331 Pearl Street, ca. 1870.

In 1854, Harper & Brothers, the preëminent publishing house of 19th century New York, retained architects James Bogardus, the pioneer of "fire proof" architectural cast iron, and John B. Corlies to design a new building for its offices and printing operation. Facing what was then Franklin Square, the Harper & Brothers building was located where the Manhattan approach to the Brooklyn Bridge lies today. "The Harper Establishment; or, How the Story Books Dre Made," an illustrated guide to the state-of-the-art building and the company's printing processes, was published in 1855 by — who else? — Harper's.

Although the historic building was razed in 1925, its legacy lives on: the New York Public Library's DeWitt Wallace periodical reading room includes a 1982 mural by Richard Haas documenting landmarks in the city's publishing history, in which Bogardus's facade is featured.