This building on the corner of 57th and 9th Ave is easy to walk by, but somewhat peculiar if you look at it a little closer. It’s obviously tiny compared to everything around it and from a different era.

Look closer and you’ll notice that it’s pretty ornamental from top to bottom while most buildings are detailed closer to eye level. The 9th Avenue “El”[1] would have been along side it from about 1879 to 1940[2]. I presume it was built within this time range. That’s likely why it’s so ornamental in the front yet the side is empty (billboard space perhaps?). On Sept 11, 1905 there was a pretty nasty spill just a few blocks away at 53rd Street[3].

1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninth_Avenue_Elevated
2. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRT_Ninth_Avenue_Line
3. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninth_Avenue_derailment