De Vinne Press Building

New York’s printing history is etched into the brick and iron facades of NoHo, and one of the most intact examples still stands at 393-399 Lafayette Street. The De Vinne Press Building, completed in 1886, was designed by the same architect who shaped the Grolier Club and the old New York Tribune tower. Its Romanesque Revival massing and terra-cotta ornament once housed one of the city’s premier book-printing firms, producing volumes for the likes of Scribner’s and the Century Company. Today the landmark serves as a quiet witness to the neighborhood’s industrial past, its upper floors converted to lofts while the ground-level storefronts continue to change with the street’s evolving character.

Visitors can admire the building from the sidewalk or plan a closer look during one of the Municipal Art Society’s periodic walking tours. Directions and current tour schedules are easiest to find on the map linked here: https://www.google.com/maps/place?ftid=0x89c2599ac27b8cef:0x792a8155f24bda92. If you’re curious about the details, a quick call to 212-555-1212 can connect you with the local preservation group that keeps tabs on the site. It’s the kind of spot you might walk past a dozen times before noticing the carved griffins above the arched entryway.