149 Franklin Street

 Romanesque (architecture), apartment building, 1889_construction

6-story Romanesque-revival residential building completed in 1889. Designed by Charles C. Haight as a warehouse/office building for attorney John E. Parsons. The grid-like facade is divided into one narrow bay and two wide bays by orange brick piers with stone trim and by red cast-iron window framing. At the first-story base, surmounted by a stone cornice, the narrowbay is occupied by the main entrance; a stone arch with carved spandrels is framed by Doric pilasters and an entablature, which in turn is surmounted by paired miniature piers and carved ornament. At each of the wide bays, cast-iron intermediate piers flank several historic wood doors and windows, most with operable wood transoms. An original loading platform survives at the base of the facade.

The 4-story midsection is composed of two identical 2-story sections, each capped by a brick and stone cornice. At the wide bays, groups of three large windows are separated by cast-iron mullions; the narrow bay has only one window. All the windows are separated by spandrels with foliate patterns. At the crown, giant piers are replaced by paired piers; they separate windows arranged as below and support a brick and brownstone cornice. A red metal fire escape runs down the western bay of the front facade. The exposed western elevation is a plain brick wall. The exposed southern elevation is a painted brick wall.

Later tenants of the building have included the Thomas J. Lipton Company, importers; and Levi Berth & Company, merchants of sausage and casings. In 1972 owner Richard L. Giroh converted the "warehouse and factory" into a warehouse and cutting facility for gaskets on the lower stories, with artists' studios on the upper four stories, which are now residential in use. The ground floor is currently occupied by Patron of the New housewares boutique.