Louis Abramson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 1, 1887 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | January 15, 1985(1985-01-15) (aged 97) Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Other names | Louis Abrahamson |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Buildings | Daughters of Jacob Geriatric Center |
Louis Allen Abramson (August 1, 1887 – January 15, 1985) was an Americanarchitect who practicedmostly in New York City, specializing in hospitals, nursing homes, and restaurants.[1][2] He is best known for designing theDaughters of Jacob Geriatric Center inthe Bronx. Early in his career, he designed several Jewish Centers, a new type of building which filled the religious, cultural, educational, and often fitness needs of the community in a single structure. Later commissions included several restaurants for theHorn & Hardart,Longchamps, and Brass Rail chains, a nightclub, and a large office building.
Abramson had little formal schooling in architecture; he took courses atCooper Union, theMechanics Institute, andColumbia University but did not complete a degree. Most of his training was on-the-job in junior positions at well-known New York City architecture firms, after which he started his own firm. He employed a variety of styles, includingNeo-Renaissance,Moorish Revival,Neo-Classical,Tudor,Art Deco, andArt Moderne. Several of his buildings are listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.
Louis Allen Abramson (also known as Louis Abrahamson[3]) was born in New York City on August 1, 1887. He and his wife Pearl had two daughters, Anita Claire and Judith, but little else is known about his personal life.[1] Abramson did not have a traditional architecture education; he attendedCooper Union (wherecivil engineering failed to hold his interest) and then theMechanics Institute but did not graduate from either.[4] His introduction to architecture came when he took a job as an office boy and later adraftsman forJohn H. Duncan, a New York City architect.[4][5]: 1176 After leaving Duncan's employ, Abramson moved toSeattle but only stayed there for a few years. Upon his return to New York, he tookextension courses atColumbia University and was hired to work in Louis Gerard's office as a draftsman where he learned to appreciate theBeaux-Arts style.[4] Betweenc. 1908 andc. 1910 he worked in the practice ofJohn Galen Howard and also that of Louis E. Jallade.[6] Jallade specialized in buildings for theYoung Men's Christian Association, which influenced Abramson's 1913 design of a building for theYoung Woman's Hebrew Association.[7]
Abramson started his own firm in 1912 and was issued an architectural license in 1914.[6] In 1915, he had an office at 220Fifth Avenue[8] and later moved to 25 West 45th Street, both inManhattan.[6] Early in his career, Abramson developed an appreciation of the work ofMcKim, Mead & White, being especially fond of theUniversity Club andPenn Station. When interviewed in 1980, Abramson said that each time he went by the University Club, he would spend some time looking at it and "figuratively bow". He also expressed sadness over Penn Station's destruction, saying that he admiredGrand Central Terminal, but considered Penn Station to be perfect and "felt meek in [its] presence." He was particularly impressed with the spacing of the bronze letters on the Seventh Avenue side of the building, which inspired him to study architectural lettering. In the same interview, Abramson also said that although he admired the work ofCass Gilbert, especially "his modernity ... his breakaway from the classical school," andStanford White influenced his early work, his later designs were done to his own tastes and inclinations.[4]
In 1935, Abramson was appointed by MayorFiorello La Guardia to be one of 50 architects eligible to bid on municipal projects which would cost more than $100,000 (equivalent to $1.8 million in 2024). The selection criteria included using firms fromall the boroughs as well as providing opportunities for some of the newer firms in the city. The selection jury had initially contacted approximately 2,000 firms, of which about 500 expressed interest in being chosen.[9]
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In 1916, Abramson designed theHome of the Daughters of Jacob, an institution serving elderlyOrthodox Jews, on 167th Street between Findlay and Teller Avenues in the Bronx. The building is wheel-shaped, with eight wings arranged radially around a central core. The land consists of 36 lots which were previously part of American founding fatherGouverneur Morris's estate; at the time of purchase by the Daughters of Jacob, it was still occupied by Morris's 1812 house, which was demolished to make room for the new building.[10]
