Introduction
SoHo is shorthand for south of Houston (pronounced "how-stun"). It is the first official acronym given to a neighborhood in NYC. The official historical district from 1973 together with Houston to the north, is north of Canal Street, and between West Broadway and Crosby Streets.Today, with stores like Intermix, SoHo is synonymous with trendy shopping, world class art galleries like Andre Zarre Gallery, a contemporary furniture center in Greene Street, some of the most sought after real estate ("Finding anything under $1 million in Soho is a job," so says Siim Hanja of Stribling & Associates), the future site of Mr Donald Trump latest building and of course it's cobblestone streets and cast iron buildings.
Reason to Be Selected
SoHo boasts the greatest collection of cast-iron architecture in the world.[22] Approximately 250 cast-iron buildings stand in New York City and the majority of them are in SoHo. Cast iron was initially used as a decorative front over a pre-existing building. With the addition of modern, decorative facades, older industrial buildings were able to attract new commercial clients. Most of these facades were constructed during the period from 1840 to 1880.[10] In addition to revitalizing older structures, buildings in SoHo were later designed to feature the cast iron.
Details
The E. V. Haughwout Building at Broadway and Broome Street was built in 1856–57, and has a cast-iron facade by Daniel D. Badger.There was a profusion of cast iron foundries in New York, including Badger's Architectural Iron Works, James L. Jackson's Iron Works, and Cornell Iron Works.
Recommended
During cast iron's heyday, many architects thought it to be structurally more sound than steel. It was also thought that cast iron would be fire-resistant, and facades were constructed over many interiors built of wood and other flammable materials. When exposed to heat, cast iron buckled, and later cracked under the cold water used to extinguish fire. In 1899, a building code mandating the backing of cast-iron fronts with masonry was passed. Most of the buildings that stand today are constructed in this way. It was the advent of steel as a major construction material that brought an end to the cast iron era.
| Lat: | 40.7057 |
| Lng: | -73.978 |
| Type: | |
| Region: | NorthAmerica |
| Scale: | District |
| Field: | Innovation |
| City: | Houston |