Postings

Interior Oddsmaking
It was the velvet drapes, crystal chandeliers and one-of-a-kind revolving dance floor that first drew Manhattans upper crust to the Rainbow Room when it opened in 1934, and it may be those same Jacques Carlu-designed features that help immortalize it next week. Indeed, a full four years after the glamorous Art Moderne restaurant and nightclub was shuttered amid a drawn-out feud between landlord Tishman Speyer and the Cipriani family, the Landmarks Preservation Commission is now set to consider the space for a rare interior landmark designation, which would simultaneously protect it from alterations by future tenants while arguably reducing the number of potential suitors for the 65th-floor space. While all eyes will be on the Rainbow Room when officials meet September 11, The Commercial Observer will also be paying attention to a host of other landmarks issues tentatively scheduled for next weeks LPC docket.

Space: The Rainbow Room Address: 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 65th floor Date Opened: October 3, 1934 Significance: With its view of the New York City skyline and awe-inspiring Art Moderne style, the restaurant drew crowds as much for its excessive portions of caviar, champagne and truffles as for the famous musicians like Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and Frank Sinatra who regularly performed on its stage. Odds of Earning Yea Vote: 2:1

Space: Colonial Revival house Address: 330 Knollwood Avenue Date Built: 1941 Significance: As one of many Colonial Revivalstyle homes located in the Douglaston Historic District in Queens, the property at 330 Knollwood Avenue is no more significant than many of its contemporaries, and yet equally as protected. Now, with an application to construct a rear addition to the home expected to be considered next week, the LPC will determine whether the proposal befits the neighborhood or if, in the words of the Historic District Council, it feels more like another house stuck on to the back of an existing one. Odds of Earning Yea Vote: 6:1

Space: Corn Exchange Building Address: 81 East 125th Street Date Opened: 1883 Significance: The Queen Anne-style Mount Morris Bank was never completed, but that hasnt kept would-be do-gooders from trying to rehabilitate it since 1973, when the city took possession of the property. Now, following a 1997 fire that destroyed its roof, and a decision in 2009 to raze all but the remaining walls, a firm specializing in historical rehabilitations has been tapped by the city Economic Development Corp. to restore the roof. What will the LPC say? Odds of Earning Yea Vote: 1:1

Space: Woodstock Tower Address: 320 East 42nd Street Date Opened: 1929 Significance: Windows and A/C units are at the center of this application to establish a master plan for this 32-story Tudor City Historic District building, known throughout the neighborhood as Woodstock Tower. Odds of Earning Yea Vote: 5:1

Space: Garage and repair shop Address: 27th East Fourth Street Date Opened: 1945-1946 Significance: It isnt the Herman Kron-designed garage and repair shop that Landmarks Preservation Commission officials are worried will be threatened if a proposed nine-story hotel is allowed to move forward on the site. Its the landmarked Merchants House Museum next door. The red brick row house, built in 1832 by Joseph Brewster, is the only 19th-century family home in the city whose interior and exterior have been totally preserved. Odds of Earning Yea Vote: 4:1

Space: Brooklyn rowhouse Address: 154 Underhill Avenue Date Opened: 1906 Significance: Much like 330 Knollwood Avenue, the rowhouse at 154 Underhill Avenue benefits by being included as part of the Prospect Heights Historic District. As such, when LPC officials gather to vote on an application to install new windows as part of a passive house technology upgrade, the entirety of the neighborhood and its many rowhouses will likely be considered. Odds of Earning Yea Vote: 4:1

18|September 4, 2012|The Commercial Observer