37 West 20th Street

 office building  Add category

130-foot, 12-story Renaissance-revival office building completed in 1910. Designed by Sommerfeld & Steckler as a store-and-loft building, it is clad in red brick with contrasting stone and terra-cotta trim. The facade is five bays wide and is composed of a 3-story base, a 7-story midsection, and a 2-story crown. Stone piers, which have capitals ornamented with palmettes in low relief, rise to the 2nd floor and are surmounted by a cornice. These piers separate ground-floor storefronts in the three center bays, which have modern metal and glass infill. Entrances with molded lintels are located at each end bay; the entrances retains have ornate iron grillework at the transom level. The 2nd floor has original tripartite windows.

The 3rd floor has stone piers ornamented with panels of fleur-de-lis and rosettes. The 4th through the 12th floors are articulated by brick piers and slightly recessed spandrel panels which are framed in stone. Ornamental brackets at the 10th and 12th floors are surmounted by stone string courses. The original modillioned copper roof cornice is extant, with some replacement panels.

The western elevation, visible above the adjacent Limelight Market (formerly the Church of the Holy Communion Rectory), is clad in red brick and has metal-framed windows with stone sills and lintels. The eastern elevation is of light brown brick and has narrow metal-framed windows.

The building was constructed for Brody, Adler & Koch, who leased loft space to a number of cloak and suit, tea gown and shirtwaist merchants. The ground floor is occupied by PID Floors, Nosa sushi bar, and Boxers NYC sports bar.