Arch 101: Apartments at Hicks, Baltic & Warren
You gotta love this building (and its interior courtyard). Built in 1878, the Tower Building, as it is known, is considered an example of Romanesque Revival architecture. To our unstudied eye, however, it feels a good deal more ornate than what we traditionally associate with the Romanesque tradition. Sure there are the rounded arches, but…
You gotta love this building (and its interior courtyard). Built in 1878, the Tower Building, as it is known, is considered an example of Romanesque Revival architecture. To our unstudied eye, however, it feels a good deal more ornate than what we traditionally associate with the Romanesque tradition. Sure there are the rounded arches, but the design feels too light and the details (particularly the ornate ironwork) too fanciful to fit neatly in that box. Plus wasn’t the Victorian style still popular at this date? What do people who actually know something about architecture think? GMAP
does anyone know how I could get in touch with the management companies of these buildings to find out about rentals? My husband and I would like a two bedroom?
I was offered a great deal on a rental there, you have to talk to the management office regularly: They come up and vanish really quickly and the 2 bedroom ones even less often.
They must be rent stablized or something. The building super told us they housed the workers for the brooklyn bridge.
The BQE ruins the frontage, and they are a walkup (small cute stairs with steps worn down in the middle), but very good value for the area.
Romanesque was a good guess, considering the arches, but it clearly lacks many of the defining features of that later style. However, the style (as well as the construction date) clearly falls with the “Aesthetic Style”; a popular movement in both Britain and America to return to old values of medieval styles and hand-crafted work, incorporating numerous floral motifs as well as a subtle Japanese influence.
10×18 isnt a bedroom and this was the absoulte BEST housing one could get at the time, not the standard.
Anon @ 1:55 is right, check out the housing museum it is great
I’m happy for you Katie, sounds like you got the last great deal of the decade (: ). The “light and airflow” design is something that seems to be sadly lacking in today’s market where builders cut corners on materials and try to pack the most units that they can into their allowable FAR. Gone are the days of ‘altruistic’ developers (maybe they all went bankrupt.
I would think the 10 x 18 is the kitchen dining living room. These apts are small and narrow staircases and doors. But a big step up from what existed.
Take a tour of Tenement Museum for a little history of housing in this city.
Probably mentioned already, but Victorian was a ‘Period’ rather than an Architectural ‘style’. There were several ‘styles’ during the period including romanesque revival. If this building was built in the late 1800’s, like many of the buildings in the area, it was the late Victorian Period during which several revival styles were in vogue.
“The rooms are small — 10 feet by 18 feet is the largest. Three of the rooms in a four-room apartment were bedrooms and the living room served as a kitchen and dining room as well. Each unit had a toilet, and there were bathing facilities in the basement.”
Gee, David, apart from the bathing facilities in the basement, it sounds better than 90% of the rental apartments out there in Manhattan — perfect for shares! You could get at least $3500 for this in the East Village. 10′ x 18′ is HUGE by rental standards for a bedroom! Each bedroom could potentially be converted to 2! I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
I live in the Cobble Hill Towers buildings. They are great, and cheap. We moved into a two bedroom two years ago and pay far less than market rate. Sure, it isn’t the biggest two bedroom in the world, but it’s a screaming deal in this neighborhood, and we have two ENORMOUS walk-in closets!
Yes, the BQE is a bit of a bummer, but on the bright side, we have a million dollar view of lower manhattan, gov. island. I can see the statue of liberty from my kitchen table and the docks are a great source of entertainment.
The buildings were built in RESPONSE to tenament housing — they were designed with light and airflow in mind. If we open windows in the front and back of our apartment, the apartment is like a wind tunnel, even on hot days. I think most of the apartments are designed with the bedrooms on the courtyard side — we wake to bright sunlight and chirping birds every morning (you’d be surprised how much brick buffers the BQE noise.
I love my building, especially when I consider how little I’m paying as compared to folks at “The Arches” next door. Somehow I imagine the BQE noise is a little tougher to swallow, when you paid $400K for your studio.
Next time you’re in the neighborhood, consider the architectural similarities between the Towers buildings and the Warren Place cottages — same windows, similar iron work, etc. The cottages were built for the dock managers, the towers were built for the workers.