SVA Photography Building (New York City, New York)

USA / New Jersey / West New York / New York City, New York / East 21st Street, 214

7-story school building completed in 1926. Designed by Buchman & Kahn as an office, storage, and lofts building, it is clad in variegated red brick, with some beige terra-cotta trim, and grey granite bases to the large piers at the ground floor. At the center are three large segmental-arches with patterned brick voussoirs, Each has a recessed triparite window arrangement split into upper and lower halves, set in thick black iron framing. The edges of the piers around arches are beveled. The main entrance is at the west end, with bronze-and-glass double-doors set in a polished granite surround and covered by a red canvas box canopy. At the east end is a service entrance with metal double-doors. Above both end bays are large medallions with fleur-de-lis, outlined in brick. The tall ground floor is topped by a black stone band with brick corbelling along the underside.

The upper floors have three bays of 4-over-2 windows and end bays of paired windows. There are brick bands above and below the windows across each floor. At the middle bays, trios of square terra-cotta panels between floor are outlined in brick and have at their centers small squares of foliate ornament, overlaid with diamond shapes. There is a broad terra-cotta band across the top of the 6th floor. The piers at the 7th floor have projecting terra-cotta bands with zig-zag patterns. The facade is topped by a parapet with a mesh brickwork pattern and a stone coping.

The building is now occupied by the School of Visual Art's Photography program.
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Coordinates:   40°44'13"N   73°59'0"W
This article was last modified 9 months ago