and the original New York Mercantile Exchange at 628 Broadway, built in 1882 (within the New York City NoHo Historic District).

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MTA/LIRR EAST SIDE ACCESS44 East 50th Street

MTA/LIRR EAST SIDE ACCESS44 East 50th StreetView facing south

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IDENTIFICATION Property name (if any) five-story commercial building Address or Street Location 46 East 50th Street County New York Town/City New York Village/Hamlet: Owner Pavia Realty Corp. Address 46 East 50th Street, New York, NY 10022 Original use Residential Current use Restaurant on first and second floors floor, commercial above Architect/Builder, if known Buchman & Deisler, architects, Jeremiah C. Lyons, developer Date of construction, if known 1899 DESCRIPTION Materials – please check those materials that are visible





Foundation: stone brick poured concrete concrete block Other materials and their location: Alterations, if known: See following page Date: Condition: excellent good fair deteriorated Photos Provide several clear, original photographs of the property proposed for nomination. Submitted views should represent the property as a whole. For buildings or structures, this includes exterior and interior views, general setting, outbuildings and landscape features. Color prints are acceptable for initial submissions. Please staple one photograph providing a complete view of the structure or property to the front of this sheet. Additional views should be submitted in a separate envelope or stapled to a continuation sheet. Maps Attach a printed or drawn locational map indicating the location of the property in relationship to streets, intersections or other widely recognized features so that the property can be accurately positioned. Show a north arrow. Include a scale or estimate distances where possible. Prepared by: Jennifer Morris/Claudia Cooney address AKRF, 117 East 29th Street, New York, New York 10016 Telephone: 212-696-0670 email [email protected]/Claudia [email protected] Date April 2004



Narrative Description of Property: Briefly describe the property and its setting. Include a verbal description of the location (e.g., north side of NY 17, west of Jones Road); a general description of the building, structure or feature including such items as architectural style (if known), number of stories, type and shape of roof (flat, gabled, mansard, shed or other), materials and landscape features. Identify and describe any associated buildings, structures or features on the property, such as garages, silos, privies, pools, gravesites. Identify any known exterior and interior alterations such as additions, replacement windows, aluminum or vinyl siding or changes in plan. Include dates of construction and alteration, if known. Attach additional sheets as needed. 46 East 50th Street is a five-story building located on the south side of East 50th Street between Park and Madison Avenues. It was originally designed by Buchman and Deisler and built by Jeremiah C. Lyons as a single family residence in 1899. The building, originally built slightly set back from the sidewalk, appears to have been partially rebuilt and reclad. It is presently faced in red brick, with the two lower stories built to the sidewalk. The ground floor contains the entrance to an Italian restaurant, Giambelli. The second floor also contains the restaurant, and this façade is articulated with a central window flanked by two narrow slit-like openings. A band of masonry coping is above the second story. Above the second floor, the upper stories are simply articulated with paired sash windows with narrow stone sills. A chain-link fence with barbed wire is at the parapet. Narrative Description of Significance: Briefly describe those characteristics by which this property may be considered historically significant. Significance may include, but is not limited to, a structure being an intact representative of an architectural or engineering type or style (e.g., Gothic Revival style cottage, Pratt through-truss bridge); association with historic events or broad patterns of local, state or national history (e.g., a cotton mill from a period of growth in local industry, a seaside cottage representing a locale's history as a resort community, a structure associated with activities of the "underground railroad."); or by association with persons or organizations significant at a local, state or national level. Simply put, why is this property important to you and the community. Attach additional sheets as needed. This building is one of a group of seven single family residences erected by Jeremiah C. Lyons and designed by Buchman & Deisler. Of these seven, four remain, including 50, 48, and 44 East 50th Street (please see separate historic resource inventory forms for these buildings). Jeremiah C. Lyons was a prominent real estate developer, who formed and was president of one of the largest New York City real estate development and management firms at the time, the J.C. Lyons Building and Operating Company. The company owned a number of properties throughout New York City, with most of their real estate holdings located along Fifth Avenue. The building was occupied as a residence until 1922, when it became leased to the City College Club for five years for use as a clubhouse. During that time, it was renovated to include a gymnasium, restaurant, reading room and library, as well as some dormitory rooms for visiting out-of-town alumni. By 1930, the building contained some offices. As of 1945, the ground and second floors were used for businesses, and the upper four floors were used for apartments. The ground floor has been occupied by a restaurant, Giambelli, since the 1970s. The architects, Buchman & Deisler, designed several notable structures in New York City. As the staff architects for the Edison Electric Illuminating Company (now the Consolidated Edison Company), they were responsible for many of the company’s early power plants. 121 East 12th Street, built in 1896, is one of the earliest Con Edison buildings attributed to them, and is still extant. Buchman & Deisler also designed the Mount Sinai Dispensary (now the Kennedy Child Study Center and a New York City Landmark), ca. 1890, at 149-151 East 67th Street; the New Era Building, ca. 1896, at 491 Broadway (within the S/NR and New York City SoHo Cast Iron Historic District); and the original New York Mercantile Exchange at 628 Broadway, built in 1882 (within the New York City NoHo Historic District).

