Austin Nichols Cleans Up
Last week, Curbed posted a photo set showing the progress of paint stripping at Austin Nichols (184 Kent). The white paint is off on most of the north side, exposing the original concrete substrate (if you look carefully, you can see the board marks from the original formwork). We don't know what the original finish for the building was - exposed concrete or a skim coat of sort? But we look forward to seeing the finished result.
The stripping also shows that beneath all the cosmetic ugliness, the building is in quite sound condition. It reminded us of a meeting we had with CM Yassky about three years ago - one of his reasons for opposing landmark designation was the deplorable eyesore condition of the facade. We said at the time that the facade was easily repaired, but the owner had convinced the council member otherwise. Maybe now Yassky believes us?
On a related note, the owners of 184 Kent have since listed their building on the National Register of Historic Places (WGPA applied for a determination of eligibility, which was granted by the State Preservation Office, but the owner did the actual listing on the National Register).
