High Service Pumping Station, March 5, 1938. The origins of this building date to 1901 when the new consolidated city's Department of Water Supply laid the foundation for a pumping station near the planned East Basin of the Jerome Park Reservoir. The "high service" facility was meant to provide increased water pressure to new taller buildings. While the East Basin was never constructed, the 1906-completed building did find a use as a pumping station, with underground pipes attaching it to the West Basin of the reservoir. The red brick, Romanesque Revival building is low and long with 42 uniform two-story arch-topped windows on its facade. The long and steeply pitched roof once had a tall brick water-tower jutting out from the middle of the building (seen here). The tower has since been dramatically shortened, though the facility still functions in its original purpose. Interestingly this pumping station differs stylistically from other, earlier waterway infrastructure. The early work, rendered in stone and often completed in Renaissance Revival and Italianate styles, was completed by the Aqueduct Commission, a state-appointed panel. This building was designed by George W. Birdsall, of the city's Department of Water. In the case of new aqueduct infrastructure, the city and state agencies often clashed in the early years after consolidation. The red brick Romanesque look of this building "can be interpreted as defiant or hostile," according to architectural historian Robert Kornfeld.

Pickwick Arms, interior courtyard, ca. 1925. The triangular design of the apartment building allowed for an interior courtyard (enter by large gated archways). The lush courtyard was designed with a tile-roofed gazebo. By 2008 the lion-head fountain (seen to the left and below the gazebo) had been removed and the gazebo was in a dilapidated state. The gazebo was shored up to maintain its structural stability and it was renovated. It still stands in the courtyard of the Pickwick Arms.

Pickwick Arms, ca. 1925. This five-story Tudor style apartment building has an imposing look that is the result of siting on a triangle lot and having a angular north facing facade that seems to be jutting out. Built in 1923, the exterior of the building remains very well preserved, though the window awnings and flag pole have been removed.

Constructivism is an art movement and philosophy that originated in Russia in 1915. The style uses architectural line drawings as symbols of protest against the government. Using these images, think about what it means to apply these abstract ideas to NYC buildings to make your own Constructivist art. This story was created for Christina Rinker's art class at Knowledge & Power Preparatory Academy.