8 Harrison Street

 apartment building  Add category

5-story Neo-Grec residential building completed in 1885. Designed by Thomas R. Jackson as a store-and-loft building, the ground floor has full-height cast-iron shutters with ornate moldings between cast-iron piers. Two bays retain transom grilles above these shutters which originally provided security so that the transoms could be left open to ventilate the goods stored within the building. Above the base, the reddish-brown brick facade is four bays wide, and each story is marked by a continuous stone sill and a continuous lintel course composed of splayed brick voussoirs between rough-cut stone keystones and imposts. A paneled and bracketed brick cornice crowns the building.

The building's location next door to the Mercantile Exchange set the course for its use. In 1895, it was occupied by a butter merchant for storage and distribution of his product, and in 1965, it was purchased by the Columbia Cheese Corporation which continues in ownership. The upper floors are currently used as residential apartments.