{"nrhp_refnum":"77000955","name":"Devinne Press Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"393--399 Lafayette St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.727929446000076,"lon":-73.99282753599994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-09-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A seven-story brick commercial building with terra cotta trim at 393-399 Lafayette Street, at East 4th Street, in Manhattan, New York City. It was designed by Babb, Cook, and Willard and completed in 1885, with an eastern addition added later.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is an early example of the Commercial Style, related in spirit to Richardson's Marshall Field Wholesale Store, which was begun the year it was completed. It also housed the printing firm of Theodore L. DeVinne, a leading authority on the history and practice of printing, whose firm printed Century Magazine and other notable works.","narrative":"Rising seven stories at the corner of Lafayette and East 4th Streets in Manhattan, this brick building was designed by the firm of Babb, Cook, and Willard and completed in 1885 as a printing plant. Its bearing walls, terra cotta trim and wrought iron beams support deeply recessed arched openings arranged in varied rhythms, giving a solid, forceful appearance suited to industrial use. Quoins mark the corners, and a bronze cornice crowns the gabled roof. An eastern addition echoes the original design with a terra cotta cornice. The building is considered an early example of the Commercial Style, made famous in Chicago, and shares the austere strength of H.H. Richardson's Marshall Field Wholesale Store, which was begun the same year. It also housed the printing firm of Theodore L. DeVinne, a prolific writer on printing whose shop produced Century Magazine, St. Nicholas and early Grolier Club books. Walter Cook is credited with the design.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Babb, Cook, and Willard","architectural_style":"Romanesque Revival; early Commercial Style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in excellent condition, with some alterations to the first floor and facade; the data sheet notes a present use as a cleaners.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.984382-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/77000955.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000955/fa6fde4319-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000955/fa6fde4319-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"Cornell University Library; cropped by Beyond My Ken (talk) 04:09, 11 November 2010 (UTC)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DeVinne_Press_Building_crop.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Cornell University Library; cropped by Beyond My Ken (talk) 04:09, 11 November 2010 (UTC)</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DeVinne_Press_Building_crop.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319445","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Vinne_Press_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5244135"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/devinne-press-building-77000955/"}