cast iron commercial building (1860), 827-29 Broadway, New York, New York

Italiante commercial building built by tobacconist Pierre Lorillard III (1796-1867) on property owned by the family until 1940 • Lorillard was grandson of Pierre Abraham Lorillard (1742–1776), founder of the American tobacco industry with 1760 launch of P. Lorillard & Co. • in 1867 No. 827 was shop of cabinetmaker Alexander Roux (1813-1886) • from 1980s until 2008 was a club, La Belle Epoque

 

cast-iron architecture originated in Britain • about 250 cast iron structures in NYC, most of them in SoHo • most cast iron facades constructed 1840-1880 • cheaper than stone or brick • prefabricated in factories, building could be completed in 4 months • cast iron construction made larger windows possible • lost favor after steel introduced

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