144 West 14th Street Building

History and architecture

144 West 14th Street is a grandly-proportioned Renaissance Revival-style loft building.1 Faced with limestone, tan brick and terra cotta, it was designed by the architects Brunner & Tryon in 1895-96. Seven stories tall, the street facade is articulated through a series of monumental arches, embellished with handsome classical details. Brunner, who began his career in the office of the noted architect George B. Post, designed many institutional structures in Manhattan, including synagogues and hospitals, as well as buildings on the campuses of Barnard, Columbia, and City College.

During the mid-1890s, the firm designed a series of commercial buildings in Manhattan, reflecting the influence of the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and the rise of the City Beautiful movement. 144 West 14th Street was built for the real estate developer Joseph L. Buttenwieser, who sold it in 1897 to Frederick Hill Meserve, an early collector of fine art photography, who conveyed it to his uncle, Seth M. Milliken, of the textile firm Deering, Milliken & Company, in 1899.

Since its completion, many commercial tenants have occupied various floors, including R. H. Macy’s, which produced flags and silk underwear here, the silversmith Graff, Washbourne & Dunn, as well as Epiphone, a leading manufacturer of stringed instruments. In 1941, the noted American jazz guitarist Les Paul assembled a “solid-body” electric guitar in the company’s workshop; it became the prototype for many electric guitars played today. 144 West 14th Street was acquired by Pratt Institute in 1999. Restored by Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut & Kuhn Architects, it now serves as the school’s Manhattan campus.