To College of New Rochelle
To I-95 EXIT 15 Interchange and Pelham
PERMIT 3 HOUR
MAPLE AVE. LOT
4
BLESSED SACRAMENT CHURCH
1 HOUR
One Way
ent num Mo rs' die Sol
PERMIT
PROSPEC
T ST. LOT
SIMONE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN PLANNING
ACE LEROY PL
1 HOUR
BIBLE WAY CHURCH
s ome Bec Way Two
PAY & DISPLAY
7
N
5
8 6
3
LOFTS DAVENPORT ON LOFTS MAIN ON MAIN
9
1 HOUR
LOEW’S M2 CONDOMINIUM PROJECT IN PLANNING
12
10
11
543 MAIN CONDOMINIUM T ES W
ER
PL
.
ay eW On
Former Palace Shoe Store
11
Lambden Building
10 9
TRINITY ST. PAUL'S CHURCH
Pioneer Building
23
Former Trolley Turn-Around Building
22
Former Bank of New Rochelle
Former Westchester Federal Savings Bank
21
“K” Building
20
Former Ware’s Department Store/Bloomingdale’s
19
Blessed Sacrament Church
7
18
Former Proctor’s-RKO Theater
6
Former Masonic Lodge/ Library Building
17
Union Baptist Church
16
The Presbyterian Church of New Rochelle and Pintard Manse
5
Former Arnold Constable Building
15
Former New Rochelle Public Library
4
Former Loew’s Theater
3
Trinity-St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and Burial Grounds
2
New Rochelle Public Library & Library Green
1
Liebman’s Children’s Apparel Store
13
Former Fire Headquarters
12
Walking Tour at a Glance
3 HOUR
START 1 HOUR
HU
MONROE COLLEGE
1 HOUR
RESIDENTIAL HALL
One Way CITY NEW ROC
To Larchmont, Mamaroneck and Five Islands Park
ANDERSON ST.
FOUNTAIN PL.
22 MARRIOTT RESIDENCE INN
HSBC BANK HSBC BANK
E GU
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PLA
S. ZA
To Sound Shore Medical Center
UNION STATE BANK
LIBRARY LOT
LIBRARY GREEN
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Former Standard Star Building
14
1 ON ON UND AL AV E SO TH
New Rochelle Post Office Former National City Bank of New Rochelle
ONG AL AV RKIN E PA ARAGte) G riva (P
17
1 HOUR
AY 1) (US HIGHW POST RD. MONROE COLLEGE
(US
1 HOUR
$1.00
A24
SPACE METER
18
PERMIT
THE SUMMIT
GE CITY GARA NEW ROC
21
1) AY HW HIG
POST 19 OFFICE
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RADISSON HOTEL
One Way
FLEET FLEET BANK BANK
RADISSON PLAZA
0 $1.0
W NE
NORTH AVE.
8
ay One W
To NYC
BOSTON
1 HOUR
LIBRARY
y Wa One
2
MAIN ST.
To Marina and Hudson Park
14
23
LIBRARY LOT
AVALON EAST ON THE SOUND
16 UNION BAPTIST CHURCH
15
1 HOUR
BANK OF NY 3 HOUR
Printing sponsored by: 543 Main LLC Davenport Lofts on Main GHP/145 Huguenot Street Kaufman Organization/ K Building Monroe College New Roc City
To Marina and Hudson Park 466 MAIN 466 STREET MAIN STREET
13
One Way
1 HOUR
T ES CH
FRENCHSPEAKING BAPTIST CHURCH
One Way
PRESBYTERIA CHURCH
To Beach Clubs and Davenport Park
One Way
$1.00
MEMORIAL HIGHWAY
One Way
To Marinas and Glen Island Park PINTARD AVE.
ZA L PLA ORIA MEM
15 Minute Bank Parking
CEDAR PLAZA
One Way
TOYOTA
BEL-AQUA HEADQUARTERS COMMERCE DR.
One Way
EN
A GL
ND
TH
CON EDISON
RU
EXIT 16 Interchange
AY W
EXPO DESIGN CENTER
To City Hall & Iona College
To Connecticut
Historic Downtown New Rochelle T H E
T H E
B I D
The New Rochelle Business Improvement District (BID).
Working to make things happen Downtown.
