299 West 12th Street

Last updated

299 West 12th Street
299 West 12th Street NYCsp.JPG
On Abingdon Square Park
299 West 12th Street
General information
Type Condominium apartment
Architectural styleArt Deco
Location Abingdon Square Park, Greenwich Village
Town or city299 West 12th Street, New York, New York 10014
Country United States
Coordinates 40°44′15.57″N74°0′18.85″W / 40.7376583°N 74.0052361°W / 40.7376583; -74.0052361
Current tenants183 apartments
Construction started1929
InauguratedJuly 30, 1931
Technical details
Floor count18 including two penthouse floors
Design and construction
Architect(s) Emery Roth
Developer Bing & Bing

299 West 12th Street is a residential building facing south onto Abingdon Square Park in the Greenwich Village Historic District [1] on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It was built by the developer brothers Bing & Bing and noted architect Emery Roth [2] whose other works include The Beresford and The El Dorado.

Contents

The building was granted an occupancy license on July 30, 1931, opening initially as an "apartment hotel" with a kitchen on the ground floor. [3] In 1986, 299 West 12th Street and its sister building, 302 West 12th Street, were converted into condominiums, containing mainly studio and one bedroom units. [4] It houses 183 condominium apartments.

Development

299 West 12th Street was part of a simultaneous development of five buildings in the area. Bing & Bing also used Roth to design 59 West 12th Street. [5] They worked with the architectural firm of Boak and Paris on both 302 West 12th Street [6] and 45 Christopher Street. [7] They chose to work with architect Robert T. Lyons on 2 Horatio Street. [8]

Prior to the erection of 299 and 302 West 12th Street, the northern side of Abingdon Square Park was the site of several well regarded five-story row houses. [9] “[C]onstructed of red brick and with artistic wrought iron balcony railings,” notes a New York Times article of the day, “the houses have not only always been well kept, but have been occupied by many prominent residents of the ninth ward.” [10] The destruction of the houses and their replacement with a 16-story high rise were cited by local residents as changing the demographic of the neighborhood in what can be seen as an early case of gentrification in New York City. Since 1969, designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District has helped restrict other such developments in the area.

Rivaling Central Park West

Leo Bing, announced on April 1, 1929, that his firm had quietly acquired 75 small lots and old buildings largely around Abingdon Square, Sheridan Square and Jackson Square Park. And the lots would be combined to allow for a set of larger-scale, 17-story apartment buildings. [11]

He said his goal was to "recreate the entire district as a modern counterpart of the high-class residential section it once was" saying it would "rival Central Park West and the fashionable east side within a few years." He cited the goal of neighborhood reinvention as the reason for the simultaneous building, saying his hope was that "complete transformation of the section may be achieved as quickly as possible.” [11]

Also, in more practical terms, he mentioned the "imminent" IND Eighth Avenue Line, and recent completion of the West Side Elevated Highway and even the Holland Tunnel as increasing accessibility to—and demand for—the area. [12]

Despite the start of the Great Depression just months after Leo Bing's announcement, by September 1931 Bing & Bing reported that the "five new buildings on Christopher, Horatio and West Twelfth Streets are proving among the most popular of all the Bing & Bing apartment properties. Callers have been numerous...and a high percentage of the space has been leased.” [13]

In recent years, units in the building have been priced higher than average for the area partly because of restrictions on new construction in the West Village and the resulting dearth of condo options. [4] In 2006, a listing for the building's penthouse caused a stir for what was then viewed as an exorbitant asking price of $3.5 million. [14] In 2011, after a well-publicized apartment search, Jennifer Aniston purchased both the penthouse and a one bedroom unit beneath it for a combined $7.9 million with the intention of converting them into a duplex. [15] The actress abandoned her plans in 2012 after less than a year of ownership and the units were sold to another owner within the building. They have since been incorporated into a triplex that was listed for $30 million in July, 2012. [16]

Trivia

This building was featured in the 2006 feature film Lucky Number Slevin together with its sister building 302 West 12th Street.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eighth Avenue (Manhattan)</span> Avenue in Manhattan, New York

Eighth Avenue is a major north–south avenue on the west side of Manhattan in New York City, carrying northbound traffic below 59th Street. It is one of the original avenues of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 to run the length of Manhattan, though today the name changes twice: At 59th Street/Columbus Circle, it becomes Central Park West, where it forms the western boundary of Central Park, and north of 110th Street/Frederick Douglass Circle, it is known as Frederick Douglass Boulevard before merging onto Harlem River Drive north of 155th Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Village</span> Neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City

The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The West Village is bounded by the Hudson River to the west and 14th Street to the north. The eastern boundary is variously cited as Greenwich Avenue, Seventh Avenue, or Sixth Avenue, while the southern boundary is either Houston Street or Christopher Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hudson Street (Manhattan)</span> Street in Manhattan, New York

Hudson Street is a north–south oriented street in the New York City borough of Manhattan running from Tribeca to the south, through Hudson Square and Greenwich Village, to the Meatpacking District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abingdon Square Park</span> Public park in Manhattan, New York

Abingdon Square Park is located in the New York City borough of Manhattan in Greenwich Village. The park is bordered by Eighth Avenue, Bank Street, Hudson Street and West 12th Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Wilbraham</span> Historic building in Manhattan, New York

The Wilbraham is an apartment building at 282–284 Fifth Avenue and 1 West 30th Street in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The nine-story structure was designed by David and John Jardine in the Romanesque Revival style, with elements of the Renaissance Revival style, and occupies the northwestern corner of 30th Street and Fifth Avenue. It was built between 1888 and 1890 as a bachelor apartment hotel. The Wilbraham is a New York City designated landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Michelangelo</span> Building in Manhattan, New York City

The Taft Hotel building is a 22-story pre-war Spanish Renaissance structure that occupies the eastern side of Seventh Avenue between 50th and 51st streets, just north of Times Square, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. In its modern configuration, it features two separate portions with their own entrance on 51st Street. The larger portion is devoted to the residential condominium called Executive Plaza, with each of its 440 units being privately owned. Certain units are rented by their owners to the public. A smaller portion of the building contains The Michelangelo, a Starhotels hotel.

