597 Broadway

also 170 Mercer Street | SoHo | built 1867

Open on the map4 entries

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

  1. 1867

    John Kellum designs a marble store at 597 Broadway that mimics the look of cast iron

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    In 1867 John Lawrence hired the architect John Kellum to replace the old Lafayette Hall at 597 Broadway with a store and warehouse. Cast-iron fronts were spreading through the neighborhood, but Lawrence chose marble. Kellum gave it tall windows and slender carved pilasters, so the stone building looks as if it imitates iron. It runs through the block to Mercer Street.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  2. 1885

    January 8

    A rekindled fire destroys Henry Rogers's store at 597 Broadway but spares the marble building

    A small fire broke out in Henry Rogers's store on the evening of January 8, 1885, and was quickly put out. Around 2 a.m. it flared up again and spread through the structure, and the New York Times reported that the building seemed likely to be destroyed. Rogers's store was wiped out, but the white marble building survived.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  3. 1905

    October 30

    Mayor McClellan's carriage is mobbed outside 597 Broadway by rival Democratic and Republican crowds

    On October 30, 1905, Mayor George B. McClellan Jr. spoke at a Democratic group, the Commercial Travelers' League, at 597 Broadway, attacking Republican spending and asking to be reelected. As he reached his carriage, a meeting of Republican supporters of William Randolph Hearst let out across the street. Two crowds of about five hundred each shoved and shouted until police clubbed a path clear, while the mayor, the Times reported, smiled and took it as a joke.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  4. 1986

    June

    A Welsh geologist buys 597 Broadway and discovers marble under the soot

    In June 1986 the Welsh geologist Owain Hughes bought the building for $750,000, planning six commercial and nine residential condominiums. Because it lay in the landmarked SoHo Cast Iron District, the grimy front had to be cleaned by hand with small brushes. The work revealed that Kellum's facade was gleaming white marble, not the sandstone Hughes had assumed. His $2.5 million renovation also opened a light court through the middle of the building.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

Nearby

All 736 buildings with stories in SoHo