American Express Company Stable

157 Hudson Street | also 6 Hubert Street, 60 Collister Street | Tribeca | built 1867

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Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1866

    American Express builds a stable near its Hudson Street express headquarters

    In 1866 the American Express Company, then chiefly an express-shipping business, built a stable at the corner of Hubert and Collister Streets from plans by Ritch & Griffiths. Its headquarters at 55-61 Hudson Street had Hudson River Railroad tracks running into the ground floor, and horse-drawn wagons handled local deliveries, so the firm needed a large stable. The New York & Boston Dispatch Express Company also used it in the 1880s.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  2. 1898

    Edward Hale Kendall unifies and extends the stable behind a three-story facade

    In 1898-99 the architect Edward Hale Kendall drew plans to extend the Laight Street portion of the stable and gave the building a unified three-story facade. In 1902 Charles W. Romeyn built the eastern part of the Laight Street front and a narrow wing running through to Hudson Street. Stepped parapets on the Hubert and Laight Street fronts carry circular plaques showing the company's bulldog mascot.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  3. 1946

    The old stable is remodeled as a factory for the First Machinery Corporation

    The 1913 parcel post system ended the golden days of the express companies, and by 1918 American Express had left the building. The American Railway Express Company then used it. In 1946 architect Henry G. Harrington remodeled the stable as a factory for the First Machinery Corporation, which made plastic and rubber products, and gave the Hudson Street front stone pilasters and arches around the entrances.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  4. 1997

    Three nightclubs, Headley, Vinyl and Area, operate in the former stable on Hudson Street

    As Tribeca changed in the late twentieth century, 157 Hudson Street became a night spot, home in turn to three clubs: Headley, Vinyl and Area. In 1997, after more than one shooting at Vinyl, its owner Nick DiTomasso insisted that the crowd came only to dance. The clubs ended when a developer bought the building in 2004.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  5. 2004

    Developer Peter Moore buys the building and converts it to 17 lofts

    Developer Peter Moore bought the deteriorating building in 2004 and worked with architect Kevin Kennon to revive it. After a dispute with the Landmarks Preservation Commission over a three-story rooftop addition, he settled for a two-story addition invisible from the street. The result was 17 loft apartments averaging about 3,000 square feet each, including a 9,200-square-foot triplex called Marble House.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

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