53-55 Beach Street

53-55 Beach Street
General information
Type	Commercial
Location	Manhattan, New York, United States
Coordinates	40°43′15.0024″N74°0′33.9474″W / 40.720834000°N 74.009429833°W / 40.720834000; -74.009429833
Construction started	1885
Technical details
Floor count	7
Design and construction
Architect	Oscar Teale
Developer	Joseph Naylor

53-55 Beach Street is a historic ^{[1] [2]} seven-story building, located at the northwest corner of Beach Street and Collister Street, in the TriBeCa West Historic District of Manhattan, New York City. Originally commissioned in 1885, the building was designed by architect Oscar S Teale and commissioned by prominent developer Joseph Naylor. At the time of construction, it replaced two early nineteenth-century structures and exemplified the utilitarian warehouse architecture typical of the late 19th century. ^[2]

The building’s facade features bold round arched openings at street level with granite keystones and a stone water table course. The upper five floors showcase bays of segmentally arched double-hung windows set between brick piers expressed as buttresses rather than decorative pilasters, reflecting the building’s industrial function. The Beach Street side historically included loading bays, protected by iron bands and steel loading platforms, emphasizing its warehouse use. ^[3]

History

In the early 1800s, 55 Beach Street was the residence of the principal of Rev. Dr. Barry’s Academy, where “one or two young gentlemen can be taken by him into his family, at 55 Beach Street” to be further educated. As per the Evening Post, the School had the support of Rev. Bishop John Henry Hobart, and the Episcopal Clergy of the city generally, as well as the Rev. Dr. William Harris, President of Columbia University. ^[4] Beginning in 1839, it became occupied by the Day School for Young Ladies, which moved from 11 Varick Street, to 55 Beach Street, at the time noted as the “fourth house from St. John’s Park.” ^[5]

Advertisement in the December 10, 1858 edition of the New York Daily Herald, listing the space for rent.

In 1857, it was converted into a residential space, rented to “any young man, with good reference,” for $450 a term, as per an advertisement in the New York Daily Herald. ^[6]

Beacon’s Hardware advertisement in the New York Daily News, which lists 53-55 Beach Street as being occupied by the Loring Lane Company, September 30, 1948.

Prior to its sale and later renovation, in 1864, 55 Beach Street was deemed a “valuable three story and attic brick House” by the New York Times. ^[7]

In 1889, after the development of the building by Joseph Naylor, it was listed publicly for the first time as consisting of both 53 and 55 Beach Streets, as the headquarters of Genna & Co, which received notoriety upon the 1902 strike of 500 of its employees (joining 3,000 employees of the American Can Company) protesting a rule “requiring them to fill in slips of giving the details of the work they do daily.” ^[8]

53-55 Beach Street was one of twelve warehouses acquired in 1919 from the Mercantile Warehouse Company by the Independent Warehouses Inc, totaling over $3,000,000 ($57,000,000 in 2025 dollars). ^{[9] [10] [11]}

53-55 Beach Street circa 1930, under Loring Lane Company occupation.

From the mid-1920s through the 1940s, the Loring Lane Company used the building for wood and willow ware sales and storage. ^[12] It was noted through the 1940s as being one of the distributors of Beacon Wax (a “marvel of science” that has a “sensational effect on floors”). ^{[13] [14]}

From the 1960s to the 1980s, the building was occupied by the Appliance Packing and Warehousing Corporation. ^[15] In recent decades, it was converted from warehouse use to office space and was home to the Montessori School of Manhattan until 2017 ^[16] , and WeWork until 2024.

References

1. Cuba, Julianne (13 March 2025). "Former Montessori school building in Tribeca trades for about $34M". Crain's New York Business. Archived from the original on 2025-04-05. Retrieved 2025-10-10.
2. "Tribeca West Historic District Designation Report" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. May 1991. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-10-25. Retrieved 2025-10-10.
3. "53-55 Beach Street Application For Reconsideration of One Story Rooftop Addition – Resolution" (PDF). RAND Engineering & Architecture, DPC. 22 November 2016. Retrieved 2025-10-10.
4. The Evening Post (New York), September 3, 1827, p. 1, “Rev. Dr. Barry’s Academy.”
5. The Evening Post (New York), May 6, 1839, p. 2. “Misses Brown (from Edinburgh) Announcement.”
6. New York Daily Herald, December 10, 1858, p. 3, Boarding and Lodging section.
7. New York Daily Herald, February 23, 1864, p. 7
8. New York Times, April 8, 1902. “Canmakers on Strike: Three Thousand Employees of the Trust in Brooklyn Quit on Account of a Factory Rule.” p. 3.
9. New York Times, December 24, 1919. “Warehouse Dealing Involving $3,000,000 is Complete.”
10. New York Herald, December 25, 1919. “$3,000,000 Warehouse Deal.”
11. New York Tribune, December 25, 1919. “Corporation Takes Over More Warehouses on the West Side.”
12. New York Vol. 383, pp. 529, 800a/12, 200f, 800a/39, R.G. Dun & Co. Collection, Baker Library, Harvard Univ. Graduate School of Business Admin.
13. Daily News, September 30, 1948. “Beacon Wax Marvel of Science is Here: Has Sensational Effects on Floors.”
14. Daily News, October 14, 1948. “Beacon Wax is a Big Hit Here.”
15. New York Vol. 316a, pp. 107, 111, R.G. Dun & Co. Collection, Baker Library, Harvard Univ. Graduate School of Business Admin.
16. "Montessori School of Manhattan is Closing Its Tribeca Campus". Tribeca Citizen. 20 April 2017. Archived from the original on 2024-09-08. Retrieved 2025-10-10.