Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Lost Renwick Found

In a follow-up to my post Before the Village 7, reader, long-time East Villager, and blogger Mark Kane sent in this photo from the late 1970s, showing the lost James Renwick building that was replaced by the Loews theater in 1989.


3rd Ave. between 11th and 12th, looking west

"This picture was taken off my terrace, facing west," Mark writes. "The NYU Third Avenue North isn't anywhere near built yet. The building in question is visible on the corner. You can make out the windows and pilasters."


close-up of Renwick building

"You can see the steeples of Grace Church and St. Ann's," he tells us. "The small Hopper-esque buildings on Third Avenue disappeared when the landlord pulled some of those 'decorative' columns from the storefronts, only to have the building facades collapse. Ooops!"

Where those three-story brick buildings used to be, there's a parking lot now, and a big blank wall often used for ginormous billboards.
at

3 comments:

  1. Ken MacApril 21, 2010 at 10:18 AM

    Jeremiah, you might enjoy the old ads I uncovered recently back at my joint...

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousApril 21, 2010 at 12:25 PM

    I moved to NYC in 1986 and sadly DO NOT remember the Renwick Building. I do remember going to a Halloween party at that same time right down the street at what was then The Ritz (now Webster Hall). Man, I should've been carrying a video cam at all times. I do vaguely remember the construction of the Loews 7. Back then when new buildings were going up it didn't quite feel like a betrayal and an invasion. It was more like the intermittent, somewhat sane updating of NYC landscape. You didn't get the feeling that it was a wholesale slaughter.

    Ah, what a shame.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Laura Goggin PhotographyApril 21, 2010 at 2:22 PM

    Ah, cool.

    ReplyDelete

Comments will no longer be published. Too much spam, not enough time. Thank you.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.