Chelsea Atelier Condominium

 condominium, interesting place

148-foot, 12-story Italian/Romanesque manufacturing loft building completed in 1912 for the Second Manhattan Office Building Co./George C. Beach. Designed by Squires & Wynkoop, it is clad in light grey-brown brick and terra-cotta above a 3-story base of bright-tan, rusticated stone with a grey granite water table. The main entrance is at the north end of the west facade on the avenue, with glass double-doors and a transom in a molded surround. The south end has another surround (this one with various bead and floral moldings) and contains glass double-doors serving as an entrance to the metal, glass, and stone storefront in the middle of the ground floor. The 2nd floor has three bays of tripartite windows in the middle, and end bays above the entrances with double-windows with molded surrounds. The 3rd floor is set off by a stone band with an egg-and-dart molding and row of small shield-like elements, and has five bays of paired windows and pointed-dentil moldings. The piers at this floor have fantastically elaborate panels of ornament, including urns, shields, ribbons, and garlands. The base is capped by a stone cornice multiple dentil courses and egg-and-dart and rope moldings.

The upper floors have five bays of paired windows that are divided by beige stone mullions. The spandrels between floors at each bay are stone of a slightly lighter shade than the brick piers, and feature in intricate swirling pattern. The piers are uninterrupted up to the top of the 10th floor, where there is an elaborate stone band with garlands and dentils. The piers at the top two floors have vertical grooving, and the spandrels between these two floors are carved with medallions. The facade is crowned by a terra-cotta roof cornice that curves outward toward the top and has a scored grid pattern interrupted at each bay by a pointed-arch with a shield within a medallion, as well as an ornamented round-arch above each window.

The south facade on 24th Street matches the west facade, but the ground floor has a freight entrance with grey metal double-doors at the east end, painted concrete infill with metal louvers in the middle, and a show-window in the west bay.

The north facade is clad in dark-brown brick and has three bays of small single-windows in the middle, and a larger single-window at each end; an additional window bay at the far east end has been bricked-in. There is no ornament on this facade. The exposed upper floors of the rear, east-facing facade are similar to the north elevation.

Among the first tenants were a corset manufacturer and a paper merchant. The building was converted to residential use in 1996 by Harry Macklowe, with 33 condominium units.

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