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IDENTIFICATION Property name (if any) five-story commercial building Address or Street Location 48 East 50th Street County New York Town/City New York Village/Hamlet: Owner 48 East 50th Street, LLC Address 530 East 76th Street, Apt 34E, New York, NY 10021 Original use Residence Current use Commercial Architect/Builder, if known Buchman & Deisler, architects, Jeremiah C. Lyons, developer Date of construction, if known 1899 DESCRIPTION Materials – please check those materials that are visible



vinyl siding aluminum siding cement-asbestos other: metal





Narrative Description of Property: Briefly describe the property and its setting. Include a verbal description of the location (e.g., north side of NY 17, west of Jones Road); a general description of the building, structure or feature including such items as architectural style (if known), number of stories, type and shape of roof (flat, gabled, mansard, shed or other), materials and landscape features. Identify and describe any associated buildings, structures or features on the property, such as garages, silos, privies, pools, gravesites. Identify any known exterior and interior alterations such as additions, replacement windows, aluminum or vinyl siding or changes in plan. Include dates of construction and alteration, if known. Attach additional sheets as needed. 48 East 50th Street is a five-story building located on the south side of East 50th Street between Park and Madison Avenues. It was erected as a five-story single family dwelling in 1899 by Jeremiah C. Lyons. The rowhouse was originally designed by Buchman & Deisler as slightly set back from the street, with an American basement, and with a small rear yard extension. It measured 19’ x 63’. Sometime after 1951, the building was rebuilt to occupy almost the full lot and built out to the sidewalk (based on New York City Department of Buildings permits, it appears that this alteration may have occurred in 1958). The building was reclad and presently has a contemporary façade composed of a double height glass and metal storefront (presently vacant) above which the upper stories are clad in brick. Steel framed windows are located centrally at each of the third and fourth floor facades; there is no fenestration at the fifth floor. White lettering organized vertically along the building’s narrow western façade spells “Bachrach,” the name of a former business tenant. Narrative Description of Significance: Briefly describe those characteristics by which this property may be considered historically significant. Significance may include, but is not limited to, a structure being an intact representative of an architectural or engineering type or style (e.g., Gothic Revival style cottage, Pratt through-truss bridge); association with historic events or broad patterns of local, state or national history (e.g., a cotton mill from a period of growth in local industry, a seaside cottage representing a locale's history as a resort community, a structure associated with activities of the "underground railroad."); or by association with persons or organizations significant at a local, state or national level. Simply put, why is this property important to you and the community. Attach additional sheets as needed. This building is one of a group of seven single family residences erected by Jeremiah C. Lyons and designed by Buchman & Deisler. Of these seven, four remain, including 50, 46, and 44 East 50th Street (please see separate historic resource inventory forms for these buildings). Jeremiah C. Lyons was a prominent real estate developer, who formed and was president of one of the largest New York City real estate development and management firms at the time, the J.C. Lyons Building and Operating Company. The company owned a number of properties throughout New York City, with most of their real estate holdings located along Fifth Avenue. The building was occupied as a residence until the 1927’s, when it began to be leased for commercial and office use, including a ground floor speakeasy in 1929. From 1960 through 1997, the building was owned by Bachrach, Inc.; which used the building as its headquarters. In the 1960s, Bachrach was the largest photography studio in the country. From at least 1976 through 1994, the second floor housed Sky Books, a bookstore specializing in books on the history of war and aviation. The architects, Buchman & Deisler, designed several notable structures in New York City. As the staff architects for the Edison Electric Illuminating Company (now the Consolidated Edison Company), they were responsible for many of the company’s early power plants. 121 East 12th Street, built in 1896, is one of the earliest Con Edison buildings attributed to them, and is still extant. Buchman & Deisler also designed the Mount Sinai Dispensary (now the Kennedy Child Study Center and a New York City Landmark), ca. 1890, at 149-151 East 67th Street; the New Era Building, ca. 1896, at 491 Broadway (within the S/NR and New York City SoHo Cast Iron Historic District); and the original New York Mercantile Exchange at 628 Broadway, built in 1882 (within the New York City NoHo Historic District).

