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Village Survey
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10 Grace Avenue
Surveyor's Name: Michele Boyd
Date of survey: July/August 2000
Building Address: 10 Grace Avenue
Block/Lot: 196/34
Building type: Commercial building with stores at ground level and offices on the second floor
Owner's name: Manong Construction Corp.
Building name: NA
Historical name: NA
Date of construction: 1947
Architect: Manoug Exerjian (Great Neck)
Building dimensions: 80’ X 130’
No. of floors: Two with basement
Decorative features: Bas-relief of a kneeling female figure over entrance to second-floor offices at south elevation on Grace Avenue (see Fig. 2), three (3’-6” in diameter) round windows on south elevation, aluminum store bases
Siding material(s): Brick, wood, aluminum
Roof style: Flat with eaves
Roofing materials: Tar and slag
No. of entrances & placement: Each storefront has an exit to the street and one to the basement; three exits lead from the basement to the rear of the building; the entrance to the second-story offices is on the south elevation
Chimneys & placement: One interior chimney near the south elevation
Architectural integrity: Moderate-High; restaurant at southeastern corner refaced
Architectural style: Streamline Moderne
Description: A two-story, full-block, brick commercial building that takes advantage of its siting to wrap around the corner of Bond Street and Grace Avenue. (The brick exterior, now a pale pink, was originally intended to be painted white.) Its smooth wall surfaces and rounded corner emphasize the building’s streamlined quality. The projecting canopy at the cornice line and the long stretch of double-hung aluminum windows extending around the building at the upper story highlight the building’s horizontality. The storefronts at ground level retain their original sleekly curving plate-glass windows and aluminum bases, although some bases have been replaced with (or always were) stainless steel. Three porthole windows (3’6” in diameter) run along the first story of the Grace Avenue elevation.
The building was originally designed with a setback second story and terrace, but the second story wall was brought out to the street wall of the first story instead. As built, the second-story only covered half the first story, extending to the middle of the Grace Avenue elevation. The first floor was divided into 10 stores and the second floor had five offices. The first-story roof of the Grace Avenue elevation had horizontal iron railings at the roofline and a flagpole at its southeastern corner. As seen from Grace Avenue, the porthole windows, iron roof railings, flagpole, and white walls of the original building would have evoked the Streamline Moderne’s homage to the ocean liner.
In 1962, to add office space, the second story was extended to cover the entire building. The decorative iron railing and flagpole were removed, and a continuous band of double-hung aluminum windows was added. While the alteration plans (also by Exerjian) called for a porcelain enamel fascia board to run along the top of the windows, the existing fascia is wood. At this time, Exerjian created an interior open roof garden with a fountain at the center of the building.
Many changes have been made to the retail interiors over the years. In addition, the restaurant at the southeastern corner of the building on Grace Avenue underwent an extensive refacing in 1984 that is not sympathetic to the building.
Interior: The staircase to the second floor (at the Grace Avenue entrance) is the original marble with iron railings.
Historical information: The building continues its original use of retail and office space. The Petite Shop, a children’s clothing store at the corner of Grace Avenue and Bond Street, has been in the building almost since it opened, and still uses its original signage.
Source: VGNP Building Department file.
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