Society House of the American Society of Civil Engineers

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4-story French Renaissance-revival commercial building originally completed in 1897. Designed by Cyrus L.W. Eidlitz for the American Society of Civil Engineers and Architects, it was the headquarters of the organization, which was founded in 1852. As its attendance increased, ASCE found it necessary to construct an annex in 1905-06; the design by Eidlitz & Andrew C.] McKenzie continued that of the original portion. After ASCE moved in 1917 to new quarters, it retained ownership of its former Society House until 1966. Due to its close proximity to the “Automobile Row” section of Broadway, the building was leased in 1918-27 as offices and showrooms of the Ajax Rubber Co., one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of pneumatic tires, and in 1927-28 as a showroom for luxury Stearns-Knight automobiles. The 1918 ground-floor alteration, by architect Arnold W. Brunner, included re-cladding and creation of wide storefront bays. From 1928 to 1973, this was the location of one of the Schrafft’s chain of restaurants. At this location from 1975 until 2016 was Lee's Art Shop, now replaced by DOING/LIVING Marketplace.

The building is clad in white glazed brick, with intricately-carved Indiana limestone ornament. Originally, the limestone-clad ground floor of the original section had a central entrance, approached by a low stoop, flanked by bipartite windows with transoms, while the annex originally had two windows; the areaway was bordered with a stone balustrade. A 1918 alteration included stone re-cladding (now painted), with a granite bulkhead, capped by a molded and corbeled cornice, and creation of wide storefront bays. The current metal and glass storefront infill (within the above 1918 alteration) dates from 2002, and includes a shop entrance and metal service doors at both ends.

At the 2nd & 3rd floors the facade of the original portion is dominated by a carved and enframed elliptical ogee arch (within which is a tripartite window group with transoms and a carved spandrel panel) on the 2nd floor that is surmounted by a tripartite window group with decorative transom panels and carved surround. The original portion and annex are edged with quoins. The 2nd-floor windows have ogee-arched lintels above transoms and carved panels, and quoins; and 3rd-floor windows have label lintels and quoins.

The 3rd floor was originally terminated by a continuous molded stone band course, and the 4th floor had small single-pane windows with quoins. The window openings were enlarged in 1939, interrupting the band course. The original portion has four decorative panels. The building is terminated by a molded and modillioned stone cornice topped by a paneled parapet with balusters and the date of completion in Roman numerals.

Due to the small open plaza space to the east, the east wall and portions of the rear walls of the former Society House are visible. The brick walls are unarticulated and mostly painted above the parged first floor; there are rooftop bulkheads, and painted signs occur at the north end of the east wall.

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s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2297.pdf