If you are a fan of staying in small luxury hotels, Manhattan is home to some very elegant ones. They are all capable of providing you with a Mecca in the big city. If you plan to spend more than a day here, enjoy life. Take part in the city’s lively spirit. Visit delightful new restaurants and the latest, hottest night spots. Go shopping on famed Fifth Avenue. Yet, you should not forget Manhattan’s historic past and what better way to do so than to visit historic Soho. Here once routine mass produced buildings have risen to the status of art.
Defining Industrial Art
While industrial arts is considered shop in the United States, the singular term “industrial art” refers to the creation of something using the metal crafts. This can include the decorative works on a piano, metal sculpture or, as is the case with some 50 buildings in Soho, metal facades and columns. The major difference between traditional decorative arts and industrial art is the method. Iron and barss when employed in industrial art is cast not wrought.
History Cast in Iron
After settling in to your exquisite hotel in Manhattan, arrange with the concierge for a trip to Soho or undertake it on your own. A guided tour can, however, come in handy for identifying many of these buildings dated between 1869 and 1895. You can find the major examples on a five block area on Greene Street between Browne and Spring. The cobblestone streets are attractive. The once practical buildings now hold luxurious goods and items for sale. This makes it even more attractive for guests at small luxury hotels.
Among the most identifiable structures of Soho’s industrial art are:
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10 Green St. (1869): John Snook adorned with columns rendered in the heavy, unadorned Tuscan order
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28-30 Green St. (1872): Isaac Duckworth designed this building called the “Queen of Greene Street.” It features a stunning ornate French Second Empire façade
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Gunther Building 469 Broome Street (1871-2): Griffith Thomas built this as a warehouse for William H. Gunther, a fur dealer
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72 Greene Street (1873): Another by Isaac Duckworth, this exquisite example of French Renaissance and Second Empire style was known as the “King of Greene Street”
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Roosevelt Building 480 Broadway (1873): Richard Morris Hunt was the architect of this iron building with 92 keystone arches. It is recognized for its entablature of intricate friezes
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The Little Singer Building 561-3 Broadway (1904): Ernest Flagg built this structure for the Singer Manufacturing Company. Primarily an office building, large glass panes, colored terra-cotta panels, wrought-iron balconies and cast-iron ornamental touches are the perfect covering for the steel skeleton frame.
Venture from Your Small Luxury Hotels
When staying in New York, venture forth from your small luxury hotels in Manhattan to explore the city. While doing so combine the delights of high-end shopping with the enjoyment of exploring the industrial art of Soho.
If you are looking for the finest in Small Luxury Hotels, Manhattan contains some of the best in the world. Among them finest is the Viana Hotel & Spa.
