Chelsea Castle

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150-foot, 12-story Neo-Gothic office building completed in 1910. Designed by Browne & Almiroty as a factory, it has Gothic accents that include gargoyles, flowers, dragons. The 2-story limestone base has a modern metal-and-glass storefront, flanked by twin entrances. They are framed by grey granite bases and have Gothic-arched doorways with wood-paneled doors and arched transoms. There is Gothic stone ornament above the doorways, framing the end-bay windows at the 2nd floor. In the center of the 2nd floor is a shallow arched opening divided into five windows by pale-green iron mullions and pliasters. A stone cornice with a shield and ribbons in the center caps the base.

The transitional 3rd floor is also clad in stone, with five center windows and two single-windows in the end bays. Each of the windows, as well as the piers framing the end bays, are topped by panels with round Gothic shapes; above the piers, stone gables and decoration extends into the 4th floor. Between the center windows are stone pilasters that have small triangular gables extending above the 3rd floor.

The upper floors have end bays framed by brown brick piers. The brick spandrels between floors have stone bands at top and bottom, and are ornamented with stone shield inscribed in circles. The center bays follow the pattern below, with three single-windows in the middle and double-windows flanking them. All are framed by pale-green iron with Gothic designs on the spandrels and pilasters. A broad, shallow stone arch caps the middle bays at the 10th floor, where the end bays also have segmental-arches; a cornice caps the 10th floor.

At the 2-story crown, the middle bays have five evenly-spaced double-height iron segmental-arches, with balustrades at the spandrels between floors. The end bays are still framed by brick piers, and have similar double-height segmental-arches, but in stone, with quoins at the edges. The center section is topped by a pale green modillioned cornice; the end bays have taller corncies with triangle corbels and finials at the corners.

The side walls are clad in plain brown brick. The ground floor is occupied by Inked NYC.

daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-1910-french-...