The James Hotel

2010

Architects: ODA Architecture with Perkins Eastman Architects
Address: 27 Grand Street, Manhattan

Well, I have to admit, I think this is one of my favorite shots of the Hundredweight project. Sixth Avenue between Canal and Grand was miraculously quiet for a few moments as I set up at Duarte Square. I really like the building, too, and I've crawled around it a few times, having drinks at the rooftop bar (The Jimmy) and eating at David Burke Kitchen a few times. The lobby's on the third floor and the restaurant is sunken, a few steps below street level, so nothing is really standard (no pun intended) at The James, which I like. Views from the roof are spectacular, and the building itself is a bit of shining beacon for what Canal Street can actually look like once, well, at least 10% of the crappiest extant buildings are justifiably razed to ashes. Some more affordable housing in the mix for locals would be nice, too--and there is no reason that the architecture for THAT can't look as good as THIS does. Sigh.