Roosevelt Building

The Roosevelt Building, at 13th Street and Broadway

In the early 19th century, the Roosevelt family, headed by Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt, grandfather to Teddy, were major landowners and investors in New York City. Their holdings included the block between 13th and 14th Streets on Broadway, where CVS Roosevelt's mansion and gardens were located. After his death in 1871, the mansion was destroyed and replaced with commercial buildings. Two decades later, the six small buildings were razed to allow the construction of the Roosevelts' most ambitious project, an eight-story building that towered over its neighbors.

Architect Stephen D. Hatch was hired to design the Romanesque Revival building, constructed of brick and Terra Cotta with a copper cornice. It was completed in 1894. Originally, it was commonly known as the Hackett Carhart building, after its earliest major tenant, a manufacturer of men's wear. The stretch of Broadway south of Union Square had become the center of menswear, lined with men's clothiers and haberdasheries, while women's clothiers dominated 6th Avenue's "Ladies' Mile". Another early tenant was Biograph Studios, where D.W. Griffith started his movie career.

Not everyone was a fan of the Roosevelt Building. The Real Estate Record & Guide referred to its "vast amount of not over-admirable decoration." This aesthetic criticism was probably a reflection of the journal's dislike of the Roosevelts' business practices.

On Feb 26, 1903, fire destroyed the top 3 floors. Seven fire fighters were injured and Capt. John T. Andariese killed. When the building had been announced, the New York Times had advertised that it would "be fire-proof throughout." After the fire, The Architectural Record & Guide tartly noted, "Nothing burns so readily as a fireproof building."

In 1912, Hackett, Carhart & Co. went bankrupt, costing the building its primary tenant, and over subsequent decades, the area steadily declined and the building deteriorated. In 2007, the current owners engaged Israel Berger Archiects to undertake a complete restoration, The firm conducted historic paint analysis to match the original, re-created the lost copper cornice, and replicated the original Terra Cotta decoration. Stanford Chan, director of restoration, said, "We treated it like a landmark even though it isn't one."


Sources:
Daytonian in Manhattan

New York Times: A Family's Legacy, Burnished Anew