61 Rivington Street was built in 1905 by McKim, Mead & White and served as the downtown branch of the New York Public Library. The renowned architectural firm was also responsible for the original Pennsylvania Station, the Brooklyn Museum, the Washington Square Arch, and the Columbia University campus.
The building was designed in the Classical Revival style and featured square Corinthian columns and an entablature and parapet. It was also the first library in the city with a covered open-air reading room, a feature that was copied and incorporated into other buildings.
After serving as a dance hall and restaurant and then a church, the building was transformed yet again when The Horizon Group purchased the property in 2018. By preserving the structure from 1905 and adding 3 new glass stories, the developer and design teams achieved their vision of paying homage to the original NYPL while developing an upscale, boutique condominium on the LES. The Library’s intricate cornices, timeless terrazzo floors and elegant natural stone were some of the design elements that stemmed from this collaboration of contemporary and adaptive reuse architecture.
