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Read the press release here.

19th Century Hudson Square Houses Designated as Landmarks

By Andrea Swalec | March 27, 2012 5:39pm
The three buildings on the left, located on Dominick Street in Hudson Square, were designated as landmarks on March 27, 2012. The building on the right had already been altered too much to be landmarked, the LPC said.
The three buildings on the left, located on Dominick Street in Hudson Square, were designated as landmarks on March 27, 2012. The building on the right had already been altered too much to be landmarked, the LPC said.
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Landmarks Preservation Commission

MANHATTAN — Four historic Hudson Square houses that rose in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War and survived the centuries since, including the demolition of surrounding buildings to make way for the Holland Tunnel, have been granted protection as city landmarks.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously voted Tuesday to protect four Federal style brick row houses located at 310 Spring St. and 32, 34 and 36 Dominick St., according to a statement. 

The buildings — which are now surrounded by parking garages, storages spaces and the towering Trump SoHo — are reminders of the city's evolution into a financial capital, LPC chairman Robert Tierney said. 

The post-Revolutionary War-ear brick building at 310 Spring St. was designated as a landmark March 27, 2012.
The post-Revolutionary War-ear brick building at 310 Spring St. was designated as a landmark March 27, 2012.
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Landmarks Preservation Commission

"The houses are remarkably intact, despite their age and the profound changes that have taken place around them," he said in the statement. 

"Today’s votes underscore our commitment to ensuring they remain part of the city’s fabric for generations to come.”

Federal style architecture, which was en vogue from the 1780s through the early 1830s, is characterized by flat facades, simple details and peaked roofs, according to the housing website FrontDoor.com. 

The house on Spring Street between Renwick and Greenwich streets was completed in 1819 and first occupied by a ship captain and his wife. It later became a multi-family home and a dry goods business. The building now has residences upstairs and the chic bar The Anchor on its ground floor.

The homes on Dominick Street between Varick and Hudson streets were completed in 1826 and were originally surrounded by marshes known in the 18th century as Lispenard's Meadows.

Many houses in the area that were built at the same time were razed between 1919 and 1927 to make way for the Holland Tunnel.

The LPC has given landmark status to 17 Federal style houses since 2002, the statement said.

The owner of 34 Dominick St., Robert Neborak, opposed the designation because the building had already been altered and the city ruling would force him to pay for restorations, city documents showed.

Representatives for the owners of 310 Spring St. and 32 Dominick St. said they had no positions on the designations, a spokeswoman for the LPC said.

A representative of the owner of 36 Dominick St. testified against the landmark ruling Tuesday but did not put his complaints into writing, the LPC spokeswoman said.