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IDENTIFICATION Property name (if any) six-story commercial building Address or Street Location 50 East 50th Street County New York Town/City New York Village/Hamlet: Owner Vinsue Corporation Address 1269 First Avenue, New York, NY 10021 Original use Residence Current use Office, restaurant Architect/Builder, if known Buchman & Deisler, architects, Jeremiah C. Lyons, developer Date of construction, if known 1899 DESCRIPTION Materials – please check those materials that are visible








Narrative Description of Property: Briefly describe the property and its setting. Include a verbal description of the location (e.g., north side of NY 17, west of Jones Road); a general description of the building, structure or feature including such items as architectural style (if known), number of stories, type and shape of roof (flat, gabled, mansard, shed or other), materials and landscape features. Identify and describe any associated buildings, structures or features on the property, such as garages, silos, privies, pools, gravesites. Identify any known exterior and interior alterations such as additions, replacement windows, aluminum or vinyl siding or changes in plan. Include dates of construction and alteration, if known. Attach additional sheets as needed. 50 East 50th Street is a six story building located on the south side of East 50th Street between Park and Madison Avenues. It was erected as a five-story single family dwelling in 1899 by Jeremiah C. Lyons, and designed in the Beaux Arts style by Buchman & Deisler. As originally built, the rowhouse was set slightly back from the sidewalk, and clad in red brick with limestone ornament. The third through fifth stories of the building appear to remain unaltered, with the exception of steel framed replacement windows. The third and fourth floors each contain one central window; these windows have stone surrounds. Stone quoins are used to articulate the window enframements and are also used at the sides of the building. Above the fourth floor is a stone cornice with modillions. The fifth floor façade is clad entirely in stone. A central window is capped with an arched pediment. Framing this window are narrow ones each capped by a keystone. By 1929, a sixth story, clad in red brick and with one large central window with a stone sill and lintel, was built. It is in turn capped by a smaller windowless red brick addition behind which is a water tower supported on a steel truss. The bottom two floors have been altered for commercial use, and house an Italian restaurant, Cinquanta. This portion of the façade has been rebuilt to the sidewalk, and the majority of it is clad in glass and dark stone. Above the second story is a stepped terracotta parapet with a central cartouche set within a floral panel; urns cap the parapet at the corners. Narrative Description of Significance: Briefly describe those characteristics by which this property may be considered historically significant. Significance may include, but is not limited to, a structure being an intact representative of an architectural or engineering type or style (e.g., Gothic Revival style cottage, Pratt through-truss bridge); association with historic events or broad patterns of local, state or national history (e.g., a cotton mill from a period of growth in local industry, a seaside cottage representing a locale's history as a resort community, a structure associated with activities of the "underground railroad."); or by association with persons or organizations significant at a local, state or national level. Simply put, why is this property important to you and the community. Attach additional sheets as needed. This building is one of a group of seven single family residences erected by Jeremiah C. Lyons and designed by Buchman & Deisler. Of these seven, four remain, including 48, 46, and 44 East 50th Street (please see separate historic resource inventory forms for these buildings). Jeremiah C. Lyons was a prominent real estate developer, who formed and was president of one of the largest New York City real estate development and management firms at the time, the J.C. Lyons Building and Operating Company. The company owned a number of properties throughout New York City, with most of their real estate holdings located along Fifth Avenue. While built as a residential building, by 1923, it had been leased to a Russian benevolent society, Petrouchka, Inc., until 1924, when there was a fire in the building. In 1925 the building hosted various dinner clubs, at least on the first floor, that violated Prohibition: two of the clubs were named Club Vogue and Club D’Orin. Over the following years, the building was occupied by a variety of commercial uses and businesses, including Richard Boring Snow, one of the architects for the New York City World’s Fair (1934); Jorge M. Coste Leite, the Brazilian consul (1942); and designer Mimi Tuthill (1952). In 1978, the building was sold to the Vinsue Corporation, who still owns the property. The building presently contains office space and the Italian restaurant, Cinquanta. The architects, Buchman & Deisler, designed several notable structures in New York City. As the staff architects for the Edison Electric Illuminating Company (now the Consolidated Edison Company), they were responsible for many of the company’s early power plants. 121 East 12th Street, built in 1896, is one of the earliest Con Edison buildings attributed to them, and is still extant. Buchman & Deisler also designed the Mount Sinai Dispensary (now the Kennedy Child Study Center and a New York City Landmark), ca. 1890, at 149-151 East 67th Street; the New Era Building, ca. 1896, at 491 Broadway (within the S/NR and New York City SoHo Cast Iron Historic District); and the original New York Mercantile Exchange at 628 Broadway, built in 1882 (within the New York City NoHo Historic District).