G U I D E
T O
N
ew Rochelle’s sweeping history, from Huguenot settlement to affluent suburban City, is evident in its downtown architecture. In the mid-1800s, the railroad, providing a critical link with New York City, enabled New Rochelle’s business district to flourish. Growth centered around New Rochelle Train Station the train station. In 1901, Depot Plaza Circa 1873 when George M. Cohan’s hit On December 25, 1848, the first musical, “45 Minutes From train steamed through New Broadway,” poked fun at the Rochelle, part of the New York, “rubes” in New Rochelle, this New Haven, Hartford Railroad built city of 10,000 was on its way in the early 1840s, largely by to becoming one of the recent immigrants. The track from region’s most fashionable New Rochelle to New York City communities. was completed in 1873 and this Over the next three station replaced the original, smalldecades, New Rochelle’s er one. Now part of the City’s New population quadrupled and Rochelle Intermodal Transportaby the 1930s it was one of the tion Center, it incorporates wealthiest communities in commuter rail, Amtrak, a parking America, evident by its garage and consolidated bus, taxi & distinguished downtown Art airport limousine services. Deco buildings. Entering the 21st century, downtown New Rochelle continues to exemplify America’s exciting commercial history as it develops into a dynamic center epitomizing the growing “Return to Downtown” movement. Main Street maintains the link between the community’s past and future. Enjoy your walk around downtown New Rochelle with this BID Guide. As you reflect on the physical past preserved along Main Street, also experience its dynamic vibrancy, the unique spirit that, through the ages, has always made downtowns the heart of their communities, from ancient Roman forums to contemporary American central business districts. Get the best view of downtown’s outstanding architecture by looking up. Downtown certainly is!
CENTRE AVE.
SOUTH DIVISION ST.
CHURCH ST.
LAWTON ST.
NORTH AVE.
LE COUNT PL.
HARRISON ST.
CEDAR ST.
PALMER AVE.
It’s Downtown, where New Rochelle’s past, present and future come together!
MAPLE AVE.
NORTH AVE.
LOCUST AVE.
FRANKLIN AVE.
ECHO AVE.
Have you been Downtown lately?
Businesses The BID works to recruit new businesses to downtown, from stores such as Metro Bicycles to new espresso bars such as Gallery Café.
B I D
Services The BID helps maintain the quality of life downtown with such initiatives as the BID Code Enforcement Project and the Clean Streets Program. For more information please contact: New Rochelle BID WWW.newrochelledowntown.com TELEPHONE: (914) 576-5332 Marc Jerome, Chairman Ralph DiBart, Executive Director eMAIL: ralphdibart@newrochelledowntown.com RESEARCH & TEXT BY BARBARA DAVIS DESIGN & PRODUCTION BY HARQUIN CREATIVE GROUP 06/04
T O
Historic Downtown NewRochelle
Marketing The BID organizes special events and successful public relations campaigns to promote downtown. Development The BID initiates private new development such as Monroe College’s Main Street expansion with Milavec Hall and a new dormitory.
G U I D E
Experience a cross section of American architecture and history. Take a stroll in Downtown New Rochelle.
To College of New Rochelle PAY & DISPLAY
PERMIT
PROSPEC
T ST. LOT
12
FRENCHSPEAKING BAPTIST CHURCH
To Beach Clubs and Davenport Park
15466
1 HOUR
16
To Marina and Hudson Park AY 1) (US HIGHW POST RD. BOSTON MONROE COLLEGE UNION BAPTIST CHURCH
1 HOUR
Printing sponsored by: 543 Main LLC Davenport Lofts on Main GHP/145 Huguenot Street Kaufman Organization/ K Building Monroe College New Roc City To Marina and Hudson Park MONROE COLLEGE
RESIDENTIAL HALL
One Way
ECHO AVE.
UNION STATE BANK
To Larchmont, Mamaroneck and Five Islands Park
HARRISON ST.
CITY NEW ROC
ANDERSON ST.
FOUNTAIN PL.
22 HSBC BANK HSBC BANK
MARRIOTT RESIDENCE INN 1 HOUR
$1.00
A24
PERMIT
SPACE METER
THE SUMMIT
FIRE STATION
On e
BANCO POPULAR
One Way
20
OT
145 H UGUEN
W ay RADISSON HOTEL
TRUMP PLAZA
PALMER AVE.
POST 19 OFFICE
56 HARRISON
rking ffice Pa Post O
K ING BUILD
CEDAR ST.
S.
18
GE CITY GARA NEW ROC
21
1) AY HW HIG
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15 Minute Bank Parking
ZA
LE COUNT PL.
LA NP
17
1 HOUR
14 1 HOUR 3 HOUR
NORTH AVE.
