History Now!

The Herring Family and a Meatpacking Factory

By Brian J Pape, AIA, LEED-AP

675 Hudson Street is undergoing major updates. The owners are applying to restore the façade, modify ground-floor openings, install new storefront infill, replace windows, install painted signage, enlarge an existing elevator bulkhead, and install new rooftop mechanical units, according to the application presented to the Community Board Two (CB2).  

THEN: As seen in the 1855 image above, this brick building was built for Silas Clark Herring in 1849 as a factory for the Herring Safe & Lock Company. Located on a triangular plot between 9th Avenue and Hudson Street, and between West 14th and 13th Street, it is sometimes referred to as the “Little Flatiron Building.” The factory was originally built as the south portion of an existing building and later united with a newer triangular northern extension. Originally a four-story block, a fifth story was added by 1855, and by 1884, the entire complex had five stories.

The Herring Safe & Lock Company incorporated iron and steel products, such as bank vaults and doors, burglar proof safes, marbleized iron, and patent powder proof locks. Marbleized iron was especially popular for all types of decorative items, wherever metals were used (stoves, metal utensils, lamps, candleholders, etc.). By 1884, the Herring Factory had vacated, and interiors were converted to stores with lofts above, and a cornice added to the roofline.

Until 1829, Herring Street was the name of Bleecker Street west of 6th Avenue, and an early name of Mercer Street between Bleecker and Waverly Place until 1803. David Street was also a name used for Herring Street, in the vicinity of Perry Street, circa 1810.

So, who was Silas Clark Herring? The early Herrings appear to have been a well-off family even before they arrived in New York. A Pieter Janszen Haring (b. 1610) left the Netherlands and emigrated to New Amsterdam in 1633. The Herrings ultimately benefited from land grants originally allotted by the Dutch West India Company, which included land in Manhattan that came to be known as the Herring Farm.

Elbert Herring, born in New York in 1706, had at least 12 children with his wife, Catherine Lent. Following the patriarch’s death in 1773, the land would “remain in limbo” for the duration of the War of 1776. Elbert’s son, Abraham, along with other Herrings, were forced to abandon any claim to Manhattan for a time, since the land was located in British territory during the war. Selling it would have amounted to support for the crown. Since the Herrings were supportive of the colonists, they eventually were able to return to their properties. The family continued to expand, but we didn’t find direct lineage to Silas Clark Herring.

NOW: Currently, the ground floor storefronts are occupied by Dos Caminos Restaurant, Kobrick Coffee Shop and Troy Liquor Bar. Lofts occupy the upper floors and all windows will be replaced in kind.

According to the applicants’ presentation to the CB2 Landmarks and Public Aesthetics Committee, the storefronts are proposed to be rebuilt with four versions of a uniform contemporary design in black metal. This approach is not appropriate in a situation in which the original openings exist, and the entire building is otherwise in a historic character. The applicant asserted that the 9th Avenue façade could have piers removed to form larger bays like other buildings in the district with more open bays at the base. Many of the examples cited were in buildings where larger openings, such as loading docks and garage doors, existed in the original building. The Hudson Street façade would have its original storefront bays preserved. The modern steel ground floor window systems or any enlargement of openings were recommended for denial for lack of historic reference.

A necessary enlargement of an existing elevator bulkhead for new elevators, and the installation of new rooftop mechanical units, were approved as being as unobtrusive as possible and like those on many buildings in the district.

A large and prominent rooftop sign existed before designation of the district and is therefore permitted to remain. There are existing signs with rounded edges that have a historically-inspired feeling above the building and store entrances. The proposed canopies above the building entrances are modern, without historic reference, and are especially objectionable since they form a transition from the street floor to the intact upper floors. The applicant was asked to redesign these.

The spandrel sign bands on the original part of the building, limited to a time in the 19th century, were in a subdued color with uniform lettering identifying the building and there are numerous examples illustrating this use from records. The proposal gives undue prominence to the spandrels. The original effect of the painted sign bands is changed, from being an integral part of a differently shaped and smaller building, to something else entirely. The increased area of coverage, with a high contrast off-white background and a presumed variety of fonts, colors, and logos, would interrupt the verticality of the building by dividing the floors as thick “frosting” between the “layers” of the building, according to the CB2 resolution. Therefore, the painted sign bands of each story were recommended for denial and redesign.

The new cornice will be historically reproduced in fiberglass and extended around each side of the building, enhancing the historic character.

If all these recommendations are followed, this building will be a proud neighbor for years to come.