Built between 1880 and 1900, The Westbeth Artists Community is located at 463 West Street. From 1898 to 1966 it functioned as a laboratory for the Bell Telephone company, when it served as America’s largest industrial research lab. Many major technological inventions and innovations in the field of telecommunications trace its origins to the lab, including the first experimental talking movie, radar, the first phonograph record, and black and white and color television, an invention of particular significance for fans of such fine modern television programming as The Jerry Springer Show and Baywatch. The site was even home to part of the Manhattan Project during World War II.

Part of the building was eventually altered to allow freight trains to pass through along the High Line. However, due to the sensitive nature of the research occurring in the laboratory at the time, the building had to be reinforced to prevent train vibrations from affecting the research. As is visible in the images below, the building has since been severed from the High Line, but the building’s elevated tunnel along Washington Street is still visible from the street below.

Bell Labs closed in 1966, but after two years of renovations by famed American architect Richard Meier, it reopened in 1970 as the Westbeth Artists Community, which serves as low to middle income rental housing for artists, their families and their studios. Taking its cue from the former tenant’s stature as the largest industrial research laboratory in America, the Westbeth Artists Community is now the largest community of its kind in the world. On May 15th, 1975, the building was designated a national historic landmark.

Special thanks to Matt Postal, Tom Starkweather and the Trust for Architectural Easements. Images courtesy of Tom Starkweather and The New York Times. You can view a pdf of the High Line Historical Walk Tour Guide here.

Our new office is just west of the Chelsea Historic District [PDF], where the beautiful Greek Revival townhouses of Cushman Row encourage pedestrians to stop and smell the proverbial roses. Or in this case, the literal ones.

This photo, taken yesterday, shows the roses that are now blooming along the gates of the General Theological Seminary on 20th Street. The gothic-looking Seminary, built on land donated by Clement Clarke Moore, is a beautiful oasis of greenery, and a great place to check out if you’re in the neighborhood.

[The Chelsea Car Wash at West 14th Street & 10th Avenue, before the sign was taken down.]

As many Chelsea dwellers, West Side Highway & Hudson River Park commuters, taxi drivers, and car wash enthusiasts may have noticed, the distinctive red Chelsea Car Wash sign has disappeared. It was removed from where it was attached to the High Line about a month ago with little fanfare.

In the coming months, the Car Wash– one of the characteristic staples of the working West Side–will close its garage doors to make way for a new retail location on the corner of West 14th Street and 10th Avenue.

[Design and renderings by Richard Lanka & Associates, for a new retail location, developed by the Milk Group with Robert K. Futterman.]

There’s currently no tenant booked, but in the next year or so, the Milk Group (as in Milk Studios, next door), aims to find a design, fashion, or other retail tenant for this 40,000-square-foot space directly underneath the High Line. Renderings from their sales office show wrap-around windows in Car Wash-like glass. There’s also apparently a subterranean level for more retail.

More design renderings, and facts about the neighborhood– from the sales brochure–after the jump.

[Design and renderings of 459 West 14th Street, by Richard Lanka & Associates. Notice the bare High Line beams on the ceiling of the second rendering.]

From the sales brochure, DID YOU KNOW:

* 73,150 Cars pass the site daily

* 16,200 People visit the Chelsea Market, next door, every day

* Chelsea Piers attracts over 4 Million visitors annually

Tomorrow, a group of eighth-grade students from the Lab School will be leading the way… in brightly-colored “chalk shoes.” Brooklyn-based artist Julia Mandle will lead student performers through the streets of the Meatpacking District and Chelsea, in a performance commissioned by Friends of the High Line. As the students shuffle through the neighborhood on their platform-height “chalk shoes,” they will leave a green path on the sidewalks that will lead to the High Line’s future access points.
The weather promises to be gorgeous, so stop by the neighborhood between 12:30 and 1:30 pm, and check out the performance. Or, come to the Leo Kesting Gallery, where the Chalk Shoes will be on display with a video of the performance. The exhibition will be on display from May 15th-21st, during Meatpacking District Design Week.

Update: Photos are here!

[West 17th Street at 10th Avenue, looking west.]

In some ways, Chelsea in 1986 in not so different from what it is today. Sure, the neighborhood has changed and evolved in many ways, but it has also remained a diverse community of people, activities, and uses. The preservation and reuse of High Line adds another interesting element to the rich history of Chelsea and when Section 1 of the High Line opens later this year, the neighborhood will evolve yet again. Photos courtesy Department of City Planning.

[9th Avenue, looking north.] Click to see more photos.

[14th Street at 9th Avenue, looking south.]

[10th Avenue and 15th Street, looking north.]

[West Side Highway and 15th Street, looking south.]

[10th Avenue and 17th Street, looking south.]

[9th Avenue and 15th Street, looking north.]

[9th Avenue and 17th Street, looking south.]

[17th Street at 9th Avenue, looking east.]

[15th Street at West Side Highway, looking east.]

The kids, all 8th-grade art students, will be wearing chalk shoes during the performance, scuffing their feet along the sidewalks of the Meatpacking District and Chelsea.  In the end, they will create a giant urban chalk drawing ending at the future access points of the High Line.  The idea is to mark the future paths that people will take to the High Line, and generate excitement about the park’s opening later this year.  More details after the jump!
[Photo by Ronald Cowie (2008)]
 

The performance will take place on the streets of the Meatpacking District in Chelsea around lunchtime on Wednesday, April 16th.  Because the performance will be short, the chalk lines temporary, and the audience will be made up of whoever happens to be standing on the street, we’ll be holding an exhibition of the worn chalk shoes, along with video and still images of the performance, at the Leo Kesting Gallery from May 15-21.  Leo Kesting is located at the southern end of the High Line, at the corner of Gansevoort and Washington Streets.  The exhibition is timed to coincide with Meatpacking District Design Week.Watch our e-newsletter for more details.

[Click to uh, enlarge.]

Seminary’s Renovation Juggles the Old, the New, and the Financial [NY Times]

CB4 to Seminary [Chelsea Now]

Chelsea Seminary Caves Again, Prays Seven Stories Will Fly [Curbed]