City Designates 2 Midtown Buildings Landmarks

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Two historic buildings located across the street from one another on the corner of East 29th Street and Madison Avenue were designated city landmarks Tuesday, the city Landmarks Preservation Commission.

The Hotel Seville — now known as the James NoMad Hotel — and the Emmet Building were built in the early 20th century and helped transform the area north of Madison Square Park from an upscale residential neighborhood into the busy commercial area it is now, according to the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

"I am thrilled the Commission voted to designate both Hotel Seville and the Emmet Building," LPC Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan said in a statement. "These elegant buildings are not only distinctive and exemplary on their own, but together they represent an era of change and development in the area north of Madison Square during the early 20th century. Their location across the street from each other reinforces this intersection as a reminder of the architectural exuberance of their historic period."

Both buildings typify the extravagance and rich ornamentation of the early 20th century, the landmarks commission said. The James NoMad Hotel was designed in the Beaux-Arts style by architect Harry Allan Jacobs and the Emmett Building was designed in the Neo-Renaissance style by John Stewart Barney and Stockton Beekman Colt, according to the LPC.

Architectural highlights of the James NoMad Hotel building include its ornamented base and crown, horizontal stripes in red brick and limestone and contrasting bays of red brick and metal bowed windows. The building has been renovated and updated over the years, but still remains a historic example of Beaux-Arts architecture.

The Emmet Building was built between 1911 and 1912 for gynecological surgeon Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet, according to the LPC. Emmet formed a real estate company in the early 20th century to commission the building as more businesses moved into the area. The sixteen-story building featured 15 floors for offices and a penthouse apartment owned by Emmet. The building was unique for its time because it mixed both office use and personal residential use for its owner, according to the LPC.

"The beautiful Beaux-Arts Hotel Seville and the neo-Renaissance Emmett Building are both well-known gems that future generations of New Yorkers deserve to see in their streetscape," Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer said in a statement. "This neighborhood contains a number of significant buildings that are well worth preservation, and I'm glad that the Landmarks Preservation Commission has acted to protect two that are so prominent among them."

Photo courtesy Landmarks Preservation Commission