Skidmore House and 2 Cooper Sq

I recently realized I've gotten a bit off track lately....diving in to maps and history is just so tempting but now that I'm looking at less than a week to put together a collage I've realized I need to focus more on the present and recent past.  I think its also easy for the mind to stray when you are not physically in the city....once you are back and pounding the pavement commences the urgency to address today's issues returns.

So let us return to current issues.

37 East 4th Street was vacant for as long as I can remember.   We always thought it'd be a super place to live.  It had this great little curved edition building on the back that was so cute.

This NY Times article from 2004 explains what happened.  It also states "In the longer term, the Atlantic Development Group has leased the Skidmore House and an adjacent property at the corner of the Bowery from the Goldman estate. It plans to restore the landmark as part of a larger project."

Fast forward to now and both the Samuel Tredwell Skidmore House and its much larger neighbor 2 Cooper Square are ready for occupancy.

I always thought the architects of 2 Cooper must have been inspired by some of the Skidmore House stylings, especially the back garden "tea house" (as its called in this Curbed article about the house).


Picture of the Skidmore House from 2004 via the NY Times/Dan Hogan Charles 
Also, here is a 1987 article from the NY Times explaining what happened to the buildings in the middle.

Here are some pictures I took from early 2008 of the Skidmore House looking from the Bowery.

A November 2010 NY Times article gives more info about the renovations, and a picture of the building next to 2 Cooper Square. Chester Higgins Jr./NYTimes

From the Wired New York forum - posted by Derek2k3

I found this too and can't resist posting it: from New York Magazine April 30, 1973 via Google Books

And lastly.....this PDF from NYC.gov confirms that those big round things they buried in the lots between 29 and 37 East 4th Street (pictured above) were for the 3rd water tunnel.