Cornell Iron Works Building (New York City, New York)

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6-story office building completed in 1891. Designed by George B. Cornell as a factory for his father, John M. Cornell's, iron works, one of the city’s principal producers of ornamental brass and iron in the 19th century. The double-height ground floor has a lower wall of stone, with the rest clad in red brick. The three double-height rounded archways at the base feature concentric relieving arches. A brick cornice above first story features dentil and dog-tooth courses.

The upper floors are also clad in red brick, with segmental-arched windows divided into threes by brick piers with carved stone heads between floors. There is brick corbelling and a brick cornice with dentils and dog-tooth courses above the 5th floor. The bays of the top floors have four round-arched window openings with brick relieving arches and projecting arched banding. The roof line has a stepped brick parapet with bluestone coping, and with projecting brick pinnacle-like elements above each pier. The exposed western elevation has a plain red brick facade on the right half, with four bays of segmental-arched windows grouped on the left half.

The building was constructed to house the Cornell Iron Works and had a stable at the first story. At its peak, the company employed some 1,200 people. In 1908 the building at No. 555 was purchased by the Standard Oil Company, used for its branch offices and warehousing. The depth of the building was increased in 1941, apparently around the time ownership was taken over by the G.B.R. Realty Corporation, who continued to use the building as a warehouse. The Noma Electric Company, manufacturers of insulated wire and cable and once considered the most innovative and largest Christmas lighting company in the world, purchased the building in 1951 and used it as offices and for storage. In 1965, the building was leased by the Clipper Warehouse and Trucking Company. The building is presently occupied, like many in the West Chelsea neighborhood, by art-related businesses and galleries, including Gallery Henoch, Dillon Gallery, and KGB.