The evolution of Broadway in the blocks comprising NoMad over the past few years has been nothing short of dramatic. Now, the southwest corner of 30th Street is about to become the most prominent example of the neighborhood’s shifting character as the 476-foot-tall Virgin Hotel begins to rise, at 1225 Broadway.
Over the past 200 years, Broadway was the center stage for many that came to make their fortunes in the big city. Foundations for the world’s second Virgin Hotel, part of billionaire Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, are underway at 1205, 1225, and 1227 Broadway, between West 29th and West 30th streets. The site’s relevance in the city’s history is rooted deeper than the new skyscraper’s supports. Before it housed the three 1920s office and retail buildings that graced the site until 2015, the block was home to a prominent theater row, a theater-museum built by John Banvard, once the world’s richest and most famous artist, and a number of other ventures worthy of remembrance and commemoration, undertaken by the gritty and relentlessly driven people that give New York its signature flair and energy.
In 2015, New York’s landmarks law turned 50 years old. Events and discussion panels were held across the city throughout the year. The Museum of the City of New York held the commemorative Saving Place exhibit. As YIMBY reported, six individual landmarks and four historic districts were designated during this period. However, last year also saw its fair share of demolitions. Here, we look back at a small selection from the dozens of buildings that met the wrecking ball over the course of 2015. These eight structures range from architectural masterpieces to eyesores and span across a variety of decades, styles, and uses – as diverse as the Big Apple’s built environment itself.
In August of 2014, YIMBY brought you the first glimpse of the 39-story, 465-key Virgin Hotel planned at 1225 Broadway, in Midtown South, and we revealed more renderings in January of this year. According to Commercial Observer, the developer has now broken ground on the 500,000 square-foot building, which will eventually contain 90,000 square feet of retail space. The hotel portion will measure 300,000 square feet, and 30,000 square feet will be designated as amenity space for guests. The Lam Group is the developer, while VOA Associates is the design architect, and completion is expected in 2018.
YIMBY featured a first glimpse of the Virgin Hotel back in August, and we previewed the base of the structure back in November. Now, we have more renderings of the 38-story and 460-room tower in…
