NoHo is filled with abundant architectural gems, and the DeVinne Press Building – which this year celebrates a 130th anniversary – is no exception. Built in 1885 by the firm of Babb, Cook & Willard, and located at the corner of Lafayette Street and East 4th Street, the building has been widely-praised for both its original design as well as its meticulous preservation.
David Dunlap from the NY Times describes the building in his 2014 article, Celebrating a Building that has Stood for Decades as a Symbol of the Press:
“Few commercial structures of any era embody the personality and purpose of their occupants as well as this 19th-century masterpiece. The taut red brickwork looks as smooth as vellum. Deeply recessed windows could almost double as monumental type matrices. Round arches recall press cylinders. Terra-cotta ornaments are used as judiciously as a fine printer would employ fleurons.”
And in 2003, Christopher Grey, also of the NY Times, had this to say in the article An Understated Masterpiece That Earns Its Keep:
“The De Vinne Press Building is among the most sophisticated works of masonry in New York, a tour de force of honestly simple bricklaying built for one of the premier printing companies of a century ago.”
Today, the De Vinne Press Building is home to a number of thriving businesses, including the anchor Astor Wines & Spirits.