The central core contained administrative offices and was topped by a tower, which at the time of its construction was the highest point in the Bronx. The eightwings were residences for more than 1,000 elderly men and women. This new building replaced the existing home run by the Daughters of Jacob at 301East Broadway, about 9 miles (14 km) to the south, on Manhattan'sLower East Side, which could house only 200 people.[10] The plans for the new building included asynagogue with seating for 1,000 people, a 600-seat dining room, as well as a hospital, library, and aTurkish bath, with construction costs for the four-story building estimated to be $300,000 (equivalent to $6 million in 2024).[11] A fifth story added to the building in 1938 provided further hospital space for operating rooms along with X-ray, cardiological, physiotherapy, and dental facilities at a cost of $180,000 (equivalent to $3.1 million in 2024).[12]
By 1973, the building was deemed no longer fit for its original purpose, owing to new health codes. Abramson, then 84 years old, was part of the design team that modernized the building, connecting it by pedestrian bridges to new buildings on the opposite sides of Findlay and Teller Avenues. Abramson toldThe New York Times that the philosophy of how to house the elderly had changed over the years; previously it was felt that providing meals and a bed in award was acceptable, but modern practice was to offer greater privacy, individual dignity, and opportunities to remain active.[13]
Abramson designed several Jewish Centers, including the first one in Manhattan. Sometimes called a "shul with a pool", this style of building evolved to serve both the religious and secular needs of American congregations. In addition to a sanctuary, there would be classrooms and social halls. Larger examples might include agymnasium and a swimming pool.[14] Jewish historian David Kaufman used "Shul With a Pool" as the title of his 1999 book, in which he called Abramson "a leading architect of the synagogue-center building boom," noting that he also worked on the fundraising, running a campaign for theYoung Women's Hebrew Association in 1912 that raised $200,000 (equivalent to $4.69 million in 2024).[15]: 79–80
According to Jewish historianJacob J. Schacter, the Jewish Center was an invention of wealthy Jewsliving in New York's fashionableUpper West Side andYorkville neighborhoods in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[16]: 211–212 New York RabbiMordecai M. Kaplan envisioned transforming the synagogue "from solely a place of prayer to also a place of recreation: from a congregation to a Jewish center ... a place forBible and basketball,Gemara and games, learning and luncheons, prayer and ping-pong."[16]: 215–216
Abramson's influence can be seen in theOcean Parkway Jewish Center, designed by Samuel Malkind and Martyn Weinsten. One aspect of Abramson's work was using traditional Judaic symbols in the ornamentation of neo-Classical design. Malkind had worked as the head draftsman in Abramson's office early in his career, and followed Abramson's lead in this respect.[14][5]: 1290
Abramson designed theJewish Center at 131West 86th Street in Manhattan. Built in 1917–1920, this 10-story brick and stone building is part of theUpper West Side / Central Park West Historic District[17] and has been variously described as being in theNeo-Renaissance style orItalian Renaissance styles.[18][17] As the center included an Orthodox synagogue, the seating areas for men and women were to be separated from each other. The arrangement commonly used at the time had women seated in an upstairs gallery; in this case, the men and women were on the same level, separated by a partition known as amehitza.[16]: 236 As well as a large synagogue, the building was to include a second smaller one, an auditorium, clubrooms, handball and squash courts, a swimming pool on the sixth floor, and space for a possible Turkish bath to be installed later.[18]
In February 1917, the building was described as being planned to be 8 stories tall (a 1919 report says 10[19]), 66 by 100 feet (20 m × 30 m) on a 77 by 100.8 feet (23.5 m × 30.7 m) lot which had been purchased the previous April. At that time, the structure was estimated to cost $350,000 ($5.6 million in 2024) after purchase of the land.[18] The cornerstone was laid on August 5.[20] By February 1918, when the building was almost finished up to the fourth floor, construction costs were said to have been $150,000 ($2.4 million in 2024), and the lot as being 60 by 100 feet (18 m × 30 m). Planned future work included the addition of the gymnasium, pool, baths, sleeping accommodations, as well as a banquet hall and associated kitchens and pantries.[21] A temporary certificate of occupancy was issued on March 1, 1918, noting that the remaining construction was to be completed within five years. The first services were held on March 22–23, 1918, and the building was officially dedicated on March 24.[16]: 236–238 The expansion to 10 stories was announced in July 1919, with six additional stories to be added at a cost of approximately $175,000 ($2.4 million in 2024).[19]
The Brooklyn Jewish Center at 667Eastern Parkway between New York and Brooklyn Avenues was built in 1922, designed by Abramson in collaboration withMargon & Glasser.Francis Morrone, anarchitectural historian, describes it as being a long building, suitable to the site:[22]
The lower portion is fully rusticated, as are the end bays of the upper portion, creating exactly the kind of rhythm that is so necessary along a wide, long boulevard [...] As a building tailored to its location, it could hardly be improved.
