This Chinatown door is interesting enough on its own. I mean, look at the crazy amount of detail. The carved doors, the cast iron decorative pillars, the uniquely shaped windows. It's freaking art, this doorway.
But inside, in the vestibule, is where the where the treasure lies. A beautiful, and largely intact, piece of tile work commemorating the men who built the house—either B & M Co. or M & B Co. Can't tell.
Note to developers who want their names to outlive them: Go with tile. Floor ceramics go on forever, and, unlike cornices, always stay in the public view.
It is amazing, not only because it is intrinsically a beautiful thing, but because it is relatively untouched. When I was in Winnipeg, Canada, they had a few blocks of amazing warehouse/office buildings that had the original hardware and windows. That was probably because these structures were not worth destroying to be replaced by something cleaner and more expensive. Amazing that in such a rich city as New York that doorway has not been molested.
ReplyDeleteawesome blog. I follow you from Barcelona!
ReplyDeletewonder what the M stands for
ReplyDeleteWhy? Do you know what the "B" stands for?
ReplyDelete