Schermerhorn Row

Bounded by Fulton, Front, John and South Streets
William W. Berwick
1811

This row is named for Peter Schermerhorn, a prominent New York merchant and ship owner who commissioned the Georgian-Federal style buildings to serve as ware- and counting-houses. Originally, the façades were made of soft, hand-molded brick in Flemish bond, though parts of the row have been altered and expanded. While the show windows at ground level were added later, originally there were arched brownstone entries with side quoins. The upper stories feature Federal style double-hung windows with splayed stone lintels. Dormer windows on the Fulton Street side were later additions to the steeply pitched roofs, and chimneys and party walls were built tall in order to inhibit fire from spreading across rooftops. Schermerhorn Row was restored by Jan Hird Pokorny Associates in 1983 and again in 2001 by Beyer Blinder Belle, when its interior along Fulton Street was renovated extensively to internally link the buildings for the South Street Seaport Museum.

Schermerhorn Row is has the great distinction of being a New York City Individual Landmark, listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places as well as being located in the South Street Seaport Historic District, and the State and National Register of Historic Places South Street Seaport Historic District.

Less