New York City Rescue Mission

 1860s construction, shelter housing

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6-story homeless shelter building originally completed in the 1860s as a 3-story structure. It soon housed the New York City Rescue Mission, the city's oldest homeless shelter. It was founded by Jerry McAuley in 1872 after serving a prison stint for burglarizing merchant ships on the East River. The mission's first location was on Water Street, and known as the McAuley Water Street Mission. In 2012, new construction was begun to add three additional floors on top, effectively doubling the mission's space and increasing the number of beds from 100 to 240.

The lower original floors are clad in tan brick. During the renovation and expansion, broad beige-painted smooth-stuccoed bands were added between the floors of the Lafayette Street facade, framed at the top and bottom by white-painted band courses. The band courses from the top of each floor carry around the corner onto the White Street facade. The new upper floors are faced in beige smooth-stucco, with white band courses above each floor. On Lafayette, the two lower floors are divided into four wide bays, with the entrance at the corner, and four-paned window openings in the other bays. Above, each floor has seven bays of double-windows, with an additional single window at the north end of the top three floors. On White Street, there is one tall multi-paned window at the 2nd floor, and three bays of double-windows at each floor above. Both facades are capped by a modest cornice with stone coping.