The NoHo Historic District was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) on June 29, 1999, with the NoHo East Historic District designated in 2003 and expansions to the original district boundaries approved in 2008. This virtual walking tour features 25 buildings within the approximately 130-building original NoHo Historic District, in celebration of its 25th anniversary. The highlighted buildings represent the range of construction periods and array of building types, styles, and uses that occur throughout the district. We encourage you to explore this fascinating stretch of Manhattan virtually, or to use this tour as a jumping-off point as you take your own walk through the historic district! The three-part tour is organized by phases of development, based upon the same categories found within the LPC NoHo Designation Report. Part III includes buildings constructed from the 1890s to 1910s: The Booming Nineties a) 611-621 Broadway, The Cable Building b) 65-69 Bleecker Street, The Bayard-Condict Building c) 696-702 Broadway d) 34-36 Cooper Square, "Village Voice" Post-Consolidation Growth e) 756-770 Broadway, Wanamaker's Department Store Annex f) 684 Broadway (aka 2 Great Jones Street) g) 740-744 Broadway (aka 2 Astor Place) \-- To return to Part II of the tour, click here. To revert back to Part I of the tour, click here.

Skybridges, which, though rare, could once be found in various Manhattan locations, are quickly becoming a thing of the past. While erected for pedestrian convenience, the utility of these aerial walkways became less relevant as elevator technology improved over the 20th century. Despite their decline, a handful of sky bridges remain today and are always an unexpected joy to see. In this list, we will introduce you to the history and wonder of some of our favorite "skywalks" (those long gone and those still extant)!

East 9th Street. Street Bridge, Wanamaker Building, 1923. Called the "Bridge of Progress" this sky bridge connected the 1862 Stewart department store building (which became a Wanamaker store in 1896) and the 1907 Wanamaker "Annex" Building between 8th and 9th Streets. These two buildings were lavish shopping destinations for the first half of the 20th century. In 1954 the store closed and the older north building was set to be demolished but the interior and sky bridge were first destroyed by a fire 1956.

Located in the NoHo Historic District, this full block building at 770 Broadway was built in the Renaissance Revival style and was originally home to the department store, Wanamaker’s and its warehouse when this stretch of Broadway was a bustling commercial center at the beginning of the 20th century.

Wanamaker's Annex Located in the NoHo Historic District, this full block building was built in the Renaissance Revival style and was originally home to the department store, Wanamaker’s and its warehouse when this stretch of Broadway was a bustling commercial center at the beginning of the 20th century. Wanamaker’s Department Store was founded by John Wanamaker (1838-1922) following the Civil War in Philadelphia. In 1896 the store expanded to New York. The first location of Wanamaker’s was across East 9th Street from what would be 770 Broadway in the old A.T. Stewart cast-iron store (demolished). Quickly Wanamakers became one of the leading department stores in New York City. In 1903 Wanamaker sought to expand his enterprise to the neighboring block to the south and hired the prominent Chicago-based architecture firm of D.H. Burnham & Co. to design his new building as an annex to the original. D.H. Burnham & Co. was originally Burnham & Root, a partnership between Daniel H. Burnham (1846-1912) and John Root formed in 1873. The association lasted until Root’s death in 1891 after which the name became D. H. Burnham & Co. The firm was famous for its early skyscraper designs and was spurred to national prominence in 1890 when it was selected as the consulting architect for the World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893. The full block building at 770 Broadway was built in two stages in 1903-07 and 1924-25. There was an existing building at the northeast corner of Broadway and East 8th Street known as the “Jones Building” which was under lease with the Broadway Trust Company. So the first part of the plan was executed initially around the Jones building and then later finished in 1924 when the store was able to demolish the “Jones Building” and complete the Burnham plan. This was only after having to file a case with the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals, which Wanamaker’s did successfully. The basis for the objection by the city was that the addition as designed back in 1903 did not meet the city’s 1916 Zoning Law’s setback requirement. Clad mostly in terra cotta, this grand shopping palace contained thirty-two acres of retail space, an auditorium with 1,300 seats and a large restaurant to round out the shopping experience. Bridges were built between the Wanamaker buildings which you can see at the left in the 1936 picture above. In 1945, the auditorium was converted into one of the city’s first television studios. Wanamakers closed in 1955 and the cast iron building to the north was lost to a fire shortly thereafter. Today 770 Broadway has retail space in its first two floors and offices above.