<< Back
Landmarks
218 West 57th Street – Request for Certificate of Appropriateness for rooftop addition and alterations, and storefront alterations with new signage.
At the regularly scheduled monthly Community Board Five meeting on Thursday, February 08, 2024, the following resolution passed with a vote of 32 in favor; 0 opposed; 2 abstaining:
WHEREAS, 218 West 57th Street is a four-story French Renaissance Revival building built in 1897 by Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz, with an annex built in 1906 to the west, and was designated a NYC Landmark in 2008; and
WHEREAS, It is located mid-block on the south side of West 57th Street between Seventh Avenue and Broadway, between a larger Argonaut Building to the West and an open plaza belonging to 888 Seventh Avenue to the East; and
WHEREAS, The building originally housed the American Society of Civil Engineers, but later was home to a rubber tire manufacturer and showroom, then restaurant space and general retail with apartments above; and
WHEREAS, The applicant is proposing several alterations to the building to allow for its re-use as an experience venue for Phantom Of The Opera with two roof-top performance spaces; and
WHEREAS, Proposed alterations to the roof include increasing the height of an existing bulkhead by 12ft 7in finished in a matching paint/stucco or red-brick (rear façade), replacement of mechanicals, installation of two rooftop performance areas with new decking and black-painted handrails, and the installation of two canopied staircases to replace existing stair; and
WHEREAS, Proposed alterations to the storefront include the installation of five window vitrines (display cases) directly behind the retail level windows, replacement of non-historic light fixtures in existing locations, an updated hand-painted mural on the east-facing façade in the same size and location as existing, and new pin-mounted back-lit transom signage at the far East and far West entrances, as well as similar signage at the main entrance of the building in an existing sign panel; and
WHEREAS The proposed changes in height to the building are minimal and not visible when viewing the primary façade, are minimally visible on the secondary facade from the East at Seventh Avenue, and are visible from 56th Street since the rear of the building is exposed, but none of which detract from the Landmark; and
WHEREAS, The handrails are minimally visible from the secondary facade from the East at Seventh Avenue and Community Board Five urges the applicant to further increase the placement depth from the façade to further minimize visibility; and
WHEREAS, The existing retail level is non-historic (2002) but in a design sympathetic to the building’s history, and the proposed alterations are not disruptive to these elements, or any original fabric adjacent to this area, with the proposed changes in context with the Landmark; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval for an application of Certificate of Appropriateness for the proposed alterations to the rooftop and storefront of 218 West 57th Street, Borough of Manhattan.