Happy Birthday NoHo Historic District Extension!

Today, we’d like to extend a “Happy ‘Landmark’ Birthday” to the NoHo Historic District Extension, which the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated on May 13, 2008. As you can see in the above historic district map, the extension connects the NoHo Historic District and the NoHo East Historic District.

For the most part, the 56 buildings in the extension front Bond or Great Jones Street, but a number also face the Bowery, East 4th Street, and Lafayette Street. The district also has a connection to Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat – do you know which building can claim ties to these two influential artists?

If you guessed 57 Great Jones Street, then you are correct! Andy Warhol owned the building from 1970 to 1990 and leased it to his friend, Jean-Michel Basquiat, in 1983. Basquiat, who used the space as his studio and residence, died of a drug overdose here in 1988 when he was just 27 years old. You can read more about the history of the building in this past Off the Grid post, and learn about the historic plaque GVSHP placed upon the building in 2016 here.

In the 1980’s what is now the NoHo Extension, and Bond Street in particular, was far less glamorous than it is now, but was nevertheless a vital center of artistic ferment in New York City.  In addition to Basquiat’s studio, the home and studios of Robert Mapplethorpe and Chuck Close could also be found on the street at 24 and 20 Bond Street.  Close still lives and works at 20 Bond.

The firehouse at left is another gem on Great Jones Street. The oversized brackets at the cornice are quite eye-catching as you walk down the street, not to mention the dramatic arch at the center of the facade. Built in 1898-99, the firehouse was designed by Ernest Flagg and W. B. Chambers (Flagg designed the former St. Mark’s Rectory that we are housed in at the Neighborhood Preservation Center around this same time!).

Another notable inclusion in the extension is 27 East 4th Street at the northern tip of the district, which was the subject of intense public review after a proposal for a new building was submitted to the LPC. The current one-story garage is directly adjacent to the Merchant’s House Museum, an incredibly significant 1832 Greek Revival row house that was given individual landmark status in 1965. You can read more about this new building proposal on our Landmarks Applications Webpage.

Be sure to explore more of the district on our Resources page by clicking on the link for “Historic Districts” and then for the “NoHo Historic District Extension.” There’s also a collection of building photos at the end of the report.

While you’re at it, you can read GVSHP’s testimony to the LPC regarding our support for the district on our NoHo page.