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5 Bond Street
Surveyor's Name: Michele Boyd
Date of survey: July/August 2000
Building Address: 5 Bond Street
Block/Lot: 197/128
Building type: Commercial
Owner's name: M. Exerjian, Inc.
Building name: NA
Historical name: NA
Date of construction: 1946
Architect: Manoug Exerjian (Great Neck)
Building dimensions: 43’ X 50’
No. of floors: Three with basement
Decorative features: Elliptical iron railing on terrace, stacked brick bond at north corner curve, brick sill course beneath second-story windows
Siding material(s): Brick, cement stucco, aluminum, stainless steel
Roof style: Flat with projecting eaves
Roofing materials: Slag
No. of entrances & placement: Two entrances (front and rear) for each of three storefronts; entrance to upper stories at northeast corner. Two entrances to basement, at center of east wall and at northwest corner.
Chimneys & placement: One interior chimney at north elevation
Architectural integrity: High
Architectural style: Streamline Moderne
Description: This elegantly streamlined three-bay, three-story, brick building was designed with three retail spaces at the first floor, six offices and restrooms arranged around a center hall at the second, and a live/work apartment, most likely for the architect’s own use, at the top floor.
Three horizontal zones in the smooth red-brick façade delineate each story. The storefronts have their original curved plate-glass windows. Store windows are framed with aluminum and stainless steel bases and aluminum fascias. The stucco panels over each storefront held the original shop signage (this treatment was also used by Exerjian at the Townhouse shops). These are now obscured by canopies. The second-story windows, in four groups of three, are separated by plain stucco panels. The rounded northwest corner heightens the sense that the windows run in a continuous band around the corner. The third floor penthouse is set back off a terrace that runs the full width of the building. Deeply projecting eaves create the sense of an awning over the terrace.
A decorative brick pattern is used to call attention to the rounded corner
The horizontal emphasis; use of smooth, flat wall surfaces and materials (e.g., stucco and aluminum); projecting thin-slab roof; rounded corner; and flush, banded windows are hallmarks of the Streamline Moderne. In addition, the building has vague nautical references in its setback penthouse terrace, which evokes the deck of an ocean liner, and in the spiral staircase connecting the second and third floors.
Interior: Original plans specified that the basement accommodate the boiler room and storage. The penthouse originally included a living room, bedroom with two closets, kitchen, full bath, and linen and broom closets, as well as professional space consisting of a reception hall with half bath, office, and an architect’s studio. The studio and bedroom opened onto the terrace. A spiral staircase connected the penthouse apartment to the offices below.
Historical information: Manoug Exerjian also designed the Gilchrist Apartments at the southwest corner of Schenck Avenue and Gilchrist Road (1946), 10 Grace Avenue (1947), the Townhouse apartments on Cutter Mill Road (1948-49), and the Eden Terrace Apartments at 71 Grace Avenue (1956).
At some point, probably in the late 1950s, the penthouse was converted to office space. Fire damage occurred in retail spaces in 1958, 1964, and 1984.
Source: VGNP Building Department files.
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