Bancroft Building

 historical layer / disappeared object, Renaissance Revival (architecture)

10-story Renaissance-revival office building completed in 1896. Designed by R.H. Robertson as a store-and-lofts building. Six stories of red brick and white stone are sandwiched between a limestone top floor and a three-story rusticated limestone base. The stone bands and voussoirs create a vibrant contrast with the rich red brick. The each end of the roof are pinnacles to match to next-door Marble Collegiate Church.

Among the first tenants were a surprising number of architects. Later came makers of surgical equipment, and photography equipment, as well as a number of publishers. One notable tenant was Alfred Stieglitz's Camera Club of New York, whose space in the Bancroft Building not only included the expected darkrooms, labs and camera equipment; it reportedly had all the amenities of an upscale club, including a library. In 1915 Eden Manufacturing Company was one of the first of many clothing firms to move in.

In the second half of the 20th century Marble Collegiate Church acquired the Bancroft Building. In 1961 a renovation was completed resulting in meeting, religious, chapel and social rooms on the first floor and offices and a Sunday school on the second. There are currently proposals to erect a modern highrise on this site.

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