3/27/2018
By Ivan Pereira
One of the oldest buildings in Williamsburg will now be protected for the ages.
The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission voted Tuesday to give the 110 year-old Dime Savings Bank of Williamsburg building at 209 Havemeyer St. landmark designation. The bank was one of the first buildings to go up following Williamsburg’s first major development period during the turn of the 20th Century.
“This fine building is a testament to the elegance and grandeur of the City Beautiful Movement,” Landmarks Preservation Commission chair Meenakshi Srinivasan said in a statement, referring to the architectural movement of the 1900s.
Construction on the bank began in 1906 — three years after the Williamsburg Bridge opened — and was completed two years later. The LPC said the bank and other financial institutions in the area helped the working class and immigrants who lived and worked in the neighborhood.
The architecture firm Helmle & Huberty used a grand classical design “to evoke a sense of security, prosperity and civic pride,” the LPC said. The limestone building features four, fluted Corinthian columns, modillions, dentils and a clock.
Charney Construction, which owns the property, is planning to develop the land around the bank and has promised to keep the landmarked structure intact.
“This is a fitting tribute to the building’s architecture and its long history as a pillar of the historic financial center that was South Williamsburg,” Sam Charney, Charney’s principal, said in a statement.
