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Cast-iron architecture flourished in New York in the late 19th century, as a way to produce decorative elements such as columns and arches and create impressive buildings inexpensively. Greene Street, between Canal and Grand streets, and between Broome and Spring streets, has 50 of these beauties, rows of columned façades creating a striking streetscape.

A cast-iron masterpiece, this structure was built in 1857 to house a fashionable china and glassware emporium. The design of colonnaded arches flanked by taller Corinthian columns was adapted from the façade of the Sansovino Library in Venice. This motif is repeated 92 times across the front of the building. A 1995 restoration removed grime and restored the elegant original pale color. This building boasted the first Otis safety elevator, an innovation that made the skyscraper possible.

Since its founding in 1977, this provocative museum has mounted shows featuring experimental work that other museums often overlook, particularly new multimedia forms, which sometimes extend into intriguing window displays. The museum is temporarily located in the Chelsea Art Museum, before moving to a new facility at 235 Bowary in late 2007.

A nostalgic treasure housed in a 1904 firehouse, this splendid collection includes the city’s fire-fighting engines, equipment, garb and memorabilia from the 18th century to the present. A moving photo display depicts the World Trade Centre attack and honors the hundreds of firefighters lost there.

The sign reads “Guggenheim SoHo” but the new occupant of the building is an extraordinary $40 million flagship store for trend-setting Italian retailer Prada, a sign of SoHo’s shift from art to fashion. Dutch architect Rem Kookhaas is responsible for the ultra-hip floating stairs, undulating walls, futuristic elevators and hi-tech dressing rooms. The entire Prada line is sold.

A turn-of-the-century coffee warehouse has been converted into office space for the film and entertainment industry. The guiding spirit was Robert De Niro, whose TriBeCa Productions was founded in 1988. Miramax has set up offices here and the building is also home to the TriBeCa Grill, owned by De Niro and restaurateur Drew Nieporent. The restaurant has managed to maintain its star appeal for over a decade.

The best example of cast-iron architecture in TriBeCa is a sampling of several styles. No. 2 has Federal features and a gambrel roof; Nos. 8–10, designed by Henry Fernbach in 1869, sport Tuscan columns and arches and use the Neo-Renaissance device of building shorter upper stories to give an illusion of height. There is a complete change of pace at No. 38, which houses neon artist Rudi Stern’s gallery, Let There Be Neon.

By the early 1900s, cast iron was giving way to steel-framed brick and terra-cotta. One notable example is Ernest Flagg’s “Little” Singer Building (to distinguish it from a taller tower also built for Singer). Influenced by Parisian architecture of the period, it has a charming 12-story façade and graceful cast-iron balconies.