Architecture And Design

May 24, 2021

10 secrets of the Brooklyn Bridge

On May 24, 1883, throngs of New Yorkers came to the Manhattan and Brooklyn waterfronts to celebrate the opening of what was then known as the New York and Brooklyn Bridge. It was reported that 1,800 vehicles and 150,300 people total crossed what was then the only land passage between Brooklyn and Manhattan. The bridge--later dubbed the Brooklyn Bridge, a name that stuck--went on to become one of the most iconic landmarks in New York. There's been plenty of history, and secrets, along the way. Lesser-known facts about the bridge include everything from hidden wine cellars to a parade of 21 elephants crossing in 1884. To celebrate the anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge, 6sqft rounded up its top 10 most intriguing secrets.
All the secrets right this way

In Hudson Heights, this rare Castle Village cottage is asking $1.65M

Photo by Empire Optix

May 21, 2021

In Hudson Heights, this rare Castle Village cottage is asking $1.65M

By Dana Schulz

Castle Village is not exactly a castle anymore. It's so named because developer Charles V. Paterno built the five-building co-op complex in 1939 on the site of his former castle-like residence, on the highest bluff above the Hudson River. But there is one remnant of the original estate that remains--four townhouse-like cottages that were once the castle's outbuildings. It's very rare that one of these homes hits the market, but here we have number four asking $1,650,000. The charming home has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a finished basement, and a sunroom and patio that overlook the Hudson River and gardens below.
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In Carroll Gardens, this unique $6M home was originally Brooklyn’s first kindergarten

Photo credit: Andrew Kiracofe for Sotheby’s International Realty

May 20, 2021

In Carroll Gardens, this unique $6M home was originally Brooklyn’s first kindergarten

By Dana Schulz

Two-and-a-half years ago, the former schoolhouse at 236 President Street in Carroll Gardens was designated an official NYC landmark for its Beaux-Arts architecture, connection to local immigrant history, and the fact that it was Brooklyn's first kindergarten. The designation came after the then single-family home was slated for demolition to make way for a condo but neighbors and preservationists rallied to save it. Now, the five-bedroom, nearly 4,000-square-foot home (it's currently configured as a two-family residence) is on the market for $5,995,000.
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Hamilton Heights brownstone from ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ can be booked on Airbnb for $20/night

All photos courtesy of Regina Fleming Photography

May 19, 2021

Hamilton Heights brownstone from ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ can be booked on Airbnb for $20/night

By Devin Gannon

Last week, the Hamilton Heights house made famous in Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums hit the rental market for $20,000 per month. This week, Airbnb announced the iconic mansion will be available to book this Memorial Day Weekend for just $20 per night. Bookings will open on May 26 at noon for one, two-night stay at the 1899 brownstone beginning May 29.
Get the details

$6M Beechhurst home is like a waterfront Mediterranean villa in Queens

Listing photos courtesy of Douglas Elliman

May 19, 2021

$6M Beechhurst home is like a waterfront Mediterranean villa in Queens

By Dana Schulz

It's hard to believe this waterfront villa is in New York City, however, it is not in the Mediterranean but rather in Queens. Located in a gated community in Beechhurst, a waterfront neighborhood in the northeastern section of the borough, the seven-bedroom home has a Florida room, wine cellar, 20-foot mahogany foyer, and a 3-4 car garage. Out back, there's a huge covered outdoor kitchen, a large pool with a hot tub, a dock for a 60-foot boat, and amazing views of the Throgs Neck Bridge. It's on the market for $5,950,000.
Take a tour

Historic Gothic-Revival mansion in Riverdale asks $7M

Listing photos courtesy of Douglas Elliman

May 19, 2021

Historic Gothic-Revival mansion in Riverdale asks $7M

By Dana Schulz

Known as the Alderbrook Mansion, this Gothic-Revival home in the Bronx is one of the two oldest villas in the historic Park-Riverdale neighborhood, and it can now be yours for $6,995,000. It was built in 1858 as a summer residence for Percy R. Pyne, president of the National City Bank of New York, and its architecture was inspired by the designs and writings of Andrew Jackson Downing and Calvert Vaux. In the early 20th century, the mansion was home to famed sculptor Elie Nadelman. Designated a NYC landmark in 2010, the home today offers stunning landscaping and three floors of living space including eight bedrooms, six-and-a-half bathrooms, and a home gym.
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New renderings revealed for the 1,646-foot tower that may rise next to Grand Central

175 Park Avenue, looking northeast. Rendering by Ekoomedia, Inc. / Courtesy of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

May 18, 2021

New renderings revealed for the 1,646-foot tower that may rise next to Grand Central