Morrone compares the design to the nearby Bishop McDonnell Memorial High School, which he says similarly fits into the Eastern Parkway environment.[22] The building, which included a synagogue, gymnasium, catering facilities, classrooms, and a swimming pool, was built on 11 lots.[23]
Built in 1923, Abramson'sYoung Israel of Flatbush building at 1012 Avenue I in Brooklyn incorporated both Jewish and Moorish elements, using aMoorish revival style.[14] Architectural historian Anthony Robbins referred to this style of architecture, which originated in mid-19th century Europe, as "Semitic". According to Robbins, the style reflected a belief that theMoorish influences expressed Judaism's eastern cultural origins better than previous styles based on churches. This style was also used for contemporary Jewish buildings in Brooklyn byShampan & Shampan in their 1920Temple Beth-El of Borough Park at 4802 15th Avenue, and byTobias Goldstone in his 1928Kol Israel at 603 St. Johns Place.[14]
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.[24]: cover sheet Moorish details in Abramson's design included slenderminarets, arches in bothogival andhorseshoe styles, andpolychromatic tile and brick. The Avenue Ifaçade uses purple, red, and brown brick laid in irregular geometric patterns. In addition to these Moorish details are more traditional Jewish motifs including theMagen David (six-pointed star ofDavid) andHebrew inscriptions.[14]
An entrancevestibule and the synagogue office are on the first floor. The second floor includes a public space and classrooms. The main sanctuary on the third floor is two stories tall with large polychromatic leaded glass windows including both geometric patterns and the names of thetwelve tribes from Jewish tradition to provide light. The basement was built as a gymnasium and in later years doubled as an auditorium.[24]: 4
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Abramson designed theAstoria Center of Israel, a synagogue located at 27–35 Crescent Street inAstoria, Queens. The two-story building was built in 1925–1926 as a religious school and community center associated with the adjacent Congregation Mishkan Israel synagogue and continues to be used for its original purpose. The building was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 2009. It is two stories high with a façade ofFlemish-bond striated red brick trimmed incast stone designed to look like limestone, sitting on a masonryfoundation. As with many American synagogues built in the 1920s, the design incorporates classical detailing along with Judaic symbols: the Magen David, amenorah, akiddush cup, and hands in the traditional blessing gesture of theKohanim.[25]
In 1930, developer Julian Kovacs purchased adjacent lots at 1 Platt Street and 114 John Place in a sub-section of Manhattan'sFinancial District where many insurance companies have their offices. The lots totaled 11,000 square feet (1,000 m2) with existing low-rise structures. Kovacs hired Abramson to design an office tower which was ultimately constructed as116 John Street; theArt Deco 35-story office building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[26][27]
Despite thestock market crash a year earlier, real estate development was ongoing in this area, Art Deco designs being popular, as an elegant expression of the Modernist style. Abramson's design included elements ofCubism andFuturism such as chevron patterns in the metal spandrels between the first and second stories, withsetbacks as required by New York City's1916 zoning code.[27]
Shortly after construction began, a lawsuit was filed by the owners of the adjacent 111 John Street claiming that the setbacks were insufficient. Based on the width of the street, the suit claimed that the first setback should be at approximately 130 feet (40 m) instead of the planned 250 feet (76 m). The developers of 116 John Street claimed that the setbacks were appropriate based on proximity to the wider public space at Burling Slip. By this time, the foundation had already been completed, contracts for 90% of the required steel had already been issued, and several leases had been signed. The suit was dismissed on the basis that it had not been filed soon enough and the cost to correct the problem would be excessive, but the judge did comment that the law should be clarified to prevent future disputes of a similar nature.[27] A 1988 lawsuit during the construction of 108 East 96th Street cited similar concerns.[28]
