Crescent Athletic Club House
Encyclopedia
The Crescent Athletic Club House is a notable building in Brooklyn, New York. Designed by prominent Brooklyn architect Frank Freeman
and completed in 1906, the building is known today as The Bosworth Building of Saint Ann's School.
By the 1920s, membership of such clubs was in decline, and in 1939 the Crescent Athletic Club filed for bankruptcy, vacating its Brooklyn clubhouse the following year. Through the 1940s and 1950s the building was used for office space and stores, while a bowling alley operated out of the basement.
In 1966 the building was purchased for use as a school by the nearby St. Ann's Episcopal Church for the sum of $365,000. By 1982, the school had become a separate entity from the Church. In 2000, the School paid $1 million to have the building's facade renovated. The building is referred to by the school as the Bosworth Building, after the school's first headmaster.
works, this Italianate Beaux Arts building rooted in north Italian 16th-century palazzo
styles nevertheless incorporates some interesting design features. Chief among these is the fact that the building appears to be only four or five stories in height, when in fact it is twelve. The optical illusion is achieved primarily by the use of double-height windows which each span two floors.
The base of the building is constructed of channelled, rusticated
limestone
, while the stories above are of a light-colored brick, with terra cotta
ornaments. The rusticated ground floor is capped with a prominent cornice
which forms a continuous line with a series of balustraded balconies below the pedimented windows. Arising directly from the segmental arches of these window pediment
s is the third level of windows, an unusual arrangement which serves to enhance the overall illusion of decreased height. Above this level is a second cornice with more balustraded balconies, from which the final level of double-height windows arises. At the top of the building is a row of smaller attic windows, "set within a magnificent terra cotta frieze
", and a final, heavy cornice.
The interior of the clubhouse originally featured "a fantastic variety of spaces", including a swimming pool, rifle range and bowling alley in the basement, squash
and handball
courts, a gymnasium
on the top floor, a billiard room, a double-height, oak
-panelled dining room on the third floor, a grand hall, sleeping quarters and a library. Much of the original interior has since been altered, but the building retains some of its original rooms. The decorated marble
floor in the main hall is now covered with linoleum
, while the classical-style mural
s in the hall and library have also survived, albeit in indifferent condition.
Frank Freeman
Frank Freeman was a Canadian-American architect based in Brooklyn, New York. A leading exponent of the Richardsonian Romanesque architectural style who later adopted Neoclassicism, Freeman has been called "Brooklyn's greatest architect"...
and completed in 1906, the building is known today as The Bosworth Building of Saint Ann's School.
History
The Crescent Athletic Club was one of the most successful New York sporting clubs of the late 19th/early 20th centuries. Organized in 1884, the club rapidly grew to 1,500 members by 1902, at which time it was decided to build a new clubhouse. Brooklyn architect Frank Freeman was commissioned to design the building, which was completed in 1906.By the 1920s, membership of such clubs was in decline, and in 1939 the Crescent Athletic Club filed for bankruptcy, vacating its Brooklyn clubhouse the following year. Through the 1940s and 1950s the building was used for office space and stores, while a bowling alley operated out of the basement.
In 1966 the building was purchased for use as a school by the nearby St. Ann's Episcopal Church for the sum of $365,000. By 1982, the school had become a separate entity from the Church. In 2000, the School paid $1 million to have the building's facade renovated. The building is referred to by the school as the Bosworth Building, after the school's first headmaster.
Description
Though sometimes disparaged in comparison with Freeman's earlier Richardsonian RomanesqueRichardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, whose masterpiece is Trinity Church, Boston , designated a National Historic Landmark...
works, this Italianate Beaux Arts building rooted in north Italian 16th-century palazzo
Palazzo
Palazzo, an Italian word meaning a large building , may refer to:-Buildings:*Palazzo, an Italian type of building**Palazzo style architecture, imitative of Italian palazzi...
styles nevertheless incorporates some interesting design features. Chief among these is the fact that the building appears to be only four or five stories in height, when in fact it is twelve. The optical illusion is achieved primarily by the use of double-height windows which each span two floors.
The base of the building is constructed of channelled, rusticated
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, while the stories above are of a light-colored brick, with terra cotta
Architectural terracotta
Terracotta, in its unglazed form, became fashionable as an architectural ceramic construction material in England in the 1860s, and in the United States in the 1870s. It was generally used to supplement brick and tiles of similar colour in late Victorian buildings.It had been used before this in...
ornaments. The rusticated ground floor is capped with a prominent cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
which forms a continuous line with a series of balustraded balconies below the pedimented windows. Arising directly from the segmental arches of these window pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
s is the third level of windows, an unusual arrangement which serves to enhance the overall illusion of decreased height. Above this level is a second cornice with more balustraded balconies, from which the final level of double-height windows arises. At the top of the building is a row of smaller attic windows, "set within a magnificent terra cotta frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
", and a final, heavy cornice.
The interior of the clubhouse originally featured "a fantastic variety of spaces", including a swimming pool, rifle range and bowling alley in the basement, squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
and handball
American handball
American handball is a sport in which players hit a small rubber ball against a wall using their hands.- History :...
courts, a gymnasium
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
on the top floor, a billiard room, a double-height, oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
-panelled dining room on the third floor, a grand hall, sleeping quarters and a library. Much of the original interior has since been altered, but the building retains some of its original rooms. The decorated marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
floor in the main hall is now covered with linoleum
Linoleum
Linoleum is a floor covering made from renewable materials such as solidified linseed oil , pine rosin, ground cork dust, wood flour, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most commonly on a burlap or canvas backing; pigments are often added to the materials.The finest linoleum floors,...
, while the classical-style mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
s in the hall and library have also survived, albeit in indifferent condition.