1
LIBRARY LOT
START LIBRARY GREEN 1 HOUR
(US ST. OT EN U G HU
ON ON UND AL AV E SO TH
TIO STA
FRANKLIN AVE.
MAIN 466 STREET MAIN STREET
13
One Way
MAIN ST.
BANK OF NY
23
LIBRARY
LAWTON ST.
ay One W
ONG AL AV RKIN E PA ARAGte) G riva (P
MEMORIAL HIGHWAY
One Way
FLEET FLEET BANK BANK
RADISSON PLAZA
$1.0
0
D AN GL EN
One Way
NORTH AVE.
Former National City Bank of New Rochelle
LOCUST AVE.
9
CHURCH ST.
Former Masonic Lodge/ Library Building
11 ZA L PLA ORIA MEM
Former Westchester Federal Savings Bank
17 14
NORTH AVE.
ACE LEROY PL
SOUTH DIVISION ST.
CENTRE AVE.
21
Union Baptist Church
13
Liebman’s Children’s Apparel Store
CEDAR PLAZA
TOYOTA
BEL-AQUA HEADQUARTERS COMMERCE DR.
One Way
CON EDISON
AY W RU H T
EXIT 16 Interchange EXPO DESIGN CENTER
To City Hall & Iona College
To Connecticut
G U I D E
T O
Have you been Downtown lately?
T H E
The New Rochelle Business Improvement District (BID).
N
B I D
G U I D E
T O
Historic Downtown NewRochelle
Working to make things happen Downtown.
It’s Downtown, where New Rochelle’s past, present and future come together!
MAPLE AVE.
“K” Building
16
Former Fire Headquarters
B I D
ew Rochelle’s sweeping history, from Huguenot settlement to affluent suburban City, is evident in its downtown architecture. In the mid-1800s, the railroad, providing a critical link with New York City, enabled New Rochelle’s business district to flourish. Growth centered around New Rochelle Train Station the train station. In 1901, Depot Plaza Circa 1873 when George M. Cohan’s hit On December 25, 1848, the first musical, “45 Minutes From train steamed through New Broadway,” poked fun at the Rochelle, part of the New York, “rubes” in New Rochelle, this New Haven, Hartford Railroad built city of 10,000 was on its way in the early 1840s, largely by to becoming one of the recent immigrants. The track from region’s most fashionable New Rochelle to New York City communities. was completed in 1873 and this Over the next three station replaced the original, smalldecades, New Rochelle’s er one. Now part of the City’s New population quadrupled and Rochelle Intermodal Transportaby the 1930s it was one of the tion Center, it incorporates wealthiest communities in commuter rail, Amtrak, a parking America, evident by its garage and consolidated bus, taxi & distinguished downtown Art airport limousine services. Deco buildings. Entering the 21st century, downtown New Rochelle continues to exemplify America’s exciting commercial history as it develops into a dynamic center epitomizing the growing “Return to Downtown” movement. Main Street maintains the link between the community’s past and future. Enjoy your walk around downtown New Rochelle with this BID Guide. As you reflect on the physical past preserved along Main Street, also experience its dynamic vibrancy, the unique spirit that, through the ages, has always made downtowns the heart of their communities, from ancient Roman forums to contemporary American central business districts. Get the best view of downtown’s outstanding architecture by looking up. Downtown certainly is!
PINTARD AVE.
1 HOUR
20
The Presbyterian Church of New Rochelle and Pintard Manse
W NE
Former Arnold Constable Building
12
One Way
To Marinas and Glen Island Park
$1.00
7 PERMIT
BLESSED SACRAMENT CHURCH
SIMONE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN PLANNING
8 6
LOFTS DAVENPORT ON LOFTS MAIN ON MAIN 1 HOUR
10
543 MAIN CONDOMINIUM
Former Ware’s Department Store/Bloomingdale’s
15
3 HOUR
LIBRARY LOT
1 HOUR
. PL
TRINITY ST. PAUL'S CHURCH
Pioneer Building Former Trolley Turn-Around Building New Rochelle Post Office
To Sound Shore Medical Center
Former Standard Star Building
Former New Rochelle Public Library
One Way
N
5
22 19 18
4
5
One Way
PRESBYTERIA CHURCH
3 HOUR
MAPLE AVE. LOT
One Way
3
23
Former Palace Shoe Store Lambden Building
Former Bank of New Rochelle Blessed Sacrament Church Former Proctor’s-RKO Theater Former Loew’s Theater Trinity-St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and Burial Grounds New Rochelle Public Library & Library Green
y Wa One
To I-95 EXIT 15 Interchange and Pelham
4
BIBLE WAY CHURCH
s ome Bec Way Two
1 HOUR
rs' die Sol
ent num Mo
LOEW’S M2 CONDOMINIUM PROJECT IN PLANNING
ER ST HE TC ES W
AVALON EAST ON THE SOUND
ay eW On
2 To NYC
11 10 9 8 7 6 3 2 1
Walking Tour at a Glance
Historic Downtown New Rochelle T H E
Businesses The BID works to recruit new businesses to downtown, from stores such as Metro Bicycles to new espresso bars such as Gallery Café. Marketing The BID organizes special events and successful public relations campaigns to promote downtown. Development The BID initiates private new development such as Monroe College’s Main Street expansion with Milavec Hall and a new dormitory.
