Editing Puck Building (section)

{{short description|Building in Manhattan, New York}}
{{good article}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Puck Building
| nrhp_type = 
| image = Puck Building (51660567363).jpg
| image_size = 300px
| alt = The Puck Building as seen from Houston Street in 2021
| caption = Seen from [[Houston Street]] (2021)
| location = 295–309 [[Lafayette Street]]<br />[[Manhattan]], New York, U.S.
| coordinates = {{coord|40.7248|-73.9953|region:US-NY_type:landmark|display=it}}
| district_map = {{Maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=300|frame-height=300|zoom=14|type=point|marker=building|title=Puck Building}}
| built = 1885–1886
| architect = [[Albert Wagner (architect)|Albert Wagner]]; Herman Wagner (later expansion)
| architecture = [[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque Revival]], [[Rundbogenstil]]
| added = July 21, 1983
| refnum = 83001740<ref>{{NRISref |refnum=83001740|2009a}}</ref>
| designated_other1 = New York State Register of Historic Places
| designated_other1_abbr = NYSRHP
| designated_other1_date = June 13, 1983<ref name="Cultural Resource Information System">{{cite web |title=Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS) |publisher=[[New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation]] |date=November 7, 2014 |url=https://cris.parks.ny.gov/ |access-date=July 20, 2023}}</ref>
| designated_other1_number = 06101.001564
| designated_other1_num_position = bottom
| designated_other2_name = New York City Landmark
| designated_other2_date = April 12, 1983
| designated_other2_abbr = NYCL
| designated_other2_link = New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
| designated_other2_color = #ffe978
| designated_other2_number = 1226
}}

The '''Puck Building''' is a mixed-use building at 295–309 [[Lafayette Street]] in the [[SoHo, Manhattan|SoHo]] and [[Nolita]] neighborhoods of [[Manhattan]] in [[New York City]], New York, U.S. The building was designed by [[Albert Wagner (architect)|Albert Wagner]] in the [[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque Revival]] style, with elements inspired by the German [[Rundbogenstil]] style. It is composed of two sections: the original seven-story building to the north and a nine-story southern annex. The Lafayette Street [[Elevation (architecture)|elevation]] of the [[facade]] was designed by Herman Wagner in a similar style to the original building. The Puck Building is a [[New York City designated landmark]] and is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].

The Puck Building occupies the block bounded by Lafayette, [[Houston Street|Houston]], [[Mulberry Street (Manhattan)|Mulberry]], and Jersey streets. The red brick facade is divided vertically into [[Bay (architecture)|bays]] of uniform width. The facade is also divided horizontally into several tiers of [[Arcade (architecture)|arcades]], with wider arches at the top and narrower arches at the bottom. The sculptor [[Henry Baerer]] crafted two sculptures of the [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] character [[Puck (Shakespeare)|Puck]] for the facade. The building is topped by a [[Penthouse apartment|penthouse]] structure. The original interiors were arranged as [[open plan]] offices, which largely remained intact in the late 20th century. There is retail space in the basement and first two stories; office and studio space on the intermediate stories; and six [[penthouse apartment]]s on the highest stories.

The building was the longtime home of ''[[Puck (magazine)|Puck]]'' magazine, a humor cartoon whose founders [[Joseph Keppler]] and [[Adolph Schwarzmann]] acquired the site in 1885 with J. Ottmann. The original building was completed the following year, and the annex was built between 1892 and 1893. When Lafayette Street was extended through the neighborhood in the late 1890s, the western section of the building was demolished, and a new facade and entrance were built on Lafayette Street. ''Puck'' magazine went out of business in 1918, and the structure was used by printing firms over the next several decades. Paul Serra's family bought the Puck Building in 1978, and Serra and his partner [[Peter Gee]] converted it to commercial [[condominium]]s, which were completed in 1983. A syndicate led by Harry Skydell bought the Puck Building in 1986 and carried out additional renovation. [[Kushner Properties]], a partner in the syndicate, took over the building in the 1990s. The lowest stories were converted to a store in 2011, and Kushner Properties converted the upper stories to penthouse apartments between 2011 and 2013, constructing a [[dormer]] for one of the apartments.