Our Newest Federal-Era Landmarks

At their March 27th public meeting, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated four individual landmarks located in Hudson Square.  These new landmarks – 32 Dominick Street, 34 Dominick Street, 36 Dominick Street and 310 Spring Street – are in or just outside the area of the proposed Hudson Square rezoning, about which GVSHP and fellow community groups just held a well-attended community meeting.

According to the designation reports, the three buildings at 32, 34 and 36 Dominick Street were originally part of a row of five Federal houses constructed by builder Smith Bloomfield c. 1826. No. 32 still retains its 2 1/2 stories and dormer windows; alterations to nos. 34 and 36, which included the third floor additions, were completed c. 1866. Their survival is particularly noteworthy since the construction of the Holland Tunnel from 1919-1927 included an entry ramp which goes almost directly under these houses, and was followed by a change in the character of this area from a small-scale row house district to one characterized by large loft buildings (read more about the Holland Tunnel’s history and impact on this neighborhood with our blog post about the Tunnel Garage) . For more information on these buildings, view the designation reports available on our Resources page.

The fourth designated landmark, 310 Spring Street, dates even earlier. Built c. 1818-19, 310 Spring Street is located near Renwick Street and is the last extant building of its era on that block.  It was built for Dennison and Lydia Wood and stands as a reminder of the building boom that occurred in this area in the late 1810s. Its location near the Hudson River is also significant; Dennison Wood was a ship captain who transported cotton from Savannah to New York until 1830. It’s no easy feat for a building like this to survive almost 200 years in New York, so be sure to check out more of its history in the designation report on our Resources page.

Since conducting a late 1990s study, GVSHP has been active in advocating for the protection of a number of Federal-era row houses, a once prominent building type that has become increasingly rare as the years go on. To read more about our efforts saving these gems of the early republic, see our page here. The Landmarks Preservation Commission has designated 9 of 13 Federal houses from our list, though they voted to remove two of the remaining buildings, 94 and 94 1/2 Greenwich Street, from their calendar.

Want to learn more about federal rowhouses?  Check out our report documenting the scores of federal houses in Lower Manhattan we have been able to get landmarked and/or listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1997 here.