Building at 254-260 Canal Street
Why it's listed
Rising five stories at the southwest corner of Canal and Lafayette Streets, this cast-iron building was erected in 1856-57 as three first-class stores behind a single uniform facade. Its frontages run about 100 feet on Canal Street and nearly 78 feet on Lafayette Street, with Corinthian columns, arched window frames and Medusa-head keystones giving the upper floors a lively rhythm. The colonnades stop short of the corners, an unusual solution that allowed narrower bays across the very wide fronts. George Bruce, a leader of the American printing industry, had it built after a sawmill on the site burned, expecting Canal Street to become a business center. The building is among the earliest surviving cast-iron structures in the city and a notable example of the Italianate palazzo style translated into iron. Evidence points to James Bogardus, a pioneer of cast-iron architecture, as its designer. Today banks occupy the ground floor and offices fill the upper levels.
Significance in brief: It is one of the earliest and largest surviving cast-iron buildings in New York City, and a fine adaptation of the Italianate palazzo mode to cast iron, with high-quality ornament and an unusual exposed-corner design. It was built for printing leader George Bruce during the commercial transformation of the Canal Street area. Evidence strongly suggests it is the work of cast-iron pioneer James Bogardus.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 06000475, listed June 7, 2006. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 254-260 Canal St., New York |
|---|---|
| County | Manhattan |
| Listed | June 7, 2006 |
| Reference number | 06000475 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1856-1857 |
| Architect / builder | Bogardus, James |
| Architectural style | Mid-19th Century / Other: Renaissance Revival - North Italian mode |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Ground floor occupied by two banks and upper floors redesigned as offices; the facades have undergone restoration work, though foliate capitals and some consoles have been lost. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.71835, -74.00094 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 06000475.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4632092
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.