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Owner proposes new front area way treatment and small rooftop addition at 80 Washington Place; committee raises questions on lanterns and fence height
Summary
Preservation consultants presented plans for a new cast-stone-and-iron fence, bluestone area-way paving, and a mostly open-air rooftop addition at 80 Washington Place. Committee members questioned the proposed eight-inch increase in fence height and the use of gas lanterns in the area way.
Historic-preservation consultants and architects presented a proposal for 80 Washington Place in the Greenwich Village Historic District, proposing to replace a nonhistoric fence and area-way paving, install cast-stone piers with gas lanterns, and construct a mostly open-air rooftop addition with a small enclosed bathroom volume at the rear.
Sarah Scherr (historic-preservation consultant) described the building’s history: originally built in 1839 and renovated in 1920 into a “reborn” row-house typology. The applicants proposed to remove a 2009 nonhistoric fence and replace it with a simplified iron railing and two cast-stone piers tinted to match brownstone, each topped with a gas lantern. The proposed fence would be eight inches taller than the existing fence; the applicants said the increase is intended to re-establish a vertical datum and provide a sense of arrival consistent with the building’s 1920 reworking.
Presenters also proposed infilling two existing area-way skylights with bluestone pavers in a running-bond pattern and distinguishing the immediate entrance with a smaller-scale herringbone bluestone field to create an intimate threshold. Committee members and the public asked for clarity on the paving detail and whether the herringbone field would create a tripping hazard; the applicant said the herringbone would be used as a smaller-scale transition and that the existing area-way paving is nonhistoric.
On the rooftop, presenters proposed relocating existing skylights to the top of a stair bulkhead and installing a primarily open-air roof addition with a small, enclosed bathroom at the back. Applicants said the rooftop addition would be minimally visible from public vantage points; a committee member confirmed the addition’s visibility was limited to distant views from Washington Square Park.
Committee members expressed concern about the proposed gas lanterns and whether similar lanterns exist at comparable properties; consultants said they did not find an exact historic precedent but highlighted that reborn row houses sometimes used lanterns to create arrival experiences. A public commenter asked if the lanterns would be fueled by live gas flames; consultants confirmed they intend live gas lanterns and that DOB had not objected. Committee members said the fence design, lanterns, and paving details would merit further discussion in business session.
