By LANDMARK WEST!
Slated for demolition.
Another non-landmarked building on Broadway is facing demolition after permits were recently filed to tear down 2160 Broadway by Brooklyn based developer Aleksandr Finkelshteyn.
Most recently occupied by First Republic Bank, this unique corner building was originally built in 1907 by architect Oscar Lowinson for the automobile innovator Joseph W. Jones. At the turn of the century, this stretch of Broadway (above Times Square) was known as Automobile Row. The offices of automobile makers and sellers, as well as tire companies and other related firms lined the thoroughfare for blocks. Jones then joined the trend, opening a showroom called the Jones Speedometer Building.
Designed in the Art Nouveau-style, its remarkably ornate facade and interiors celebrated European architectural inspirations and in 1907 the Real Estate Record and Builders Guide stated that the building was “the finest sample of architectural ensemble devoted to the automobile business in Manhattan.”
Sadly, time was not kind to this beautiful structure, and throughout the mid-century, more of its Art Nouveau exterior and interiors were removed and only a skeleton of a building remained. An architectural tragedy.
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Image 1: Courtesy of NYC Municipal Archives.