Baudoine Building (New York City, New York)

 office building  Add category

154-foot, 11-story Neo-Classical office building completed in 1895. Designed by Alfred Zucker, the Baudouine Building was one of the first high-rise commercial structures built in this district. Charles Baudouine (1808-95), a successful cabinet maker who in his later life owned numerous commercial properties in Manhattan, was among the earliest developers of office and loft buildings in the area.

The building has ten main floors, and is topped by a large, meticulously-detailed Greco-Roman temple. The 4-story rusticated stone base has paneled spandrels and a bracketed cornice with metopes and guttae. It is three bays wide on Broadway, with the doorway to the upper floors at the south end. To the right is a storefront topped by a tall signage bulkhead, in turn topped by a dentiled cornice. The 2nd-4th floors have rusticated outer piers. The 3-window bays are outlined by egg-and-dart moldings, while the pilasters have herringbone patterns, and the spandrels are outlined in Greek-fret patterns, with dentiled bands above and below the windows.

The brick upper floors feature quoins, projecting window sills, terra-cotta keystones featuring masks and anthemion, applied lettering "BAUDOINE BUILDING" above the 7th floor, bracketed moldings, and banded stone and splayed lintels at the 10th floor. Above the 10th-floor cornice is a roof tower featuring Ionic order and a carved triangular pediment.

The north facade on 28th Street is eight bays wide, with similar ornament as the Broadway facade, including the tower at the east section of the roof; to the west is a carved triangular roof pediment above the 10th floor.

The south elevation is faced in brick and cement stucco, with a single bay of windows to the left of a large sign. There are two windows at the 11th-floor tower, and a small triple-window at the top of the regular bay of windows. A brick elevator bulkhead and round water tower rise above the roof line. The west elevation is clad in brown brick with a single bay of windows. Near the top is a painted sign, and on the roof is a chimney stack near the front and an elevator bulkhead at the rear. The ground floor is occupied by Day Dream dispensary, L&J Pretty Jewelry, and DRM Jewelry.