Decker Building
Template:Short description Template:DMCA Template:DMCA
Template:Short descriptionPage Module:Infobox/styles.css has no content.
| Page Module:Infobox/styles.css has no content. | |
| <div class="skin-nightmode-reset-color" style="width:100%; font-size:110%; font-weight:bold;color: var(--color-base); background:Script error: No such module "Designation".; line-height:1.5">Decker Building | |
| <div style="width:100%; text-align:center; line-height:1.5;color: var(--color-base); background:Script error: No such module "Designation".;">U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Script error: No such module "Designation". | |
| Script error: No such module "Designation". | |
| Script error: No such module "Designation". | |
| Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:InfoboxImage/data' not found. Seen in 2025, with the Bank of the Metropolis at left | |
| Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:InfoboxImage/data' not found. | |
| Script error: No such module "Infobox mapframe". | |
| Location | 33 Union Square West, New York, New York |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. |
| Built | 1893 |
| Architect | John H. Edelmann |
| Architectural style | Late 19th and early 20th century American movements |
| NRHP reference No. | 03001179[1] |
| Script error: No such module "Designation". | 1538 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 21, 2003 |
| Script error: No such module "Designation". | July 12, 1988 |
Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".
The Decker Building (also the Union Building) is a commercial building located at 33 Union Square West in Manhattan, New York City. The structure, designed by John H. Edelmann for the Decker Brothers piano company, was completed in 1892.[2] From 1968 to 1973, it served as the location of the artist Andy Warhol's studio, The Factory.[3] The Decker Building was designated a New York City landmark in 1988, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.[4]
Description
The building is only 33 feet (10 m) wide and 138 feet (42 m) deep on a lot that goes back 150 feet (46 m).[5] It has a right of way to 16th Street from the rear of the building. The style of the building mixes influences from Venice and Islamic traditions. There are numerous terra cotta details on the façade which remain today. There was a minaret on the roof which disappeared before World War II.
The building was valued at $285,000 in 1913, after which it was traded to settle debts.[6]
History
The structure was built in 1892 for the Decker Brothers piano company according to designs by the radical anarchist architect John H. Edelmann, working out of the offices of Alfred Zucker. It replaced the earlier Decker Building on the same lot, designed by Leopold Eidlitz and built in 1869.[2]
On November 25, 1950, 27 year old Abraham Yeager was killed when a one-ton piece of cornice from the Decker Building collapsed onto the sidewalk where Yeager was walking.[7]
Andy Warhol's Factory
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".
In 1968, Pop artist Andy Warhol relocated his studio, the Factory, from 231 East 47th Street after the building was slated for demolition. He rented the entire sixth floor at the Decker Building, including a small balcony overlooking Union Square, a then-declining area, after his office manager Paul Morrissey found the space.[8] Warhol was drawn to the building's proximity to Max's Kansas City, a favorite gathering place.[8] During preparations for the move, Jed Johnson, a young Western Union messenger, delivered a telegram to the Factory and was hired by Morrissey to assist with renovations.[8] Johnson moved in with Warhol later that year and became his longtime partner.[9]
On June 3, 1968, radical feminist Valerie Solanas shot and seriously wounded Warhol, also injuring curator Mario Amaya.[10] At the time, the Factory operated under an open-door policy, allowing unrestricted access. After the shooting, security measures were introduced, which included Johnson installing a Dutch door and enclosing the elevator with a wall that required visitors to buzz for entry.[11]
In the early 1970s, Warhol had assistants videotape visitors and document daily activity at the studio.[12] In 1974, he relocated the Factory to the nearby 860 Broadway building, and during the move, he began assembling what became known as the Warhol Time Capsules.[13]
Refurbishment
The building was completely refurbished into apartments by Joseph Pell Lombardi in 1995.[14] In 2015, Dylan's Candy Bar opened a ground-floor storefront in the building,[15] which closed in 2021.[16]
See also
- Decker Brothers
- List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets
References
Page Module:Side box/styles.css has no content.Page Template:Sister project/styles.css has no content.
Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Gray, Christopher (December 18, 1994). "Streetscapes/33 Union Square West; Islamic/Venetian Sliver, With Minaret". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Dolkart, Andrew S.; Postal, Matthew A. (2004). Guide to New York City Landmarks (3rd ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p. 72. ISBN 0-471-36900-4.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kathleen A. Howe (July 2003). National Register of Historic Places Registration: New York SP Decker Building. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved November 10, 2025. (Template:NationalArchivesNote)
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."New York City Landmarks Presentation" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2008.
- ^ New York Times, June 16, 1916
- ^ The New York Times November 26, 1950 (subscription required)
- ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Warhol, Andy (1980). POPism: The Warhol '60s. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. pp. 262–264. ISBN 978-0-15-173095-7.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Patton, Elaina (March 10, 2022). "'The Andy Warhol Diaries' explores how the iconic artist was shaped by his great loves". NBC News. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Shepard, Richard F. (June 4, 1968). "Warhol Gravely Wounded In Studio; Actress Is Held; Woman Says She Shot Artist, Who Is Given a 50–50 Chance to Live". The New York Times.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.O'Brien, Glenn (June–July 2008). "Pat Hackett". Interview. 38 (5): 106.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Gopnik, Blake (July 11, 2016). "Michael Netter – Andy Warhol's Right-hand ... Eye". Artnet News. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Carnegie Museums, Jan/Feb 1996 issue". Archived from the original on January 15, 2008. Retrieved April 9, 2008.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Rozhon, Tracie (December 24, 1995). "Habitats: The Decker Building; Palm Beach to Union Sq". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Settembre, Jeanette (August 30, 2015). "New York's sweets mogul Dylan Lauren opening a Dylan's Candy Bar in Union Square". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Jones, Sasha (February 9, 2021). "Dylan's Candy Bar NYC Flagship Closed". The Real Deal. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
Template:East Side of Manhattan (14th-34th Streets) Template:Union Square, Manhattan Template:National Register of Historic Places in ManhattanLua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Navbox/configuration' not found.