74th Street is an east–west street carrying pedestrian traffic and eastbound automotive/bicycle traffic in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs through the Upper East Side neighborhood, and the Upper West Side neighborhood, on both sides of Central Park.

Bing & Bing was one of the most important apartment real estate developers in New York City in the early 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">45 Christopher Street</span> Condominium in Manhattan, New York

45 Christopher Street is a residential building facing south onto Christopher Park in the Greenwich Village Historic District on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2 Horatio Street</span> Co-op apartment in New York , U.S.

2-10 Horatio Street is a 17-story co-operative apartment building located between Greenwich and Eighth Avenues, on the corner of Greenwich Avenue, across from Jackson Square Park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Built in 1929–31 and designed by Robert T. Lyons, the building is located within the Greenwich Village Historic District, but is not an individual landmark. The building also has the address 123-129 Greenwich Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert T. Lyons</span> American architect

Robert Timothy Lyons was an architect responsible for many residential and commercial buildings in New York City in the early 20th century. He typically built in a Renaissance Revival or Neo-Federal style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">302 West 12th Street</span> Condominium apartment in New York , United States

302 West 12th Street is a residential building facing west onto Abingdon Square Park in the Greenwich Village Historic District[1] on the west side of lower Manhattan in New York City, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">59 West 12th Street</span> Condominium apartment in New York , United States

59 West 12th Street is a residential building located in the Greenwich Village Historic District in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">257 Central Park West</span> Co-op apartment building in Manhattan, New York

257 Central Park West is a co-op apartment building on the southwest corner of 86th Street and Central Park West in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was designed by the firm of Mulliken and Moeller and built by Gotham Building & Construction between 1905 and 1906.

Hill West Architects is a New York City based architecture firm which works on the planning and design of high-rise residential and hospitality buildings, retail structures and multi-use complexes. They have participated in the design of prominent structures in the New York City metropolitan area. The firm was founded in 2009 by Alan Goldstein, L. Stephen Hill and David West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butterfield House (New York City)</span> Apartment building in Manhattan, New York

Butterfield House is a cooperative apartment building on West 12th Street in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was designed by the architects and urban planners William J. Conklin and James Rossant then of Mayer, Whittlesey & Glass. It is situated between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue within the Greenwich Village Historic District. The building was described in The New York Times as "a modernist landmark" that "received numerous accolades when it was built in 1962".

18 East 50th Street, also known as the Hampton Shops Building and the New York Health & Racquet Club Building, is an office building in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Located on the south side of 50th Street, on the middle of the block between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue, it was designed by William Lawrence Rouse, Lafayette Anthony Goldstone, and Joseph L. Steinam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John's Terminal</span> Building in Manhattan, New York

St. John's Terminal, also known as 550 Washington Street, is a building on Washington Street in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Edward A. Doughtery, it was built in 1934 by the New York Central Railroad as a terminus of the High Line, an elevated freight line along Manhattan's West Side used for transporting manufacturing-related goods. The terminal could accommodate 227 train cars. The three floors, measuring 205,000 square feet (19,000 m2) each, were the largest in New York City at the time of their construction.

Manger Hotels was a major 20th-century national chain of luxury hotels, full service motor inns, and upscale motels. Originally founded in 1907 as a chain of luxury hotels by Julius and William Manger, the company shifted to extensive development of large strategically located motor inns and motels in the 1960s.

References

  1. ↑ "New York City Landmarks Preservation Committee maps" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 8, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  2. ↑ Columbia University Libraries, New York Real Estate Brochure Collection "299 W. 12 St." "
  3. ↑ "City of New York Certificate of Occupancy 1931" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 4, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  4. 1 2 "299 West 12th St. in West Village - Sales, Rentals, Floorplans". StreetEasy. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  5. ↑ Columbia University Libraries, New York Real Estate Brochure Collection "59-69 W. 12 St."
  6. ↑ Columbia University Libraries, New York Real Estate Brochure Collection "302 W. 12 St."
  7. ↑ Columbia University Libraries, New York Real Estate Brochure Collection "45 Christopher St."
  8. ↑ Columbia University Libraries, New York Real Estate Brochure Collection "2 Horatio St."
  9. ↑ "This Day in History Abingdon Square Becomes a Public Park". Village Preservation. March 2, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Abingdon Square Loses Landmark: Row of Old Village Homes Gives Way for Seventeen-Story Apartment". The New York Times. September 1, 1929. ProQuest   104711974.
  11. 1 2 "Bing & Bing Plan $40,000,000 Apartment Development on Lower West Side". The New York Times. April 2, 1929.
  12. ↑ "Bing & Bing start building campaign". The New York Times. November 30, 1930. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Tall apartments in Village centre. Presents rental problem". The New York Times. September 27, 1931.
  14. ↑ Joey Arak (October 3, 2006). "PriceChopper: 299 West 12th Street, Already". Curbed NY. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  15. ↑ Sara Polsky (May 24, 2011). "Jennifer Aniston Closes on Second West Village Apartment". Curbed NY. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  16. ↑ Jeremiah Budin (July 8, 2012). "$30M PH in Jennifer Aniston's Old Building on the Market - Blockbusters". Curbed NY. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.