Great Jones Street has a nice collection of industrial and loft buildings from the mid-1800s through the 1920s. I took this picture because the two small “stable” buildings caught my attention. The stable name comes from the pediments:
The two buildings – 31 and 33 Great Jones – are similar but not identical, and the big doors at the ground level could well be stable doors. My first stop was to look at the old insurance maps:
Despite the similar facades, 33 is substantially bigger. The H in a rectangle represents an open-shaft hoist, which is a good sign of a factory or warehouse. 31 was was being used in 1904 as a fire patrol station, which was separate from the city’s fire department: the parol was run by the fire insurance companies and was meant to reduce insurance payouts by limiting losses, rather than fighting fires. In any case, not the kind of use that would result in a “TKGN STABLE” sign.
The block is part of the Noho Historic District Extension, and upon reading the descriptions of the buildings, it became clear that the signs were misleading. Joseph Scott Trucking moved in to 31 in 1976, and it appears that the fire parol was there 1878-1923; Bernard Beinecke was in 33 something like 1889 to 1931. Both buildings were constructed in 1871, amazingly enough with different architects despite the overwhelming similarity of the facades. A little more digging turned up the opinion that, yes, the Joseph Scott sign is a modern fake.
So, nice 1870s facades, but nothing much else interesting going on here.
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