Experience a cross section of American architecture and history. Take a stroll in Downtown New Rochelle.
Services The BID helps maintain the quality of life downtown with such initiatives as the BID Code Enforcement Project and the Clean Streets Program. For more information please contact: New Rochelle BID WWW.newrochelledowntown.com TELEPHONE: (914) 576-5332 Marc Jerome, Chairman Ralph DiBart, Executive Director eMAIL: ralphdibart@newrochelledowntown.com RESEARCH & TEXT BY BARBARA DAVIS DESIGN & PRODUCTION BY HARQUIN CREATIVE GROUP 06/04
T H E
B I D
G U I D E
T O
Historic Downtown New Rochelle 1
New Rochelle Public Library and Library Green One Library Plaza Circa 1979 and 2001 Recipient of the National Award for Excellence for Library Architecture, the New Rochelle Public Library, built in 1979, in part from an existing parking garage, serves as the cultural center for the City. Norman Rockwell’s original mural, Land of Enchantment, his gift to New Rochelle, graces a wall in the children’s reading room. The famed artistillustrator Norman Rockwell worked and lived in New Rochelle from 1913–1939, often using local residents as models for his classic American vignettes. He was part of a budding New Rochelle artist community that included J.C. Leyendecker (creator of the “Arrow Shirt Man”) and Frederic Remington (famous depicter of the American West). Adjoining the Library, the City of New Rochelle and the County of Westchester created Library Green, designed by landscape architect Thomas Balsley, as a tranquil respite for downtown’s growing population.
2
4
“Loew’s Theater” Building 585–599 Main Street Circa 1927 An exquisitely ornate example of 1920s Main Street movie palace design, this Loew’s Theater could accommodate 2,500 theatergoers. It featured vaudeville and live stage shows with such luminaries as Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Bette Davis, and Olivia de Haviland, as well as films that introduced generations of Westchester residents to the greats of Hollywood cinema. Designed by leading theater architect Herbert J. Krapp, Jr., the Spanish Colonial Revival-style retail façade extends to either side of the classic marquee.
Presbyterian Church of New Rochelle and Pintard Manse 50 Pintard Avenue Circa 1760s and 1929 Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. John Russell Pope, architect of the national Jefferson Memorial, designed this Colonial Revival-style church, which replaced the congregation’s original structure destroyed by fire. The Presbyterian Church had its origins in the French Church established by early Huguenot settlers. The adjoining minister’s home, one of New Rochelle’s oldest remaining houses, was constructed in part by Huguenot descendant Pierre Vallade in the late 1760s. Following Vallade’s death in 1770, his widow married Lewis Pintard, local businessman and Revolutionary War patriot who was appointed by George Washington to be the Commissar for American prisoners in the City of New York during British control.
6
7
“Proctor’s-RKO Theater” Building 574–590 Main Street and 87–101 Centre Avenue Circa 1927 Proctor’s Keith-Albee Theatre opened its doors on September 26, 1927 during the Golden Age of Movies. This movie palace and vaudeville house boasted a luxurious interior and 2,800 plush seats that were packed for performances by George Burns and Gracie Allen, Sophie Tucker, Eddie Cantor, and Georgie Jessel. Herbert J. Krapp, Jr. designed the brick structure using a Renaissance motif with retail stores housed under two-story blind arches—a feature he borrowed from Stanford White’s Madison Square Garden. Across the street, note the spectacular use of one of Art Deco’s most popular materials, terracotta, on 570-573 Main Street, built in 1929 with elaborate details of shells, trees, faces, and fruit.
