Arnhold Hall

USA / New Jersey / Hoboken / West 13th Street, 55
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9-story university building completed in 1894 as an annex for Macy's. Designed by William Schickel & Co. for Nathan and Isidor Straus, who had gained controlling interest in the business in 1888 following Rowland H. Macy's death in 1877, the 13th Street annex was completed in two halves - the western one begun in 1891 and completed the following year, and extended to the east in 1893-94. A narrow 14th Street Annex was added in 1897; the two buildings were joined by a narrow connection while Macy's occupied them.

The 13th Street building was purchased by The New School and houses its College of Performing Arts, including classrooms, practice rooms and performance spaces designed for music and drama students. Further renovations were begun in 2015, including converting the ground floor to a glass-encased theater allowing people on the street to peek at shows as they walk by. The building has four bays of three windows.

The 2-story base has limestone piers banded with textured stone, sitting on granite bases, and topped by black cast-iron modified-Ionic capitals. They support a broad stone band framed on the bottom by a band of cast-iron egg-and-dart molding, and on the top by a dentiled cornice. ARNHOLD HALL is spelled out on the stone band above the base. The cast-iron spandrels between the two floors are decorated with shields framed by acanthus leaves.

The upper floors are clad in reddish-brown brick, with cartouches on the piers at the 4th & 8th floors. The 8th floor has segmental-arched windows, and the top floor has round attic windows heavily ornamented by carvings. The facade is crowned by a green projecting roof cornice with modillions and dentils.
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Coordinates:   40°44'11"N   73°59'47"W
This article was last modified 9 years ago