Where Broadway bends north towards Union Square, a moribund condo development at 791 Broadway has new life. It's from the aptly named developer 791 Broadway LLC, whose website trumpets "luxurious 2 bedroom condominium units" and beckons folks to "reserve your unit today starting at $3,750." If that price is right then we'll take 'em all! The six-story, eight-unit building from Issac & Stern Architects has glass-faced balconies climbing up the facade, and offers views of gargoyles and Grace Church across the street, where trees came down a few years back. It's grown from the hole that replaced a little building where poet Frank O'Hara once lived. This development is another sign of how things change in the big city, something that O'Hara might have appreciated.
After all, when a friend moped about old brownstones being reduced to rubble, Frank said, "Oh no, that's the way New York is. You have to just keep tearing it down and building it up." Controversial words, but he also proclaimed, "If you’re going to buy a pair of pants you want them to be tight enough so everyone will want to go to bed with you," decades before Williamsburg style caught up, so clearly the guy knew a thing or two.
· 791 Broadway [791bway.com]
· O'Hara's Haunts at 791 Broadway Scarier Than Ever [Curbed]
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