Blessed Sacrament Church Centre Avenue and Shea Place 1895 Home of the oldest Roman Catholic congregation in New Rochelle, this excellent example of Gothic Revival
“Ware’s Department Store/ Bloomingdale’s” Building 554 Main Street Circa 1914 In 1947 Bloomingdale’s opened in New Rochelle in this 100,000 square foot building, replacing locally-owned Ware’s Department Store. Newly modernized it became the first suburban branch for the New York-based retailer and joined a local roster of high quality stores. After being vacant for 25 years, the building was renovated in 2003 into “Davenport Lofts on Main”, a luxury, high-tech, live-work loft condominium, signaling an economic resurgence along Main Street that continues with a new condominium being built across the street at 543 Main Street. Note the careful restoration of the 1914 façade with its Art Deco carvings.
9
“Bank of New Rochelle” Building 542 Main Street 1893 This Romanesque Revival building was designed for the Bank of New Rochelle, the community’s oldest financial institution (est. 1888), by local architect F. Carlos Merry, who also designed the Parish House of Trinity Church. The façade of New Jersey brownstone contains elaborate design details inspired by architect Louis Sullivan. Two stories were added in 1918, after the bank became the New Rochelle Trust Company.
10 Lambden Building
530 Main Street Circa 1894 The Lambden family, locally prominent merchants, constructed this building as a popular department store. It later housed government offices on its second floor when City Hall was on Main Street. Note the raised Romanesque Revival terra cotta ornamentation of fan and seashell shapes.
11 “Palace” Building 518 Main Street Circa 1932 An exquisite example of Art Deco design, complementing its original function as the elegant women’s Palace Shoe store, this building was constructed at a cost of $45,000 in the height of the Depression. Across the street, 517-519 Main Street, another Art Deco building constructed in 1905, features an Egyptian influenced parapet, and a frieze of glazed-clay tiles. Opposite it is Memorial Plaza with monuments to New Rochelle men and women who have served their country in war and peace dedicated by the United Veterans Memorial and Patriotic Association of New Rochelle.
Original New Rochelle Public Library 662 Main Street Circa 1914 One of three remaining buildings in Westchester built by Andrew Carnegie’s campaign to establish public libraries throughout America, this was New Rochelle’s first dedicated library and used as such until 1979. Leading architect Albert Randolph Scott designed this superb Beaux-Arts building. At the junction of Huguenot and Main Streets, Soldiers Monument, dedicated on Memorial Day, May 30, 1895, honors the 300 New Rochelle soldiers who died in the Revolutionary War, War of 1816, and the Civil War.
5
8
Trinity-St.Paul’s Episcopal Church and Burial Grounds 311 Huguenot Street Circa 1873 and the 17th–20th centuries Built in 1863, Trinity Church, acclaimed by architectural critics as a stunning example of ecclesiastical design, is a Gothic-Revival masterpiece, one of the best works by Richard Upjohn, celebrated architect of Trinity Church in lower Manhattan. The history of the church and its grounds spans three centuries; the congregation was founded during the Huguenot settlement. The grounds contain the Trinity Church graveyard, as well as the Allaire family cemetery and the Huguenot Burial Ground, both of which were moved here when the New England Thruway was built in the 1950s.
3
ecclesiastical architecture was built under the pastorate of Rev. Thomas “Father Tom” McLoughlin who, from 1853–1902, served the congregation composed primarily of recent immigrants from Ireland. Norman Rockwell painted his first cover for the Saturday Evening Post nearby in a second floor studio above a garage at 40 Prospect Street owned by George Lischke, whose son Franklin frequently posed for Rockwell.
12
New Rochelle’s Original Fire Department Headquarters 12 Church Street Circa 1899 On Church Street is the city’s first Fire Headquarters originally supported by volunteers of the Huguenot Engine Company and Relief Engine Company. Nearby, 30 Church Street served as an annex to City Hall when it was located on Main Street at the intersection of Memorial Highway.
13 Liebman’s Children’s Apparel Store 510 Main Street 1875 In one of the oldest brick buildings on Main Street, Liebman’s has occupied the same store since 1927. In the 1940s it shared the upper floors with a manufacturer of boy’s clothing, Imp Originals. Renovated in 1997, it is a model of historic rehabilitation. Across the street are two wooden Colonial Revival buildings, possibly the oldest remaining structures on Main Street.
