Martiny's Bar (New York City, New York)

 bar, commercial building

2-story Romanesque-revival commercial building originally completed in 1854 as a carriage house for J.O. Ward. By 1888 it had been remodeled by sculptor Philip Martiny for his studio. Shortly before 1900, Martiny moved to another studio, and the former carriage house was taken over by another sculptor, George T. Brewster. Brewster would become best known for his sculptural portraits and figures for war memorials. Working from the former carriage house, he produced commissions that included the figure of Victory for the Indiana Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument in Indianapolis; the statue of Stephen Decatur on New York City’s Dewey Triumphal Arch; and a bas-relief portrait of Augustus Saint-Gaudens for the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C.

In 1918 Pepe & Brother remodeled No. 121 East 17th Street to artists’ studios. It was briefly leased by the German Masonic Temple Association in 1933; but was converted in 1935 by architect Alfred A. Tearle into a 2-story restaurant. It was home in the first years of the 21st century to publishing firm Fletcher & Parry “The Carriage House”, and then again renovated back into a restaurant called The House. That establishment closed in 2020, replaced two years later by Martiny's cocktail bar, named after the sculptor who first used the old building as a studio.

The facade is clad in red brick. There is a low brick wall in front, and an entrance at the left. The dominating feature of the facade is a 2-story round-arch in the middle, where original stable doors would have been. To the right the ground floor has a smaller round-arched window, and flanking the top of the main arch are two circular openings outlined in brick, both with an octagonal window. The facade is crowned by a black metal roof cornice with large modillions.

The east facade has five bays, the outer ones paired, with round-arched windows on the ground floor, and more circular openings at the 2nd floor. The round-arched windows all have brick voussoirs with brownstone imposts and keystones. The roof cornice continues along this facade as well.