American Seamen's Friend Society Sailors' Home and Institute
- Style
- Georgian
- City
- Manhattan, NY
The American Seamen's Friend Society Sailors' Home and Institute was built in 1908 at 505-507 West Street as a sailors' boarding house, designed by William A. Boring in the Georgian style. Now a boutique hotel in the West Village, it was designated a New York City Landmark on November 28, 2000.
the building
A corner tower and tiny rooms. A six-story polygonal tower at the corner of West and Jane Street was originally topped by a beacon, while the 200 original bedrooms averaged just 50 square feet, reflecting its origins as a sailors' boarding house rather than a hotel.
the style
Boring's Georgian design gives the red brick facade cast-stone detailing, a more restrained classical treatment than the maritime institution's varied later uses might suggest.
More on Georgianthe architect
William A. Boring designed the building for the American Seamen's Friend Society.
significance
Designated a New York City Landmark on November 28, 2000. The ground story has since held a bar and grill, a nightclub, the off-Broadway Jane Street Theater, and a ballroom.
nearby
- 131 Charles Street House
- Substation 235
- New York Savings Bank
- 111 Eighth Avenue
- Federal Office Building
- Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe