Top of Coignet Building Emerges, Revealing Original Facade Not Seen in Decades
Big news: The original cement facade of the Coignet Building, not been seen in decades, is now visible at the corner of 3rd Avenue and 3rd Street. The uppermost story of netting that has shrouded the landmark at 360 3rd Avenue in Gowanus for about a year as it undergoes restoration came down sometime in…
Big news: The original cement facade of the Coignet Building, not been seen in decades, is now visible at the corner of 3rd Avenue and 3rd Street. The uppermost story of netting that has shrouded the landmark at 360 3rd Avenue in Gowanus for about a year as it undergoes restoration came down sometime in the last few days. We snapped these photos yesterday as we were passing through the area.
The red brick veneer applied sometime in the mid-20th century has been removed, per the restoration plans. It looks to us as though the restorers are planning to add a top coat of cement to finish and seal the exterior. Perhaps this explains why some of the netting has been removed.
The historic restoration of this landmark is certainly not finished, as more photos below reveal. The front stoop has greatly deteriorated in the last year, since the scaffolding went up — perhaps a result of this unusually snowy winter.
Whole Foods, which is handling the restoration as part of a deal to build its adjacent store, is also stabilizing the interior. Click through to see behind the fence.
Coignet Building Coverage [Brownstoner]
johnbk: ” It’s appearance is significantly reduced to an undesirable fashion because of the whole foods flanking it on all sides.”
Appreciate you pointing this out. LPC gave their blessing to Whole Food to do just that and never even asked Whole Foods to produce a single drawing to show that they were not diminishing the significance of a building which LPC itself affirmed was significant. The city agencies will let big business and big development get away with whatever they want, but stick the little guy with every rule in the book.
Know your architecture
Know your architecture before commenting
Major little building
Brava montrose
But Bob, Francois only made buildings like this in and around France, which means the technique was likely well known at the time of this buildings construction and well accepted. This building doesn’t offer much in terms of quality or presence (other than the fact it has this method of making cement reinforced bricks on site). It’s appearance is significantly reduced to an undesirable fashion because of the whole foods flanking it on all sides.
It’s hard for me to get excited because there are tons of these buildings in Manhattan and a few scattered around brooklyn in seemingly better condition.
And FWIW this is glorified cinderblock. Lets get real the technique as innovative as it was at the time was really a method to produce cheaper materials, which started a movement of using cheaper materials. Eventually we get stuck with these ‘paper brownstones’ made from the thinest drywall and laminate floors, do you think in another 100 years someone will be chomping at the bit to save those? Oh look they used 5/8 instead of 3/8! Don’t tear it down!
It is NOT cinderblock! It is Coignet Stone, a type of concrete originally manufactured at this site.