14 “National City Bank of New Rochelle” Building 491 Main Street Circa 1906–1908 Henry Bacon, the architect of the national Lincoln Memorial, designed this Neo-Classical Revival style building to give the National City Bank a monumental presence, soon after he left the prestigious firm of McKim, Mead, and White. The building was later extended, as evidenced in the change in brick color along Lawton Street.
15 “Arnold Constable” Building 466 North Avenue and Main Street Circa 1937 Developed as the first Arnold Constable’s in a suburban community, the graceful Art Deco street-level windows that round the corner promoted the store’s highfashion image. Today an office building, the entrance lobby displays a large relief map depicting New Rochelle in the 1930s.
16 Union Baptist Church 438 Main Street Circa 1904 Westchester County Inventory of National Register of Historic Places, 1993 This church was first home to the Salem Baptist congregation, which organized in 1849. The architect Arthur Bates Jennings configured the interior using the Akron Plan, an open spatial arrangement seen in only a few Westchester churches today. The current congregation, Union Baptist, is one of the city’s earliest African-American religious organizations, established in 1913. To the east is Monroe College whose new Milavec Hall and dormitory further advances Main Street’s revitalization.
17 “Masonic Lodge” Building 451–453 Main Street Circa 1900 The Fraternal Order of Masons hired nationally-recognized architect George T. Thompson at the turn of the 20th century to design this imposing NeoClassical Revival building to celebrate the organization. From 1901-1910 the top two floors housed the New Rochelle Public Library.
18 “Standard Star” Building 251 North Avenue Circa 1924 A year after the Evening Standard (est. 1909) was consolidated with the Daily Star (est. 1911) to create The Standard Star, this narrow Neo-Classical Revivalstyle building was constructed as its headquarters. To the east, is the New Roc City Entertainment Complex, part of New Rochelle’s economic resurgence. With its fanciful urban façade, New Roc continues downtown’s splendid history as a movie and entertainment center.
19 New Rochelle Post Office Corner of Main Street and Huguenot Street Circa 1938 Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 1989 Constructed with federal Works Project Administration (WPA) funds intended to provide work for the Depression unemployed, New Rochelle’s downtown post office was dedicated on June 18, 1938 as part of New Rochelle’s 250th anniversary celebration. Designed by New Rochelle resident architect Frederick G. Frost, it was one of the few Art Moderne-style post offices erected in the state. The interior contains WPA murals by David Hutchison illustrating early New Rochelle. To the east is New Rochelle’s largest office building, 145 Huguenot Street.
20 The “K” Building 271 North Avenue Circa 1931 Herman Schiff and Sons spent a million dollars during the Depression to construct New Rochelle’s first 12-story skyscraper. Designed with Art Deco detailing on the top level, it is today known as the “K” (Kaufman) Building after a later landlord, the owner of Kaufman Studios in Queens. Paul Terry established Terrytoons here in 1934. His ingenious animators created characters such as Mighty Mouse, Heckle & Jeckle, and Tom & Jerry, in the building until 1949 when the firm relocated nearby to the former Knights of Columbus Hall at 38 Centre Avenue. To the west is New Rochelle’s newest skyscraper, the 24-story Avalon on the Sound, a luxury apartment complex, part of downtown’s economic renaissance and housing some of its rapidly growing population.
21 “Westchester Federal Savings Bank” Building 250 North Avenue Circa 1963 Dedicated the year the New York World’s Fair opened, the building was designed with the futuristic look that dominated the Fair. The cylindrical sections, colored glazed brick, display of cantilever stairs and the starship-like fins were intended to give the New Rochelle Federal Savings and Loan, which was changing to the Westchester Federal Savings Bank, a significant new presence at the busy intersection of Pershing Square.
22 “Trolley Turn-Around” Building 41–45 Lawton Street Circa 1923 At the turn of the 20th century, one could hop on a streetcar in New Rochelle and days later arrive in Boston. E.L. Doctorow, a former New Rochelle resident, describes the trip in the novel, Ragtime, which is set in early 1900s New Rochelle. Beginning in the 1930s, as automobile and train travel evolved, the trolleys that began operation in New Rochelle in the late 1800s were gradually phased out. On December 16, 1950, the last trolley, symbolically bannered “Street Car Named Expire”, used a turn-around located here.
23 “Pioneer” Building 14 Lawton Street Circa 1897 Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 The Italianate-style, which flourished in hundreds of buildings along Main Streets across America for half a century, is well represented by this brick building. It first housed the New Rochelle Pioneer (1860–1920), a weekly newspaper established by William and John Dyott.