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WEST STREET BLDG (Formely COAL & IRON BLDG or RAILROAD & IRON BLDG) Landmark

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CASS GILBERT'S HISTORIC WEST STREET BUILDING: A REPORT FROM GROUND ZERO

By Barbara Veith

Enshrouded in scaffolding and protective black netting, the 23-story Cass Gilbert skyscraper at 90 West Street stands at the southwest corner of Ground Zero, a silent witness to the tragic events that took place on September 11, 2001 .

Built between 1905-1907, the landmark granite and terra-cotta-sheathed steel structure sustained massive damage when the World Trade Center's south tower collapsed. Falling debris raked the north side of the West Street building, damaging several large sections of the façade, piercing walls and igniting fires on 14 floors that raged for two days. Nearly 1,000 people were safely evacuated from the building, but tragically two perished while trapped in an elevator. Fortunately, the building's steel skeleton and thick terra-cotta fireproofing helped to contain the fires. Although much of the building was gutted and the electrical and mechanical systems as well as the copper roof were completely destroyed, some floors remained intact. During the weeks following September 11, while the building was structurally stabilized and weatherproofed, workers were able to salvage some documents from the offices. It will cost between $50- to $100-million dollars to restore the building, reported The New York Times on February 12, 2002.

Current view of 90 West Street's façade and mansard roof

Architect Cass Gilbert (1859-1934) was a driving force behind the development of the skyscraper in lower Manhattan. Early in his career, he trained at M.I.T., traveled in Europe and moved to New York City for a year to work as a draftsman for McKim, Mead, and White. He then moved to Minnesota, where he established his career, but later returned to New York City after winning the competition to design the United States Custom House (1899-1907) at Bowling Green in 1899. The Custom House is one of seven buildings designed by him that shape the cityscape of downtown New York today.

Stylistically and chronologically, the 23-story 90 West Street bridges the gap between Gilbert's 18-story classically embellished Broadway Chambers edifice (1899-1900) and his neo-Gothic 57-floor skyscraper, the Woolworth Building (1910-1913). The West Street building, commissioned by General Howard Carroll as a dockside commercial building for the shipping trade, was Gilbert's first skyscraper. His design emulates the tripartite division of a column, the 12-story shaft soaring upward from its base to a capital-like mansard roof embellished with ornate neo-Gothic details. Originally the upper floors housed an early counterpart of Windows on the World, the Garret Restaurant, then the world's highest.

With the full support of the present owners, the West Street building was granted individual landmark status on May 19, 1998. In February 2000, the owners applied to the Landmarks Preservation Commission to initiate a multi-million dollar restoration project to restore the façades, repair ornamental stone, terra-cotta and metalwork and scrupulously repoint the building and restore the copper mansard roof. Sadly, at the time of the terrorist attacks the work was over 90% completed and the building was fully rented out. In June 2002, Diane Jackier, director of community and government affairs at the Landmarks Preservation Commission, reported that the debris from the twin towers was still being cleared from the building. Once this phase is completed, the restoration of Gilbert's architectural landmark should begin anew.

notes

Landmarks Preservation Commission. Designated April 14, 1998; LP-1984

Summary

The West Street Building, one of three major Downtown office buildings designed by Cass Gilbert, was built in 1905-07 for the West Street Improvement Corporation, a partnership headed by Howard Carroll. Carroll was president of two asphalt companies and vice-president of his father-in-law's Starin Transportation Company, which had major river shipping interests. Although today separated from the Hudson River by the landfill supporting Battery Park City, the site of the West Street Building originally had a highly visible location facing the waterfront along West Street. Carroll conceived of his project as a first-class skyscraper office building for the shipping and railroad industries. In addition to Carroll's companies, the building soon filled up with tenants including major companies in the transportation industry. The building's top floor was occupied by "The Garret Restaurant," which advertised itself as the highest restaurant in New York and boasted of its panoramic river and city views. Cass Gilbert was one of the most prominent architects in New York in the first decade of the twentieth century. His succession of early skyscrapers helped pave the way for the great romantic skyscraper towers of the 1920s and beyond. His West Street Building may be considered transitional from the "base-shaft-capital" arrangement of the late-nineteenth-century office buildings conceived as analogous to a classical column -- and perhaps best epitomized by his own design for the Broadway-Chambers Building -- to the romantic tower exemplified by his design for the Woolworth Building. While the West Street Building is tripartite in configuration, its upper floors are a romantic mansarded design. The building's Gothic vocabulary is an early instance of its use in American skyscraper design, anticipating the Woolworth Building. The clustered piers in the tower's middle section anticipate the verticality stressed in later skyscraper design. The West Street Building was one of many office buildings erected in lower Manhattan during the first decade following the consolidation of the City of Greater New York, but its handsome design set it apart, and it won widespread critical acclaim. Today, its exterior survives largely intact, and the building remains in commercial office use.

STILL THERE... A Landmark & Its People Survive. 90 West St., NY, NY.

Published soon after the WTC collapse, this article concluded that there had been no loss of life at 90 West Street. A reader responds with details which, sadly, don't support that assertion and shares a brief, moving account of what it means to be a part of the surviving community. Scroll to the bottom of this article for the letter.

(Photo courtesy of Edison Coatings.)

Horror, sadness and rage were shared by civilized people around the world in reaction to the attacks on America of September 11. But there have also been stirring images of heroism, honor and determination, as New York City rolled up its sleeves, and went about the business of recovery, cleaning up and preparing to rebuild. It makes us proud to be Americans, and gives us all cause for great hope. When things were at their worst, New York City showed us America at its very best.

Many of us have connections to people directly affected by the events of 9/11. For us, one connection involved 90 West Street, the Landmark terra cotta building pictured here, in the foreground, against its former neighbors. The building was fully scaffolded and was in the process of being restored with Edison products at the time of the attacks.

In the wake of disaster, with phones down and images of smoke and destruction being broadcast, we waited to learn the fate of the people restoring the building. Three days later we got the good news: Everyone was OK.

The building was heavily damaged. Several holes were blown through one side. A section of the parapet fell 25 stories to the street. Six fires were extinguished by New York City firefighters. But the 90-year-old Landmark remains structurally sound, and soon its restoration will begin anew.

The events of 9/11 remind us that it takes far greater dedication to preserve than to destroy. The preservation of our Landmarks for generations to come is an act of faith, connecting the achievements of the past with the promise of the future. We have been attacked, and we have suffered losses. But like 90 West Street, we remain strong at our core, we will endure, and we will go forward.

ADDENDUM: LETTER FROM 90 WEST STREET

To the Editor:

A friend e-mailed me your article on 90 West Street - a building we both used to work in. I just wanted to inform you of a correction. Two people died in an elevator at 90 West - where the article states "Everyone was OK". After the first plane hit, 90 West lost power. Unfortunately, only one elevator was inoperative - the elevator with the people inside. Close friends of mine (employees of Cushman & Wakefield), were the last to speak to [name deleted to protect victim's privacy] alive. I'm told, after all was over, it took firemen over three hours to get to them in the elevator. No one even knew he was not alone until the firemen were able to gain access to the car. I don't know the other person's name, but I'm told it was a young girl. They both died of smoke inhalation.

But 90 West was not just a place where I worked, it was a place where I met my best and closest friends. We naturally were in the Trade Center every day - for lunch, shopping and transportation. Although countless people were affected, it was like our neighborhood. Now, a year later, I still haven't been down there. At first I was seeking closure, but decided my mental images, my memories, were the ones I wanted to keep.

Tom Arezzi

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