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IDENTIFICATION Property name (if any) ING Direct Café Address or Street Location 45 East 49th Street County New York Town/City New York Village/Hamlet: Owner Tishman Speyer Properties Address 520 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022 Original use Addo-X Showroom Current use ING Direct Cafe Architect/Builder, if known Oscar Nitzchke in partnership with Hans Lindblom of Batir Design Associates Date of construction, if known 1957 DESCRIPTION Materials – please check those materials that are visible



vinyl siding aluminum siding cement-asbestos other: steel, glass


Foundation: stone brick poured concrete concrete block Other materials and their location: Alterations, if known: See following page Date: Condition: excellent good fair deteriorated Photos Provide several clear, original photographs of the property proposed for nomination. Submitted views should represent the property as a whole. For buildings or structures, this includes exterior and interior views, general setting, outbuildings and landscape features. Color prints are acceptable for initial submissions. Please staple one photograph providing a complete view of the structure or property to the front of this sheet. Additional views should be submitted in a separate envelope or stapled to a continuation sheet. Maps Attach a printed or drawn locational map indicating the location of the property in relationship to streets, intersections or other widely recognized features so that the property can be accurately positioned. Show a north arrow. Include a scale or estimate distances where possible. Prepared by: Claudia Cooney address AKRF, 117 East 29th Street, New York, New York 10016 Telephone: 212-696-0670 email [email protected] Date May 2004



