The first order of business for constructing the new Equitable Building at 15 Broad Street was the demolition of the old Mills Building and its immediate neighbor to the east, 51 Exchange Place. The new building had a basically identical footprint at the first floor compared to the two old buildings combined, as both filled the combined two lots. The combined lot was basicall...

I’m going to spend a few days on a sequence of construction photos from 1926, because the sequence is more informative than any single photo. It doesn’t hurt that it’s a famous site with a lot of available information; it also doesn’t hurt that early in my career I worked on facade investigation and repair on two of the buildings in the photos to follow.

Let’s start...

I may have used this picture before, but I can’t find it if I have. One of the stairs at the old Customs House, on Bowling Green:

To put it simply, this is a working stair, not meant to be particularly monumental. But in a building designe...

Spring must be here: the blossoms are out.

This afternoon I will be attending the 2026 Preservation Conference of the Historic Districts Council, on the topic of “Making It In New York: The Preservation Of Manufacturing.” I’m expecting an interesting afternoon. As a bonus, one of the speakers, Cassandra Smith...