| 110 Livingston Street | |
|---|---|
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| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Architectural style | Beaux Arts |
| Location | 110 Livingston Street, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 40°41′28″N73°59′24″W / 40.691000°N 73.990000°W /40.691000; -73.990000 |
110 Livingston Street is aBeaux Arts-style building located inDowntown Brooklyn,New York City,New York,United States.
The building was designed by the architectural firmMcKim, Mead & White, and was built in 1926 to serve as theheadquarters for theElks organization, including amenities such as a pool, banquet hall, andbowling alleys.[1] The building has a limestone and terra cotta facade, with Renaissance-revival style features includingbalustrades,egg-and-dart ornamentation, andCorinthian columns.[2]
In 1940, the building was converted to serve as theNew York City Board of Education headquarters. Over decades of use by the Board of Education, the building became known for the entrenched bureaucracy and dysfunction of its occupants, and Michael Cooper ofThe New York Times stated that the building's name eventually came to symbolize the failings of the New York City school system, as "more than a location or a shorthand name for the institution it housed, the city's Board of Education. It symbolized a state of mind, a failed system that was at once imperious and impervious."[1][3][4]
In 2003, thegovernment of New York City sold the building to Two Trees Management, a primary developer of theDUMBO neighborhood, for development as luxury residential apartments, as part of development efforts taking place throughoutDowntown Brooklyn. Several floors were added to the structure, and the courtyard was decorated with atrompe-l'œil mural of architectural features by muralistRichard Haas.[5] The interior lobby space, including acoffered ceiling, has been restored by the architecture firmBeyer Blinder Belle, and a historic theater space on the ground floor is intended to be used byISSUE Project Room, a local arts organization.
