NYC Department of City Planning (New York City, New York)

 office building, local government

The 6/7-story building group known as 22 Reade Street incorporates three structures, two of which were designed by the prominent architect John B. Snook. These two older building were both completed in 1860, with short attic stories at the 6th floor. 22-26 Reade, the western structure, was built for the East River Savings Bank. It is clad in limestone, with quoins at the corners, and fluted cast-iron columns at the ground floor. It has nine bays of windows with stone enframements, bracketed projecting sills, and cornices. The modillioned roof cornice's brackets extend down between the windows of the short attic story.

Snook's design the 16-20 Reade Street is also clad in limestone with quoins at the corners, and has similar fluted cast-iron columns at the ground floor. The major difference is in the seven bays of windows, which are segmental-arched. These windows also have stone enframements and bracketed sills. The 2nd-floor windows have ornamental scrolled keystones. The windows of the top floor are square-headed and joined by a continuous sill course. The roof cornice has been removed from the building.

The 7-story building at the corner was originally completed with five floors in 1886. Designed by Frederick Jenth for liquor merchant Richard Block to house his business, it received an additional two stories, designed by George F. Pelham, in 1895. The lower two floors are clad in limestone, with horizontal rustications at the ground floor along Elk Street. The ground-floor facade facing Reade Street had a storefront framed by white-painted cast-iron pilasters (the fluted corner column being rounded with a Corinthian capital) supporting an entablature with dentils and small modillions. Near the rear end of the Elk Street facade, another entry is set behind a set of Doric columns. The windows on the 2nd floor (three bays along Reade Street and nine bays along Elk Street) have splayed stone lintels. The upper floors are clad in red-painted brick, with stone sills and peaked, eared stone lintels. Above the cornice at the original 5th-floor roof line, the additional floors were designed to match the lower floors. A parapet and flat cornice caps the building.

The buildings were acquired by the City of New York in 1965, combined into one structure, and renovated, beginning in the late 1970s. The combined structure is occupied by the New York City Planning Commission and the Department of City Planning.

The basement has tiled walls that are the remnants of a speak-easy from the days of prohibition. During renovation in the 1980s, the building suffered severe damage when an internal building collapse occurred. More damage was inflicted during construction of the office building at 26 Federal Plaza, when the wooden framed roof was nearly collapsed by a crane lowering material onto the roof.