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90 West St. was badly damaged from the twin tower's collapse
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The best part about 90 West Street is that it is getting the attention it deserves. A classic example of "they don't build them like that anymore," the 1907, Cass Gilbert-designed building has the elements that make it not only rare among skyscrapers, but extraordinary even among the modern marvels of New York City.
Think 23 stories of century-old carved limestone, with smooth swaths of the façade adorned with the faces of lions, eagles, American Indian chiefs, and other symbolic Americana (all favorites of Gilbert). Look up to around the 18th floor to see colonnade finials and the undersides of arched windows, where yellow, green, blue, and red terra cotta pieces are patterned like bouquets. Above them is the copper mansard roof that conjures images of classic Parisian walk-ups.
In other words, it is clear why the exterior of 90 West Street was designated a historic landmark in 1998. And still, there is so much more to the structure, which sits between Cedar and Albany Streets, due south of the World Trade Center site.
The building's innovative design, along with Gilbert's super-solid structural sense, prompted owners Kibel Companies, Brack Capital Real Estate, and BD Hotels to invest $150 million in its restoration after September 11, 2001. With the help of Liberty Bonds, tax incentives, and other downtown rebuilding benefits, the owners pulled together financing that lets them re-piece the structure's battered façade and restore its interior.
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| Architect Peter Levenson is a driving force in the building's restoration |
"We crawled across and raked around every stone in the building for structural stability," says Peter Levenson, a principal of the Kibel Companies and the architect who is overseeing the restoration. He explains that at the time of the attack, 90 West Street was about 90 percent done with a two-year renovation, and its north side was covered in scaffolding that, fortunately, protected much of its stonework from falling debris.
The roof, however, took the brunt of the damage, with most of its copper sheets torn and melted beyond repair. But being one of the building's most distinct features -- even emulated by Cesar Pelli's firm, who designed One World Financial Center's lower copper rooftop in its image -- Levenson and the exterior-construction team at Seaboard Weatherproofing Company have worked to reproduce every original detail.
"The exterior work is being done with materials that aren't used much today," Levenson says. "We've put in $4 million in copper for the roof -- just the decorative parts, not the flat top -- while the entire building cost $2 million to build originally."
Every fixture and ornament of 90 West Street is a testament to both the Beaux-Arts-style training and engineering skill of Gilbert, whom Levenson calls "one of the more important fathers of the skyscraper." The artful elaborations and structural precautions Gilbert would later take to the hilt in creating the Woolworth Building (completed in 1913) are everywhere in 90 West Street.
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| Inside the foyer's Gothic arches are fireproof terra-cotta bricks |
Two stand-out elements of Gilbert's design schemes include handcrafted, interlocking terra-cotta bricks between floors and marble-and-steel stairwells -- both fireproofing measures. The events of September 11, 2001, revealed that they work even in extreme circumstances.
Another reason the building withstood the blow of the collapsed towers was its reinforced steel and massive, solid-granite base, which suffered dents and chips, but nothing that threatened the building's foundation. Rather, it was the extensive façade damage -- coupled with the landmark status that requires the exterior be restored to its original appearance -- that put 90 West Street on the brink of demolition.
"The costs are huge," Levenson explains. "And even though the restoration is hugely gratifying and exciting, at the end of the day it's a business." Which is why, he says, the owners are converting the former office building into 410 state-of-the-art apartments -- a plan that perfectly suits the building's modest footprint and Hudson River views.
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| A closer look at the building's ornate features |
Inside, the foyer's restored Gothic-arched ceiling and carved-stone pillars will welcome tenants, who will have access to a garden courtyard, gym, recreation room, and all the modern amenities -- from central air and heating to high-speed Internet access and a large underground garage. "It will be 1907 on the outside, 2004 on the inside," says Levenson, who expects the tenants to start moving in around spring 2005.
And while 90 West Street is no longer a waterfront property (as it was when constructed in 1907, six decades before Battery Park City was built), Levenson is confident that tenants will enjoy the building itself, as well as the growing residential neighborhood.
"West Street was a busy transportation and shipping hub, and this was a highly commercial area when this building went up," says Levenson, adding that the parks and promenades of Battery Park City are a huge draw for new downtown residents. "And the more residents who move down here the better, because it creates a neighborhood," he says.
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