Narrative Description of Property: Briefly describe the property and its setting. Include a verbal description of the location (e.g., north side of NY 17, west of Jones Road); a general description of the building, structure or feature including such items as architectural style (if known), number of stories, type and shape of roof (flat, gabled, mansard, shed or other), materials and landscape features. Identify and describe any associated buildings, structures or features on the property, such as garages, silos, privies, pools, gravesites. Identify any known exterior and interior alterations such as additions, replacement windows, aluminum or vinyl siding or changes in plan. Include dates of construction and alteration, if known. Attach additional sheets as needed. 45 East 49th Street is a three-story building located on the north side of East 49th Street between Park and Madison Avenues (see Figure 1). In 1957, it was erected as the showroom for Addo-X , a Swedish company that made business machines. The showroom was designed to display three European business machines: a Swedish computer, a West German typewriter, and an English duplicator; and included office space for the sales staff and an office for the company’s president. The building was designed by Oscar Nitzchke1 in partnership with Hans Lindblom of Batir Associates.2 The building was designed to compensate for its midblock location, with materials such as glass and white mosaics utilized along with the creation of a double height showroom, to create a feeling of light and air. 3 The facade of the building was of a modernist design, with large plate glass sections set within an asymmetrical steel frame. The façade was set back from the sidewalk to eliminate glare. A large sign screen, set on a blue-enameled steel frame, which extended almost the entire length of the showroom at the second floor and included the Addo-X logo, protruded out beyond the glass line (see Figures 2 & 3). The interior of the building consisted of a double-height ground-floor space with a second-story mezzanine along the east wall (see Figure 3), and a separate third story which served as the President’s office. Piping set along the west wall of the double-height space served as frames for displays as well as supporting lighting fixtures and disguising an air conditioning duct. To the rear of the showroom at the ground floor, a shallow set of stairs provided access to a lower level with office space and a small lounge. The floor was paved with a white Swedish glass tiles. A set of stairs at the rear of the showroom, set on two I-beams, provided access to a mezzanine level, an asymmetrically shaped balcony which contained the salesmen’s desks. Birch was used to create the handrails for the staircase and the railing at the balcony, linking the two levels. Also at the balcony level was the sign screen, which as described above, extended the length of the interior of the building at the mezzanine level and out beyond the glass facade. Abstract plastic shapes in different colors were applied on the screen, which also formed the company’s logo. As described below, the building is presently occupied by ING Direct’s Café, which serves as an on-line banking center for customers as well as a coffee bar (see Figures 4-6). A counter for both financial transactions and serving coffee has been installed at the ground floor along the east wall. Banking “kiosks,” with PC’s, are located to the rear of the ground and mezzanine levels for customers to do on-line banking. The ground and mezzanine floors have also been equipped with tables and chairs in a casual coffee bar style. The configuration of the interior spaces has remained unaltered; the double height space, asymmetrical balcony, stairs to the balcony, and third floor office have been retained. Though not documented in any plans reviewed for the preparation of this form, it appears that an interior staircase present along the east side of the building at the mezzanine level is original to the building and provides access to the third floor. However, two principal aspects of the building’s original design concept have been altered, and the building has also undergone a number of other smaller alterations. The two principal alterations are as follows:

1) The original Addo-X sign screen has been removed, including the interior portion as well as the part that extended out beyond the façade. It is unclear when this renovation was undertaken.

2) When the building was taken over by ING Bank in 2000 (see history below), the façade was altered to include the bank’s “orange dot” logo. This design element has been inserted into the façade in a steel frame.

Other alterations are as follows:

1 Upon becoming a United States citizen in 1952, the architect changed the spelling of his last name from “Nitzschke” to “Nitzchke.” Reference materials and articles spell his name in other ways, including Progressive Architecture (April 1958) which spells his name “Nitzcke.” 2 Little information could be found on Batir Associates. Most texts and articles credit Nitzchke as the sole designer of the Addo-X showroom. 3 “Business Machines Showroom, New York, New York.” Progressive Architecture, v. 39 (April 1958): pp. 140-145.


Exterior:

• addition of a decorative entrance canopy at the entrance. Interior:

• removal of the mosaic floors and replacement with wood flooring. • replacement of the birch handrails at the staircase and the balcony railing with clear plexiglass capped with steel. • replacement of the stairs at the rear of the ground floor leading to the lower level with a ramp. • alterations have been made to entrances to office space at the rear of the building, e.g. doorway openings have

been widened and wood doors replaced with glass. • the original framing piping along the west wall has been removed. It is now accentuated with a large, textured