By Dana Schulz

In February, we got our first look at the 1,646-foot tower proposed for the Grand Hyatt site next to Grand Central. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the sustainable mixed-use building would rise 83 stories and become the second-tallest tower in NYC behind One World Trade Center. Though 175 Park Avenue takes advantage of the Midtown East Rezoning, developers RXR Realty and TF Cornerstone are still seeking several special zoning permits, including those for hotel use and added height in exchange for transit and infrastructure improvements. To obtain these variances, the project has now entered the city's Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP), and with it, has revealed several new renderings.
All the details here

Funky $995K Midtown penthouse was made from a mechanical room and a shipping container

Listing photos courtesy of The Corcoran Group

May 12, 2021

Funky $995K Midtown penthouse was made from a mechanical room and a shipping container

By Dana Schulz

The vision of award-winning design studio LOT-EK, this Midtown West penthouse is truly unique. The main living area was transformed from the building's former mechanical room, and it's topped off by a bedroom suite created from a 20-foot shipping container. The whole industrial-style interior features concrete walls and exposed steel pipes and beams, and it's all surrounded by a lush wrap-around terrace overlooking the Empire State Building. Located at 31 West 31st Street, it's on the market for the first time since it was built in 1996, and it's asking $995,000.
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A self-filtering floating pool is officially coming to the East River

+ POOL, designed by Family New York & PLAYLAB, INC. Rendering by Luxigon

May 11, 2021

A self-filtering floating pool is officially coming to the East River

By Devin Gannon

A plan to build a swimming pool on the East River is finally moving forward after being in the works for over a decade. In an Instagram post published on Saturday, the nonprofit +POOL announced the group had received confirmation from the city to proceed with due diligence on their project: a floating, self-filtering pool on the south side of Pier 35 on the Lower East Side.
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Macy’s unveils $235M plan for public space and subway accessibility with new Herald Square tower

Renderings by FXCollaborative

May 11, 2021

Macy’s unveils $235M plan for public space and subway accessibility with new Herald Square tower

By Dana Schulz

It's been two years since Macy's first floated the idea of building a 700-950 foot office tower atop its Herald Square flagship, and it looks like the plan is getting closer to reality thanks to a $235 million private investment in transit accessibility and public infrastructure. This includes upgraded subway access, improved transit connections, ADA-accessible elevators, and a modernized car-free Herald Square and Broadway Plaza.
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Architecture And Design

For just $865K, you can live in this beautiful converted church in Connecticut

By Dana Schulz

In Weston, Connecticut, about an hour-and-a-half drive from NYC, you can buy this amazingly converted church for $865,000, the price of a very tiny one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. Built in 1890, the former Swedish church has been transformed into a quirky yet beautiful single-family home, complete with stained-glass windows, cathedral ceilings, and wooden ceilings beams. At 2,382 square feet, it has three bedrooms, plus a lovely rear patio.
See it all here

Brooklyn Public Library reveals Central Library redesign by Toshiko Mori

All photos by Gregg Richards

May 7, 2021

Brooklyn Public Library reveals Central Library redesign by Toshiko Mori

By Dana Schulz

This week, the Brooklyn Public Library revealed the first phase of a major remodel of its Central Library on Grand Army Plaza. Designed by renowned architect Toshiko Mori, the undertaking was the single largest renovation and restoration in the Central Library’s 80-year history. The modern, light-filled rooms now provide more accessible space for the public, which includes civic commons for community engagement (providing city and passport services), a "new and noteworthy" book gallery, and an enlarged and modernized business and career center.
Take a tour

Architecture And Design

$348M restoration of Riverside Park is part of largest investment in 90 years

Photo of Riverside Park by Momos on Wikimedia

May 6, 2021

$348M restoration of Riverside Park is part of largest investment in 90 years

By Devin Gannon

The city announced this week plans to provide $348 million in funding for the rehabilitation of major infrastructure in Riverside Park, marking one of the largest investments at the waterfront park since the 1930s. The project restores the "overbuild," a series of bridge structures built over the Amtrak tunnels between West 72nd and West 123rd Streets. The deteriorated structure has damaged pathways and affected the park's usability, according to the city.
More here

Architecture And Design

18th-century Sag Harbor home with shiplap ceilings and custom ironwork asks $3.25M

Listing photos courtesy of The Corcoran Group

May 6, 2021

18th-century Sag Harbor home with shiplap ceilings and custom ironwork asks $3.25M

By Dana Schulz

In Sag Harbor Village, this $3,250,000 house shares all the history of its neighborhood. It was built in 1792 but updated with a modern take on its 18th-century origins. Throughout you'll find handcrafted millwork and ironwork, wide-plank oak floors, and shiplap ceiling with exposed wood beams. And it's just steps to both Sag Harbor Cove and all the shops and restaurants along Main Street.
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See restoration plans for the historic Orchard Beach Pavilion in the Bronx

