{"nrhp_refnum":"05000086","name":"Williams, R.C., Warehouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"259-273 Tenth Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.749361570000076,"lon":-74.00334287999993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-02-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A ten-story reinforced-concrete warehouse at 259-273 Tenth Avenue in the Chelsea section of Manhattan, backing onto the High Line. It was built in 1927-28 to designs by Cass Gilbert for the R.C. Williams wholesale grocery company.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is significant under Criterion C for its architectural and engineering design as an intact reinforced-concrete warehouse by nationally prominent architect Cass Gilbert. It is described as a smaller version of his Brooklyn Army Terminal and uses the Turner system of mushroom-column slab construction. Its plain, geometric concrete design reflects Gilbert's views on simplicity in concrete architecture.","narrative":"Rising ten stories on Tenth Avenue between West 25th and 26th Streets in Chelsea, this concrete warehouse was built in 1927-28 as the headquarters of R.C. Williams & Company, a wholesale grocery firm whose roots reached back to 1809. Architect Cass Gilbert, better known for the U.S. Custom House and the Woolworth Building, designed it as a smaller relative of his Brooklyn Army Terminal. Deeply recessed window bays, broad piers and corner towers give the plain concrete facades a fortress-like look, while the interior relies on mushroom columns from the Turner reinforced-concrete system. The rear faces the High Line, where a third-floor freight connection allowed goods to move efficiently from rail to warehouse to delivery trucks. Original casement windows, wrought-iron grilles and a faded Royal Scarlet Food Products sign survive. The building is recognized for its architecture and engineering as an intact example of Gilbert's approach to simple, economical industrial design in concrete.","period_of_significance":"1927-1928","architect_builder":"Gilbert, Cass","architectural_style":"Modern Movement","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The main entrance, vestibule and lobby are described as currently not in use; the building's current function is listed as industrial storage.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:52.902998-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/05000086.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000086/cd89ed3775-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000086/cd89ed3775-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Americasroof at English Wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Williams-warehouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Americasroof at English Wikipedia</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Williams-warehouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75320074","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._C._Williams_Warehouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7273537"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/williams-r-c-warehouse-05000086/"}