tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post3891868309681651657..comments2024-03-26T04:26:04.911-07:00Comments on Lost City: THE UNION STREET PROJECT: 153 Union StreetBrooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-38976599393085701342014-05-18T20:07:47.366-07:002014-05-18T20:07:47.366-07:00Hi....it seems i remember going with my mother to ...Hi....it seems i remember going with my mother to "Frank the Butcher" at this storefront on Union. Might that help in the "history"? lorenzolorenzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05851971975920690951noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-18701567475600322462012-10-22T11:51:49.290-07:002012-10-22T11:51:49.290-07:00Look at the building very carefully. The surrounds...Look at the building very carefully. The surrounds of the windows are the same as are the number of courses of bricks between tops and bottoms of windows. Those aren't French doors but French windows. The only bricks changed were in the cornice and likely the result of repointing. Not much was removed at all. Same facade but different windows and simpler brick at top.Mark Anoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-51634109492206771092011-06-22T11:59:19.470-07:002011-06-22T11:59:19.470-07:00Hmmm....I think Lor is onto something here. The fr...Hmmm....I think Lor is onto something here. The french doors in the center of the second floor look to have an awning that could extend out over the balcony, and when I enlarged the shot a little it looks to me as though one of the doors is open and there is a chair on the right side of the balcony, a chair with a wooden frame, the back oval shaped, and bearing tufted upholstery. All the decorative brickwork is gone, for sure and it seems more probably to me that the old facade was pulled down and replaced with the existing one rather than trying to put a second facade over the first, because it would be tricky to tie the two together.upstate Johnny Gnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-30604717235554183412011-06-21T17:38:17.945-07:002011-06-21T17:38:17.945-07:00Oh I know landlords do that - and its awful. But t...Oh I know landlords do that - and its awful. But the scale of the original openings is much bigger than it shows in the existing photo. And the elimination of all that ornate brickwork indicates a complete re-facing of the facade. There isn't even a second layer of brickwork to say that the original was covered up. That facade has been rebuilt, without a doubt. If I still had access to the NYC's building dept. web site, I would look up the building permits to show that such a major construction project occurred. SO interesting! <br /><br />And I promise to start commenting more. I read it all the time. It is my responsibility to comment. Promise.Lorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05898688828909058557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-43693592036635415182011-06-21T16:54:00.935-07:002011-06-21T16:54:00.935-07:00In the past three decades, a lot of landlords, whe...In the past three decades, a lot of landlords, when faced with rising heating bills, have made the practical decision and ripped out old windows and installed newer ones. The newer frames are uniform and often don't fit the vacancy left by the old ones. I suspect that's what happened here.<br /><br />Thanks for the comment, Lor. Good observation. I wish more people would comment on these posts. They require a lot of work on my part.Brooks of Sheffieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-54110406836867324082011-06-21T16:44:24.376-07:002011-06-21T16:44:24.376-07:00There's something not right about the comparis...There's something not right about the comparison of the photos - the proportions aren't right. The original shows that each balcony-adorned opening had french doors in it - which (being the architect that I am) are of a standard size. The windows in the current building are much smaller than what the opening would have been originally. I suspect that when the the adjacent building was torn down, significant damage was done to the 153, requiring a complete facade replacement. Something along those lines had to have occurred. Otherwise, the existing building and the photograph aren't of the same structure. its intriguing, to say the least.Lorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05898688828909058557noreply@blogger.com