View of the Upper and Lower Promenades, Cafeteria, and South Loggia, Looking South (1936); Images courtesy of Marvel/ NYC Parks/ NYCEDC

May 5, 2021

See restoration plans for the historic Orchard Beach Pavilion in the Bronx

By Devin Gannon

The landmarked bathhouse and pavilion at Orchard Beach in the Bronx will be restored to its original 1930s design and become more accessible to the public. The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday voted to approve plans from architecture firm Marvel, the Parks Department, and the city's Economic Development Corporation to reconstruct the deteriorating architectural gem. The project includes reinstalling and restoring limestone cladding, repairing the upper-level loggias, adding an ADA accessible ramp, and building an enclosed restaurant or event space.
Get the details

See the new $7M park coming to the Williamsburg waterfront

Rendering courtesy of NYC Parks

April 27, 2021

See the new $7M park coming to the Williamsburg waterfront

By Devin Gannon

Construction officially kicked off this month at a new section of the Bushwick Inlet Park in Williamsburg. The long-awaited two-acre green space, dubbed 50 Kent, is scheduled to open in April 2022. Designs of the parkland, which was promised by the city as part of the 2005 rezoning of the Greenpoint and Williamsburg waterfront, were approved in 2018, but work stalled due to COVID-related budget cuts, as Brooklyn Paper reported.
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Architecture And Design

For $3.5M, you can own this entire 18th-century farm set on 17 acres in New Canaan

Listing photos courtesy of Houlihan Lawrence

April 22, 2021

For $3.5M, you can own this entire 18th-century farm set on 17 acres in New Canaan

By Dana Schulz

For the price of a not-huge Manhattan apartment, you can own this entire 17.5-acre farm in New Canaan, Connecticut, just one hour from NYC. The Extown Farmhouse was originally constructed circa 1776 in the Georgian vernacular style, and it retains much of its original character including structural timber framing, woodwork, floorboards, and fireplace mantels. Also on the property are a main barn with a silo, a three-bay garage, a restored farmhouse cottage, a wood shed, hobby house, chicken coop, turnkey shed, smoke house, large raised-bed vegetable garden, and a fruit orchard.
Look around

April 13, 2021

20 underground and secret NYC attractions you need to check out

By Devin Gannon

While visiting the major, most popular attractions of New York City can be fun, it can also be stressful, overwhelming and full of selfie-taking tourists. However, the great thing about the Big Apple is that plenty of other attractions exist that are far less known or even hidden in plain sight. To go beyond the tourist-filled sites and tour the city like you're seeing it for the very first time, check out 6sqft's list ahead of the 20 best underground, secret spots in New York City.
More this way

Prospect Park’s colorful Concert Grove Pavilion with star-shaped stained-glass skylight reopens

Photos by Paul Martinka for the Prospect Park Alliance

April 8, 2021

Prospect Park’s colorful Concert Grove Pavilion with star-shaped stained-glass skylight reopens

By Devin Gannon

After being closed to the public for nearly seven years, the historic Concert Grove Pavilion in Prospect Park reopened this week following a restoration. Designed in 1874 by Calvert Vaux, who co-designed the Brooklyn park with Frederick Law Olmsted, the stunning structure features colorfully painted wood ceilings and iron columns, ornate wooden trim, and a star-patterned stained-glass dome.
See more here

Architecture And Design

April 5, 2021

Phillips auction house readies to open white-cube location at 432 Park

By Dana Schulz

British auction house Phillips is getting ready for its June move into the white, glassy cube base of supertall 432 Park Avenue. Designed by studioMDA’s Markus Dochantschi, the 35,000-square-foot concourse space at 56th Street will be the only Manhattan auction room visible from the street, breaking down "the classical typology of the 'auction behind closed doors,'" according to a press release. It will have a grand auction room, exhibition galleries, viewing rooms, and a VIP mezzanine.
More info here

Architecture And Design

Get a sneak peek of the Waldorf Astoria’s restored Grand Ballroom

Rendering courtesy of Waldorf Astoria New York

March 26, 2021

Get a sneak peek of the Waldorf Astoria’s restored Grand Ballroom

By Dana Schulz

It's been four years since the Waldorf Astoria closed its doors for a restoration and reimagination that will bring 375 luxury condos to the storied landmark. And since then, the team has been teasing out renderings of what we can expect when the Waldorf finally reopens in early 2023. The latest is a look at the Grand Ballroom, one of the largest in NYC (it can accommodate more than 1,000 people) that's hosted the likes of JFK, Queen Elizabeth II, and Grace Kelly. The Art Deco space is an interior landmark, and the restoration will return it to its 1931 splendor.
More details and views here

