The colorful, cast-iron Bennett Building

"Blow out sale!" read the signs posted in the 131-year-old windows of the historic landmark. They are words more often associated with suburban malls and shopping centers than vintage New York office buildings. But when it comes to Lower Manhattan real estate, one man's architectural treasure is another's bargain retail space. 

The Bennett Building was built in 1873 and may be the tallest cast-iron building in the world, a fact perhaps unknown to shoppers at the discount store now located on the building's ground floor. Its value as a historic landmark is not lost, however, on a consortium of architectural preservationists who have placed it on an "endangered" building list. The group's is among the many voices appealing to the Metropolitan Transit Authority to protect the heritage of Lower Manhattan as planning for a new downtown transit hub proceeds.

"None of us are against building the [Fulton Street] Transit Center," says Ken Lustbader, a preservation consultant and spokesperson for the Lower Manhattan Emergency Preservation Fund. "We understand why it's needed and support the MTA's efforts. But we want to make sure that preservation is part of the planning process."

Comprising five organizations, including the Municipal Art Society, World Monuments Fund, and National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Emergency Preservation Fund initially came together after 9/11 to help stabilize and restore damaged historic structures. Since then, its mission has expanded to include advocacy. The group aims to salvage architectural gems on the chopping block and renovate neglected landmarks, many of which have succumbed to neon-bedecked delis and garish discount-outlet storefronts.

The challenge of raising awareness of downtown's rich architecture and conveying public sentiment in its favor to the MTA has mobilized the group's volunteers. Top local architects and historians have hosted special walking tours while other members are collaborating with the city's Landmarks Preservation Committee to register more of the area's noteworthy older buildings as local or national landmarks.

"This neighborhood is the cradle of American history," says Lustbader. "It has been at the center of our nation's most significant events. On Fulton Street alone you can literally see the evolution of 18th- into 21st-century architecture. There are few places that deserve the kind of attention that this neighborhood calls for."

A number of the unprotected historic structures that the Emergency Preservation Fund has zeroed in are above proposed entrances for the new transit center, including several buildings in and around Fulton Street.

Emergency Preservation Fund members hope that the transit center planners will take the buildings' historic value into consideration. "The Corbin Building [is] one of the finest early skyscrapers in Lower Manhattan," notes Lustbader. "This is a perfect opportunity for a well-designed transit center to integrate into an historic neighborhood."

The impressive Excelsior Power Co. building is hidden on Gold just south of Fulton

The Emergency Preservation Fund is quick to note that its members aren't so focused on preservation that they don't appreciate modern architecture or development.

"We have something special here," says John Stubbs, a World Monuments Fund vice president. "New Yorkers should not take it for granted that this small area is unique from the rest of the world. We only ask that change be done carefully, thoughtfully, resourcefully. There are many ways to make this an even more dynamic area."

Lustbader concurs. "We don't want Lower Manhattan to look like any other city," he says. "We're not trying to turn back time, but this area could be made to look remarkable with quality construction."

For more coverage of the Fulton Street Transit Center click here and here, or visit the MTA at http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/planning/fstc/index.html.