622-626 Broadway (New York City, New York)

 office building  Add category

6-story Neo-Grec office building completed in 1882 as a store-and-loft building. Designed by Henry Fernbach, the Broadway facades are grey-painted cast-iron, while that on Crosby Street is faced in brick. The main Broadway facade is divided into a northern section of four bays, and a southern section of six bays. The ground-floor infill in the northern section has been completely replaced, but the south section still has the Corinthian columns with fluted bases standing on tall plinths. The bays on the upper floors are divided by similar columns. There is a Greek-fret motif below each 2nd-floor window; the other floors are all divided by dentiled cornices. The windows of the top floor are segmental-arched with keystones, and the facade is topped by a bracketed roof cornice with a swag-decorated frieze (simplified on the southern section).

The white-painted brick rear facade on Crosby Street has simple, tall windows; the northern bay of the south section has been filled-in. All the window openings still have hinges for the now-removed exterior shutters. The facade is capped by a corbelled cornice. The building has a small central light between the two sections.

The two sections of the facade are due to it being constructed in two stages, with a firewall in between. The building was occupied by small manufacturers well into the 20th century. In 1971, it was severely damaged by fire, and thereafter renovated as an office building. The ground floor is occupied by Best Buy and Journeys stores.