# Another Historic Times Square Building to Fall . . . **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 19, 2003, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-historic-times-square-building-to-fall/219986 "2003-12-19T16:16:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-historic-times-square-building-to-fall/219986/1 "2003-12-19T16:16:50Z")
From today’s _Times_: “Completing an effort begun 36 years ago by his father, the developer Douglas Durst yesterday bought the last of 32 parcels on an entire city block near Times Square, where he intends to build a 50-story skyscraper . . . The new tower would stand just east of 48-story Condé Nast tower that Mr. Durst built in the late 1990’s. The eastern end of the block consists mostly of one- and two-story buildings, fast food and T-shirt shops, all of which will be demolished.” —Well, I’m not surprised; the only surprise is that it’s lasted _this_ long: I mean the little gem of a 19th-century carriage house, one story high with a dormer window, just to the East of the Condé Nast Bldg. on 42nd Street. Up to a few years ago, it had a _tree_ growing out of the dormer window—very Poe! I guess the old Peep World is coming down, too, with its nekkid showgirl atop a moon . . . So, New Yorkers, head to 42nd between B’way and 6th with your cameras, for one last look . . . _fixed italics tag - ub_ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-historic-times-square-building-to-fall/219986/2 "2003-12-19T17:27:39Z")
Maybe if Mr Durst would just go out and get a twenty year old trophy wife, he’d stop feeling the need to prove anything by building these increasingly large towers. ---
**Author:** ![sultana\_of\_slash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@sultana\_of\_slash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sultana_of_slash)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-historic-times-square-building-to-fall/219986/3 "2003-12-19T17:35:36Z")
As Shrek noted, “Perhaps he’s compensating for something.” ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-historic-times-square-building-to-fall/219986/4 "2003-12-19T17:35:45Z")
Oh, you do not want to marry into the [Durst family](http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/classics/robert_durst/2.html?sect=13) . . . ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-historic-times-square-building-to-fall/219986/5 "2003-12-19T17:56:57Z")
Justy heard bacvk from, the wionderful Christopher Gray at the Times, who tells me, “This is one of the latest buildings on the street, built in 1939 for Simpson & Company and designed in the Georgian style by Mellor & Allen. A huge sign now covers the facade below the cornice and the dormer now appears oddly offset. But it was originally centered over a tall, graceful arched window. \_Together with the broken pediment over the doorway and the slate roof the building is the perfect picture of a small, genteel bank building. Simpson & Company listed itself as a “loan broker” in the 1940 telephone directory. But the firm also ran a straight pawn-shop brokerage at 143 West 42d Street.” \_ \_\_ The building is owned by the Durst Organization, which owns much of the property on the block and has demolished some of it for one-story store buildings. ---
**Author:** ![paperbackwriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@paperbackwriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paperbackwriter)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-historic-times-square-building-to-fall/219986/6 "2003-12-19T23:12:27Z")
**Eve** , I have to admit some confusion over your OP in the light of the later one. Gray describes what sounds like a rather ordinary, non-historic, building that has been abused enough to have lost any charm it once had. 1939 is not that old, and there are quite a number of one-story georgian revival commercial buildings around. Maybe I have a bias because I grew up in New England, where architecture seems to last longer than NYC. But is this a last remaining example? Is Mellor & Allen an important firm, and this is one of their last examples? Is there a dearth of 30’s georgian revival commercial buildings in NYC? I guess that I’m just not getting the importance of this building. If you can elaborate, I’d be appreciative. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-historic-times-square-building-to-fall/219986/7 "2003-12-20T00:02:56Z")
“Not getting the importance of this building”? For God’s sake, didn’t you read what Eve wrote? _They’re going to tear down Peep World!_ ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-historic-times-square-building-to-fall/219986/8 "2003-12-20T00:43:09Z")
It’s _not_ an important building (I mean the carriage house–of course Peep World is important!). Turns out from what Christopher Gray says, it was a storefront built in 1939 (which is recent for NYC, too, you Yankee!). It was built to look _like_ a 19th century carriage house–even if it had been legit, it would not be “important” enough to save from a preservation standpoint. I knew it would be gone soon, but I am still sorry to see it go, even though it turns out to be a “modern” fake. It is such a cute little building . .