{"nrhp_refnum":"09001085","name":"Westbeth","other_names":["Western Electric Company","Bell Telephone Laboratories","Bell Labs"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"55 Bethune St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.73652752300006,"lon":-74.00907339399998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-12-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Westbeth is an artists' residential and studio complex at 55 Bethune Street in Manhattan's Greenwich Village. It fills an entire block and consists of five buildings and a park, converted in 1967-70 from the former Western Electric and Bell Telephone Laboratories industrial complex.","why_significant":"The nomination presents Westbeth as nationally significant for its 1968-70 conversion of industrial buildings into affordable artists' housing and studios, designed by architect Richard Meier. Supporting letters describe it as a groundbreaking early example of adaptive re-use. The complex retains a very high degree of integrity from the conversion.","narrative":"Westbeth occupies a full block in Greenwich Village, bounded by Bethune, Bank, Washington and West Streets. It comprises five buildings and a park, all once part of the Western Electric Company and Bell Telephone Laboratories industrial complex. The earliest building, designed by Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz and built in 1896-1898, rises twelve and thirteen stories in yellow brick with terra-cotta trim and a granite base. A later building, by McKenzie, Voorhees & Gmelin, dates from 1923-26, and the High Line runs through it. In 1967-70 the complex was converted into artists' housing and studios to designs by Richard Meier, with duplex apartments, a courtyard, a theater, a community room and a park. The conversion kept much of the industrial character and is described as retaining a very high degree of integrity. Its significance rests on its role as an early large-scale adaptive re-use of industrial buildings and as affordable housing for artists. Westbeth continues to serve as residential, gallery and performance space.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz (Building A, 1896-1898, for Western Electric Co.); McKenzie, Voorhees & Gmelin (Building B, 1923-26, for Bell Telephone Laboratories); Richard Meier (architect of the Westbeth conversion)","architectural_style":"Mid-19th Century/Early Romanesque Revival; Late 19th & Early 20th Century American Movement/Commercial Style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still in use as multiple dwellings for artists, with a park, auditorium and gallery/community spaces.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:48.257147-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/09001085.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09001085/bddc55d892-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09001085/bddc55d892-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Unknown authorUnknown author","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Western_Electric_complex_NYC_1936.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown authorUnknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Western_Electric_complex_NYC_1936.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75320069","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westbeth_Artists_Community","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q604877"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/westbeth-09001085/"}