Abramson designed two restaurants forHorn & Hardart in 1931, bothAutomats done in a modern style to meet Horn & Hardart's preference.[4] The first, at 155 West 33rd Street inmidtown Manhattan, described byNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission historian Jay Shockley as "fanciful",[29] had a two-story façade finished interra-cotta with abstract grillework, floral ornamentation, and indirect lighting. The interiors were relatively simple, but picked up many of these decorative elements. In a 1980 interview with Anthony Robbins, Abramson said he had not understood what the client was asking for, so he "simply designed what he liked".[4] The second, at 611 West 181st Street inWashington Heights, followed the design concept used by Charles Platt in his Horn & Hardart at 2710–2714 Broadway[29] and was described by Robbins as "one of the most extravagant of all New York's Automats". The interior was adorned with scenes of modern New York; of particular note were panels in the colored glass ceilings in which "the [recently constructed]Chrysler andEmpire State Buildings [...] rose towards each other, their spires meeting electrically over a central schematic diagram of theManhattan street grid."[4]
Starting in 1934, Abramson designed six restaurants for theLongchamps chain in collaboration with artistWinold Reiss. Abramson worked on the exteriors, with Reiss producing images related to New York City for the interiors.[4]American Architect and Architecture magazine wrote of the collaboration:[30]
For the past two years the happily collaborative talents of an architect and a painter have resulted in better appearance and better business for a well-established chain of New York restaurants. Fairly standard in basic elements of form, each restaurant is decorated around a different theme. The most recent in this group uses as its central motif the historical contrasts of New York City. The façade, mainly of plate glass and satin-finished chromium, has its structural parts decorated with glass mosaics in blue, silver, and off-white.
Abramson designed the Brass Rail restaurant atIdlewild Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport), located in the Temporary Terminal Building, aquonset hut type structure.[31][32] Jerry Spampanato of the Metro Airport News described it as "a restaurant ahead of its time", with the carving station visible as you entered the building.[31]
In collaboration withVoorhees, Gmelin & Walker, Abramson designed the Brass Rail concessions at the1939 New York World's Fair.[1] There were several of these on the fair grounds, offering service at either a food bar or tables.[33]
Although the Brass Rail design was successful,[1] not all of Abramson's designs were as well received. In 1936, he submitted a sketch to andesign competition for the fair. The competition asked for building designs which could be used forapplied arts exhibits, with limits on interior and exterior dimensions, to be sited with two other exhibit buildings grouped in a three-sided plot. In a review of the submissions,Pencil Points editor Kenneth Reid criticized Abramson's work, saying that it forced visitors to either retrace their steps in opposition to the overall traffic flow or make two passes through the gallery to see all the exhibits. Reid also said that Abramson tried too hard to make the design modern, resulting in simple elevations.[34]
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A 1937 commission was theRiviera nightclub inFort Lee, New Jersey, built for entertainment entrepreneur Ben Marden. The club was atop thePalisades, with views of theHudson River, theGeorge Washington Bridge, and Manhattan.[4] Seating capacity was almost 1000 people.[35][36] Despite the engineering difficulties presented by the solid rock of the Palisades, and contrary to Abramson's advice, Marden insisted on the building having a full basement, requiring the use ofdynamite to excavate a hole approximately 200 by 150 feet (61 m × 46 m) and 13 feet (4.0 m) deep, which was finished with reinforced concrete.[37] The basement was required for the mechanical and hydraulic equipment which operated a revolving stage and bandstand on the floor above. It also housed a large kitchen with extensive refrigerated storage space, a wine cellar, a barber shop, a massage parlor, and a tailor shop.[37] Construction costs were estimated at $250,000 ($4.3 million in 2024).[35]
InBill Miller's Riviera, Tom Austin and Ron Kase describe the main floor of the building as having been designed with a nautical theme, resembling the bridge of an ocean liner.[37] According to Anthony Robbins, Marden had wanted a traditional design based onGeorge Washington's home inMount Vernon, Virginia, but Abramson didn't like this idea so designed a modern structure instead and hid the details from Marden until construction was too far along to do anything about it.[4]