Hudson River tow pound at Pier 76 to open as a public park in June

All photos courtesy of NY State Parks on Flickr

March 24, 2021

Hudson River tow pound at Pier 76 to open as a public park in June

By Devin Gannon

A former New York City Police Department tow-pound on the Hudson River will open as a public park this summer, more than 20 years after the state designated the lot as future open space. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday said work at Pier 76 has already begun, with an expected opening date as early as June 1. The plan for the 5.6-acre park aligns with the governor's ambitious $51 billion redevelopment of over 100 acres of Midtown West, announced earlier this year.
Find out more

Architecture And Design

Design concept transforms shipping containers into outdoor stages for NYC

All images courtesy of Marvel

March 18, 2021

Design concept transforms shipping containers into outdoor stages for NYC

By Devin Gannon

As the weather warms up, so will New York City's arts and culture scene. The city's Open Culture program that allows institutions to put on ticketed shows and events kicked off this month, preceded by the state's NY PopsUp initiative, which promises to present over 300 unannounced concerts and performances statewide. Providing another way for New Yorkers to safely enjoy live performances again, architecture firm Marvel has developed a concept that converts portable shipping containers into stages for outdoor theatrical and musical productions.
Find out more

Architecture And Design

Plan for massive towers and public beach in Williamsburg moves ahead with new looks

All renderings courtesy of James Corner Field Operations and BIG- Bjarke Ingels Group

March 18, 2021

Plan for massive towers and public beach in Williamsburg moves ahead with new looks

By Devin Gannon

The proposal to construct two mixed-use skyscrapers and a public beach on the North Brooklyn waterfront is moving forward, although with an updated design, timeline, and name. As first reported by Brooklyn Paper, Two Trees Management is preparing to start the city's uniform land use review procedure (ULURP) in the coming weeks for its project "River Ring," which includes two huge towers designed by Bjarke Ingels with more than 1,000 units of housing, a YMCA, and an environmentally-conscious park with a cove and beach.
Details this way

Radio City Music Hall is getting a rooftop park and skybridge

Rendering by G3 Architecture Interiors Planning; Courtesy of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

March 16, 2021

Radio City Music Hall is getting a rooftop park and skybridge

By Devin Gannon

A skybridge that leads to a landscaped rooftop park is coming to Radio City Music Hall. The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday approved plans from G3 Architecture Interiors Planning and Tishman Speyer to construct a simple pedestrian bridge clad in statuary bronze that would connect the building at 1270 Avenue of the Americas to the planned roof garden atop the historic theater, which will be amenity space for Rockefeller Center tenants. Interconnected green terraces were part of the original architectural vision for the Rockefeller Center complex and this project, to be called Radio Park, will finally bring the plan to fruition.
See it here

Architecture And Design

10 secrets of the Brooklyn Bridge

In Hudson Heights, this rare Castle Village cottage is asking $1.65M

In Carroll Gardens, this unique $6M home was originally Brooklyn’s first kindergarten

Hamilton Heights brownstone from ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ can be booked on Airbnb for $20/night

$6M Beechhurst home is like a waterfront Mediterranean villa in Queens

Historic Gothic-Revival mansion in Riverdale asks $7M

New renderings revealed for the 1,646-foot tower that may rise next to Grand Central

Funky $995K Midtown penthouse was made from a mechanical room and a shipping container

A self-filtering floating pool is officially coming to the East River

Macy’s unveils $235M plan for public space and subway accessibility with new Herald Square tower

For just $865K, you can live in this beautiful converted church in Connecticut

Brooklyn Public Library reveals Central Library redesign by Toshiko Mori

$348M restoration of Riverside Park is part of largest investment in 90 years

18th-century Sag Harbor home with shiplap ceilings and custom ironwork asks $3.25M

See restoration plans for the historic Orchard Beach Pavilion in the Bronx

Stephen Sondheim's Turtle Bay townhouse is on the market for $7M

See the new $7M park coming to the Williamsburg waterfront

For $3.5M, you can own this entire 18th-century farm set on 17 acres in New Canaan

20 underground and secret NYC attractions you need to check out

Prospect Park’s colorful Concert Grove Pavilion with star-shaped stained-glass skylight reopens

Phillips auction house readies to open white-cube location at 432 Park

Get a sneak peek of the Waldorf Astoria’s restored Grand Ballroom

Hudson River tow pound at Pier 76 to open as a public park in June

Design concept transforms shipping containers into outdoor stages for NYC

Plan for massive towers and public beach in Williamsburg moves ahead with new looks

Radio City Music Hall is getting a rooftop park and skybridge

1 Beekman Place in Turtle Bay

Architecture And Design

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