21 West 35th Street

USA / New Jersey / West New York / West 35th Street, 21
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2-story Second Empire-style mixed-use building originally completed in the 1860s as a 5-story townhouse for Thomas and Amelia Goadby. It originally had a broad stoop and high English basement. In 1991 the stoop was removed and a new show window was installed at sidewalk level as the interior was renovated for commercial use; the Elder Coin & Curio Company moved in. As the Great Depression neared, the commercial space was less exclusive. Home to the American Dog Exchange, it now had kennels built in the back yard under a tin roof extension. In the 1970s Golf Tours, Inc. was located here.

Little by little, over the decades, the architectural detailing of Thomas Goadby’s grand house fell away, until only the mansard above the cornice, with its slate fish-scale shingles, dormers and iron cresting remained intact. Meanwhile O'Reilly's restaurant had moved into the 2-story storefront. In 2011, the building was renovated, with the lower two floors painted black. The restored upper floors, set back slightly from the storefront, were clad in pre-weathered orange brick, with three windows on each of the 3rd & 4th floors, framed in white and having small, iron balconettes. A tall vertical sign for O'Reilly's was attached to the east end of the storefront and extends upward, braced by metal supports around the 3rd floor. The top floor, with its restored slate mansard roof, was pierce by two dormers with peaked pediments, and the ridgeline of the roof is topped by decorative iron cresting.

In 2019, all three upper floors were demolished.
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Coordinates:   40°44'59"N   73°59'6"W
This article was last modified 2 years ago