The exterior walls were reinforced block and concrete covered instucco with the front at the edge of the Palisades cliff, and an Art Deco entrance at the rear, elevated five steps above a sweeping driveway.[37] The semi-circular building included unbroken expanses of glass to take advantage of the views, and the roof of the building could be opened to the sky on clear nights.[4] A year after the club opened, Abramson added a series of abstract murals widely attributed toArshile Gorky.[4] Austin and Kase note that the oils, watercolors, and murals were actually done bySaul Schary, who shared Gorky's abstract style. Gorky had done some paintings for Marden's previous club, also called the Riviera, which was lost in a fire. Marden had asked Gorky to paint the murals for his new club, and Gorky produced some drawings,[37] but it was Schary who ultimately did the work.[38]
The building was rumored to contain an illegal hidden gambling parlor.[39] According to Austin and Kase, those in on the secret would enter through a janitor's closet; a mechanism therein wouldretract a wall, exposing a winding staircase leading to another level of the building where the casino was located.[37] The club was closed in 1953[40] and demolished in 1954 when thePalisades Interstate Parkway was built.[36][35]
In 1919 (by which time he had acquired a reputation for designing hospital buildings) Abramson designed a four-story building for the Israel Hospital in Brooklyn, to be located on Tenth Avenue, occupying the entire 200-foot (61 m) block between 48th and 49th Streets.[41] With a capacity for 200 patients,[42] this building was to provide expansion space for the New Utrecht Dispensary (which later becameMaimonides Medical Center).[41] Construction cost was originally estimated in May 1919 to be about $250,000 ($3.4 million in 2024)[43] which grew to $400,000 ($5.4 million in 2024) by September of that year.[44]
Built in 1926, Abramson designed a nine-story apartment building at 210 West 78th Street. The building was in theTudor style, with a façade of irregular brick withstucco panels framed by wooden strips and a roof featuring peaked gables.[45] It was built at a time whenManhattan's West Side was undergoing extensive development and replaced houses previously numbered 206–212. The previous year,Schwartz & Gross had designed another nine-story building facing it across the street at number 215, which similarly replaced houses at 211–217. Both of these buildings were set back 5 feet (1.5 m) from the standard building line, complying with a covenant dating back to 1887.[45]
In 1941, Abramson designed anArt Moderne addition to 103 West 135th Street, which at the time was known as the West 135th Street branch[46][47] or Harlem branch of theNew York Public Library.[48] This doubled the size of the original 1905McKim, Mead & White building, extending it to 104 West 136th Street, occupying the site of two townhouses previously owned byMadam C. J. Walker. The cornerstone was laid on October 28, 1941, with construction expected to be completed in early 1942 at a cost of approximately $200,000 ($3.3 million in 2024).[46][49] As of 2024[update] this is known as the Countee Cullen Library, honoring American writerCountee Cullen, and is part of the largerSchomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, which was designated aNew York City landmark in 1981.[46][50]
As well as the usual library spaces such asbook stacks and reading rooms, the design included a lecture hall for community events, an art gallery on themezzanine floor, and a dedicated acoustically corrected room for listening to the library's music collection. The modern style with lack of adornment was intended to entice people into the building; in a 1946 review, Abramson wrote "The exterior was conceived to express the building's function in terms of stark simplicity, to the end that it might allay shyness and dispel reluctance to enter the building".[48]
Abramson bought a property on Indian Hill Road inYorktown, New York, in 1945 for his personal use as a country retreat. The property came with an undistinguishedCape Cod–style house, which he incrementally expanded to include stone walls, stairways, and porches to provide better views of the surrounding area. Abramson sold the property in 1984. In 2017, the house was listed as a Home of Historic Distinction by the Yorktown Landmarks Preservation Commission.[51]
Abramson retired in 1973.[1] He was described in that year as still being active at the age of 84, tall, well-built, and giving the appearance of being in his 50s.[13] He died on January 15, 1985, at St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center in Manhattan at the age of 97. He is survived by his wife Pearl and two daughters, Anita Claire from Coconut Creek, Florida, and Judith Abramson of Manhattan as well as two grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.[1]
The argument over the height of 116 John Street, which was built 58 years ago, sounds just like the current zoning dispute case at 108 East 96th Street, a dispute that has caught the public's attention because it is so unusual.
210 West 78th Street
