History and architecture
One of the finest buildings of the Anglo-Italianate Style in New York City is India House, built for the Hanover Bank between 1851 and 1854. This building has played an important role in the commercial life of New York, having served as the New York Cotton Exchange between 1870 and 1886 and having later become the offices of W.R.Grace & Co. Today India House is a clubhouse containing a fine maritime museum, and it also stands as a surviving example of the commercial life of mid-Nineteenth Century New York.
This brownstone building with its handsome doorway, cornice and pedimented windows illustrates Anglo-Italianate architecture to perfection. Above a strong base the smooth masonry walls rise to a well-detailed cornice, carried on closely-spaced brackets.
The entrance is made effective with Corinthian columns and a fine railing above (balustrade). As an example of a large, freestanding symmetrical Anglo-Italianate building, India House has few to equal it in architectural excellence in the City.
Although built for a bank, this building is important because it was basically a prototype of the New York brownstone residence.
Sources and further reading
This history comes from the Landmarks app’s historical catalog. Names and building uses may reflect the period described.