I know I said "The 'hood", which I consider larger than SoHo, would be the next post. However, first I want to dive deeper into our immediate neighborhood, the Cast-Iron District. Almost all of SoHo is included in the SoHo Cast Iron Historic District of NYC, and it's on the National Register of Historic Places and a designated National Landmark. It contains the largest collection of cast iron buildings in the world, over 250.
SoHo is so-named because it is South of Houston St. That's pronounced How-ston, unlike the Texas city of Hu-ston. Houston is a dividing line in NYC because south of here the street layout is from the pre-revolutionary war Dutch/British settlements of New Amsterdam and New York. At that time forts, streams, bogs, farmland and estates forced roads to follow the path of least resistance; they contoured around bogs, paralleled shorelines, and followed old indian trails (Broadway is an indian trail from Lower Manhattan to Massachusetts ).
Recognizing that the island of Manhattan was going to continue growing as a port of trade between N America and the world, civic leaders laid out future development in a grid north of Houston to meet the expanding population. They numbered east/west streets starting with - you guessed it - First Street; and continued to 225th at Marble Hill on the northern tip of the Island (which is actually no longer on Manhattan - but that's a later story).
By the mid 19th century farmland was replaced by middle class residential for merchants and tradesman. Continued development added commercial buildings including hotels, theaters, entertainment, and brothels (I guess another form of entertainment). With the more lively and unsavory character, the residential population moved north again, to Gramercy Park among other developments. As the residents moved out, light manufacturing moved in - still small scale 18th and early 19th century wood framed buildings. After the civil war large-scale manufacturing moved in as part of the industrial revolution. Textiles, storage of dry goods, and sweatshops were the primary industries. This required new construction techniques to create large floor plates with tall windows for lots of daylight. Remember, there was no electricity so all work must be done by daylight; and it was no longer piece meal at home, but an industry where people "went to work" 12-7-365.
Cast-Iron was a new construction material (though its use is from 15th century China). It was strong for its weight and size. In buildings it allowed for multi-story construction, longer spans for open floor space, and tall windows for lots of light. It was also assumed to be fire-proof, which turned out magnificently false. Not only did it's low melting point lose strength and buckle when heated, but when subjected to cold water from a fireman, the heated iron shattered. Whoops. However, it did have other remarkable benefits for construction. It is castable, malleable, machinable, and wear resistant.
During the 19th century Neo-classicism/Beaux Art (think the US Capital) and Romanesque revival (think Pioneer square) were the popular architectural styles of the time. The elaborate facades of those designs (cornices, columns, corbels, lintels, and bas relief panels), were carved from stone such as marble, limestone, sandstone etc. and hung on the exterior of the steel frame. Extremely labor intensive. Casting the iron into moulds allowed designers and owners a great deal of flexibility to create such ornamentation at a fraction of the cost.
Old buildings were rejuvenated with new cast-iron facades, and new construction made ample us of the material. Along with a limitation on the building height (a future discussion) created a remarkable consistency in the architecture of the neighborhood.
Next Post: The 'hood.
SoHo is so-named because it is South of Houston St. That's pronounced How-ston, unlike the Texas city of Hu-ston. Houston is a dividing line in NYC because south of here the street layout is from the pre-revolutionary war Dutch/British settlements of New Amsterdam and New York. At that time forts, streams, bogs, farmland and estates forced roads to follow the path of least resistance; they contoured around bogs, paralleled shorelines, and followed old indian trails (Broadway is an indian trail from Lower Manhattan to Massachusetts ).
New Amsterdam
Recognizing that the island of Manhattan was going to continue growing as a port of trade between N America and the world, civic leaders laid out future development in a grid north of Houston to meet the expanding population. They numbered east/west streets starting with - you guessed it - First Street; and continued to 225th at Marble Hill on the northern tip of the Island (which is actually no longer on Manhattan - but that's a later story).
New York Gridded for the future
By the mid 19th century farmland was replaced by middle class residential for merchants and tradesman. Continued development added commercial buildings including hotels, theaters, entertainment, and brothels (I guess another form of entertainment). With the more lively and unsavory character, the residential population moved north again, to Gramercy Park among other developments. As the residents moved out, light manufacturing moved in - still small scale 18th and early 19th century wood framed buildings. After the civil war large-scale manufacturing moved in as part of the industrial revolution. Textiles, storage of dry goods, and sweatshops were the primary industries. This required new construction techniques to create large floor plates with tall windows for lots of daylight. Remember, there was no electricity so all work must be done by daylight; and it was no longer piece meal at home, but an industry where people "went to work" 12-7-365.
Cast-Iron was a new construction material (though its use is from 15th century China). It was strong for its weight and size. In buildings it allowed for multi-story construction, longer spans for open floor space, and tall windows for lots of light. It was also assumed to be fire-proof, which turned out magnificently false. Not only did it's low melting point lose strength and buckle when heated, but when subjected to cold water from a fireman, the heated iron shattered. Whoops. However, it did have other remarkable benefits for construction. It is castable, malleable, machinable, and wear resistant.
During the 19th century Neo-classicism/Beaux Art (think the US Capital) and Romanesque revival (think Pioneer square) were the popular architectural styles of the time. The elaborate facades of those designs (cornices, columns, corbels, lintels, and bas relief panels), were carved from stone such as marble, limestone, sandstone etc. and hung on the exterior of the steel frame. Extremely labor intensive. Casting the iron into moulds allowed designers and owners a great deal of flexibility to create such ornamentation at a fraction of the cost.
Old buildings were rejuvenated with new cast-iron facades, and new construction made ample us of the material. Along with a limitation on the building height (a future discussion) created a remarkable consistency in the architecture of the neighborhood.
Next Post: The 'hood.