orange sheet. Narrative Description of Significance: Briefly describe those characteristics by which this property may be considered historically significant. Significance may include, but is not limited to, a structure being an intact representative of an architectural or engineering type or style (e.g., Gothic Revival style cottage, Pratt through-truss bridge); association with historic events or broad patterns of local, state or national history (e.g., a cotton mill from a period of growth in local industry, a seaside cottage representing a locale's history as a resort community, a structure associated with activities of the "underground railroad."); or by association with persons or organizations significant at a local, state or national level. Simply put, why is this property important to you and the community. Attach additional sheets as needed. Oscar Nitzchke (1900-1991) was born in Altona, Germany. He attended l’Ecole des Beaux Arts in the 1920’s and worked with Le Corbusier in 1921-22. In 1938, he came to the United States as Associate Professor in Yale’s Architecture School. He also became head of design research for Harrison & Fouilhoux. He was responsible for the following designs that were realized in the 1940’s: the Bronx Zoo African Habitat (1939-40, with Harrison & Fouilhoux with Alexander Calder); Time and Life Building at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan (1945, with Harrison & Abramovitz and listed on the S/NR and a New York City Landmark); and the Alcoa Headquarters Building in Pittsburgh, PA (1949-53, also with Harrison & Abramovitz). In addition, Nitzchke was part of the international design team for the United Nations Headquarters in New York City (1947) and became a guest critic at Columbia University after leaving Yale in 1948. Nitzchke also designed a number of other projects which were not built. In 1952, Nitzchke became a United States citizen and shortened his name from Nitzschke to Nitzchke. In the 1950’s, in addition to the Addo-X showroom, Nitzchke also designed the Martha Jackson Gallery in New York City (1957-58, it is unclear exactly where the gallery was located ); and served as director of Architectural Services for the design of the Shea Stadium roof in Queens, New York (1959 with Jim Nash Associates). In 1968, Addo-X leased space in the adjacent, newly constructed 40-story I.T.T. Americas Building (437 Madison Avenue), moving its showroom and offices to that location. That same year, the first U.S. office of Aeroflot Soviet Airlines was established at the subject building formerly occupied by the Addo-X showroom. In 1968, the New York Times indicated that work was being undertaken at the building so that Aeroflot could occupy the space in August (alterations were not specified).4 In 1970, the site was the location of anti-Soviet protests, and a pipe-bomb was placed in the doorway of the building, which shattered windows in the building and damaged windows in the adjacent structures. The New York Times reported in a number of articles that the anti-Soviet protests and bombing of the Aeroflot office created an extraordinarily tense relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States. Though the protests and bombing were condemned by the Nixon administration, the Soviet Union accused the U.S. of “conniving at criminal actions” and threatened to retaliate against Americans stationed in Moscow.5 Additional anti-Soviet protests, led by the Jewish Defense League (a militant Jewish organization formed in 1968 which protested the treatment of Jews in the Soviet Union, among other issues), including a brick thrown through the window of the Aeroflot offices in 1971 and a “plague” of 50 frogs visited on the Aeroflot offices that same year (a member of a militant Jewish youth group, Student Activists for Soviet Jewry, entered the building and dumped 50 live frogs on the secretary’s desk), resulted in the State Department requiring additional security for Soviet businesses and diplomatic offices in New York City and necessitated a series of high-level negotiations between Washington and Moscow and involving the United Nations. A grand jury was subsequently empaneled to hear criminal charges against the Jewish Defense League. In 1973, Aeroflot moved its offices to a Fifth Avenue location, and their former space at 45 East 49th Street became occupied by Intertourist, the Soviet tourist agency. For a period of time thereafter, the building housed the ticket offices of Air China. In 2000, ING Direct (a division of ING, the Dutch financial institution), took over the space and opened the present banking services/café operation. The interior design was undertaken by Gensler, a large design firm incorporated as Gensler & 4 “Flights to Soviet Will Start Today.” New York Times, July 15, 1968: p.1. 5 “Protecting Russians Here a Hard Job.” New York Times, January 7, 1971: p. 3.


Associates/Architects in 1967. It does not appear that the building has been altered since the 2000 Gensler renovation.

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Eas t S ide AccessM T A / L I R R Figure 1

Building Location

LEGEND

45 East 49th Street

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Architect's Rendering

Source: Dudley, Gus. Oscar Nitzchke, Architect. New York: Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of the Cooper Union, 1985

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Historic Photographs

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ce:

Hel

ena

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rg, P

h.D

. Dis

sert

atio

n (P

repa

red

by S

wed

ish

Ph.D

. Stu

dent

)

Addo-X Showroon in New York, 1957

Source: "Business Machines Showroom, New York, New York." Progressive Architecture, Vol. 39 (April 1958).

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Current Photographs

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ce:

AKR

F, In

c. M

ay 2

004

45 East 49th Street, view north of the facade

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Current Photographs

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ce:

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F, In

c., M

ay 2

004

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ce:

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View South (to Facade) on Second Level Mezzanine View North (to Rear of Building) on Second Level Mezzanine

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Current Photographs

Source: "High Interest [ING Direct Cafe]." Interior Design, Vol. 72, No. 14 (November 2001)

appendix c-3 historic resource inventory forms …web.mta.info/capital/esa_docs/eafiles06/appendix...

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