Historic building restoration including brick and stone façades and roof.
Henson Architecture was engaged to direct the restoration of this 1886 historic building located in the SoHo Landmark District. Designed in the Queen Anne/ Renaissance Revival styles by H.J. Schwartzmann & Co. Architect and altered in 1898 by the firm of Buchman & Deisler, the building has undergone numerous renovations and housed residences as well as a technical school.
The Puck building, originally the home of the Puck magazine is one of the great surviving buildings from New York’s old publishing and printing district. The red-brick rounded arched structure occupies the entire block bound by Lafayette, Houston, Mulberry and Jersey Streets. It has been one of the most prominent architectural presences in the area since its construction in 1886. The result of three stages of construction, the building and its additions read as a single unified composition because of its supervision by architect Albert Wagner. The style is an adaptation of the Renaissance Revival, which reached popularity in the 1880’s. Henson performed a historic structure report in 2006, which aided the restoration program performed over the course of the following two years.
The restoration program included cast-iron repairs and painting, mortar joint cutting and repainting, brick reconstruction, gilding restoration, window caulking, shutter repairs and painting, roof and coping stone repairs, chimney reconstruction, and façade cleaning. In addition to the restoration program, we executed Local Law 11 inspections and interior plan reviews. Presently, the Puck building houses office and event space and is home to New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. This iconic New York City landmark remains one of the most striking 19th century industrial buildings in lower Manhattan today.
November 5, 2019
Historic Preservation