#HTE

Today’s Urban Design Observation: Massive Iron Strap Hinges From When Manhattan Was Wild

Above is a Google Street View image of the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral, located in what is now hip NoLita. I pass this building often, and a point of interest for me is this massive iron door that leads into the church grounds.

You might be wondering why a church needs such a substantial and secure portal. Well, this church was built in the early 1800s, and while this is difficult for modern-day New Yorkers to comprehend, at that time Canal Street was the northernmost border of developed Manhattan. Everything above Canal was still wilderness, and this church, just five blocks north by modern standards, was considered “out of town.” See image below.

In the early 1800s, this red area was the built-up part of Manhattan.

What drew my eye are the hinges required to hold such a heavy door in place. On the bottom it’s a sort of offset strap hinge. The pivot has been mortared into the stone. I’m not familiar enough with masonry, particularly early-19th-Century masonry, to imagine how this was accomplished in a way that was both accurate and secure.

The top hinges have a little something extra, being reinforced with a strap that extends outwards and is affixed to the brick in three places.

If I had to guess, I’d say these brick-mounted straps were added later on, as a fix after the top hinge mounts showed signs of failure. I couldn’t capture this in photos, but to my eye it looks like the brick wall has begun to tilt outwards over the centuries, which would add more stress to the top hinges.

I’m also not sure that they’d have had this type of nut in the early 1800s, so I’m guessing this is a 20th-Century fix. But ultimately I guess I’ll never know.