History and architecture
The 97 Bowery Building is a five-story, 25-footwide, early Italianate style, significantly intact, cast-ironfronted store-and-loft building. Built in 1869 for John P. Jube and designed by architect Peter L.P. Tostevin, the building was occupied until 1935 by John P. Jube & Co., a hardware and carriage supply business.
97 Bowery was built in a time when the Bowery was the major thoroughfare through the Lower East Side and a major commercial street with specialty shops, dry-goods stores and fancy hardware businesses. The 97 Bowery Building is typical of commercial cast-iron construction during the 1850s and 1860s; and it is likely that various elements of the design were selected from a catalogue of standardized cast-iron components. Notable design elements include the Corinthian columns supporting arches as well as a classical cornice with a segmental arched pediment and acanthus modillions and studs, and spandrels similar in design to the spandrels of the former McCreery’s Dry Goods Emporium at 801 Broadway .
The design features of 97 Bowery are similar to several other significant cast-iron buildings, such as the “Thomas Twins” at 317 Broadway and 319 Broadway , and the Haughwout building . Today, 97 Bowery remains an important reminder of the Bowery’s commercial emergence after the Civil War, and is a rare example of cast-iron architecture in this particular area of the city.
Sources and further reading
This history comes from the Landmarks app’s historical catalog. Names and building uses may reflect the period described.