Irish Arts Center (New York City, New York)

 theatre, arts center

5-story theater building originally completed in 1917, and formerly housing an automotive service, but almost completely rebuilt in 2019. The old yellow brick facade is incorporated into the new building, and the L-shaped complex also includes the existing Irish Arts Center building at 553 West 51st, which is a 3-story building with a 1-story rear addition. The new theater will contain a contemporary new performance space with seating for 200 and standing room, a ground floor café and visual arts display space; studio and library classrooms to support education and artistic development; a multi-floor atrium; four dressing rooms and back-of-house facilities; production and operations offices; an excavated basement and roof for mechanical and electrical systems and storage; and technological capability to support an expanded digital platform. The Irish Arts Center (a New York-based arts and cultural center dedicated to projecting a dynamic image of Ireland and Irish America for the 21st century) was founded in 1972, and operated out of a former tenement building at 553 West 51st.

The new building is designed by Davis Brody Bond and the Office of Public Works Ireland. Most of the ground floor has large plate-glass windows in four bays (with glass double-doors in the south bay), all below transoms, and framed by limestone across the top and at the north edge. The north end of the ground floor is clad in brick, with a set of metal service doors, and the upper floors are also brick. They have five bays, with tall 2nd-floor windows, incised spandrels below the 3rd floor, and double-height windows at the 4th-5th floors.

The 51st Street 3-story building is clad in white-painted stucco. The ground floor has a set of red metal service doors at the left, a white metal service door near the middle, and a red metal door on the right. The upper floors have three bays of single-windows, and the facade is crowned by a green metal roof cornice with console brackets (paired in the middle) and panels. To the east, the double-height, 1-story annex building is clad in beige brick, with a mural painted at the base.