New York Mills Building

458 Greenwich Street | Tribeca | built 1920

Open on the map5 entries

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

1. 1873

   April 1

   Isaac Dixon buys an old Federal house here and starts his coffee and spice business in it

   An earlier building on this site, a two-and-a-half-story Federal house, was home to the Bailey family in the mid-1860s. On April 1, 1873 Isaac Dixon bought the 25-foot-wide lot for $16,000. He ran his coffee and spice business, the New York Mills, from the old dwelling, hiring a builder for front and interior alterations in 1874 and adding a rear extension in 1880.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

2. 1883

   Dixon replaces the house with a five-story neo-Grec warehouse designed by James S. Wightman

   Because the New York Mills was doing well, Dixon demolished the old structure in 1883 and hired architect James S. Wightman to design a five-story brick warehouse with Ohio stone trim. Wightman set red brick above a cast-iron storefront, with recessed panels between floors and a stair-stepped brick cornice. A triangular pediment originally crowned the roof.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

3. 1895

   The New York Mills runs its coffee roasting from the fifth floor with a staff of six

   Although Dixon occupied the whole building, he ran the business with six men in 1895, who worked 59 hours a week. The ground floor held the office, the fifth floor was used for roasting coffee, and the second through fourth floors stored coffee and spices. The firm still had the same number of employees in 1901, and Frederick J. Dixon took over after Isaac died in 1897.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

4. 1931

   The coffee firm moves out and a trucking company takes over, adding a loading platform

   The New York Mills left around 1931 for a building a block to the south. The Fred W. Lange Trucking Co. replaced it and added a loading platform in the southern bay. The rooftop pediment was apparently removed at about the same time.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

5. 2006

   Turks & Frogs Tribeca opens in the ground floor of the former coffee warehouse

   Tribeca's change from industry to galleries and restaurants reached the building in stages. Its lofts were among the first unofficially converted to residences in the early 1970s, and a formal renovation into one apartment per floor finished in 2001. In 2006 the Mediterranean restaurant Turks & Frogs Tribeca opened downstairs, described by Florence Fabricant of The New York Times as an antiques shop and wine bar.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

Further reading

• The New York Mills Building - 458 Greenwich StreetDaytonian in Manhattan

Nearby

• 460 Greenwich Street3 entries
• 456 Greenwich Street2 entries
• 462 Greenwich Street1 entry
• 464 Greenwich Street2 entries
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