Nassau Street, which runs from Spruce Street on the north to Wall Street on the South, is only nine blocks long, but with three centuries of history behind it, there's a lot to talk about.

Much is lost, but much is still there behind and above a jumble of tawdry shop signs.

"Nassau Street to me is a textbook of architecture," said Joe Svehlak, at the start of a walking tour on Sept. 7 that he was leading for the Municipal Art Society. "In these nine blocks, there's a vestige of every type of architecture in New York City from Federal to post-Modern."

Svehlak, 74, first got to know the street as a young man when he worked as a messenger. At that time, Nassau Street was lined with stamp dealers. It was also, still, a hub of the printing trade, whose godfather, Benjamin Franklin, is honored with a statue in front of 1 Pace Plaza, where the New York Tribune building used to stand. Designed by Richard Morris Hunt (who also designed

Svehlak with a photo of the New York World building.

the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty), it was one of the first high-rise buildings with an elevator. It opened in 1875 and was demolished in 1966. 

Next door was the magnificent office of Joseph Pulitzer's New York World building, with its signature dome. Pulitzer's office in the dome allowed him to look down on his competitors. The World building was erected in 1890 and torn down in 1955 to make way for a car ramp to the Brooklyn Bridge.

This area was once known as "Printing House Square" because of all the newspaper offices that surrounded it. "I remember these great buildings that are gone," Svehlak said. "I would pass them walking down to the Butter and Egg market with my mother." He said that one-third of the Lower Manhattan that he knew has disappeared in his lifetime.

The New York Times building, now part of Pace University.

Of the grand newspaper edifices, only The New York Times building at 41 Park Row remains. It was designed in 1889 by one of the starchitects of the time, George B. Post (he also did the New York Stock Exchange) and was intended to impress the public and the competition.

It now belongs to Pace University.

This was the third downtown location for The Times and its predecessor, The New-York Daily Times, founded in 1851 at 113 Nassau St. The building is still there. No one who didn't know its history would look at it twice. After three years in that unpretentious setting, the paper moved down the street to 138 Nassau, where it remained for four years before moving to Park Row.

A Federal townhouse on Nassau Street with the Morse Building in the background.

On the same block as the early Times buildings, Svehlak pointed out a low-rise, red brick building that he said dates from the 1830's and was probably once a town house. Nearby are several impressive late-Victorian structures, among them, the Morse building at 140 Nassau St., only 10 stories, but once one of the tallest buildings in the city. It was commissioned by two nephews of Samuel F. B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph, Svehlak said, and opened in 1879.

An early movie maker, the American Vitagraph Company, had an office in the building and a studio on the roof, where it shot some movies, still extant.  (To see some of them, click here and enter the search term, "Vitagraph.")

The Morse Building is at the corner of Nassau and Beekman Streets, diagonally across from 5 Beekman St., the Silliman & Farnsworth Temple Bar building of 1883 that is now being converted into a hotel and apartments. On the other side of the street is the mammoth Potter building that

The Potter Building.

Svehlak called "triple-high Victorian." A barber shop now occupies what was once the building's main entrance.

Orlando Brunson Potter, a politician and one of the wealthiest men in the city, owned a previous building on that site. It burned down on Jan. 31, 1882, killing 12 people. "Potter determined that his new building would be fireproof," said Svehlak. He covered it with terra cotta, deemed fireproof, but had to go to Boston to have it made. This inspired him to form the New York Architectural Terra-Cotta Co. on Long Island. As tastes changed, it went out of business in the 1920's - but the work it produced can be seen in many places in New York City, including on Carnegie Hall.

63 Nassau St.

Perhaps no building speaks more eloquently of the architectural wealth on Nassau Street, and its vulnerability to commerce than the little building at 63 Nassau St. It is dilapidated with tacky signage obscuring its ground floor, but no one who loves architecture could fail to notice it. It has three bays crowned with arches, separated by graceful columns. On plaques at the third floor are bas-relief sculptures of Benjamin Franklin. These were the clue that caused the Landmarks Preservation Commission to landmark the building in May 2007.

The landmarks designation report says that the building was "almost certainly produced c. 1857-1859 by James Bogardus, the pioneer of cast-iron architecture in America, making it an extremely rare extant example of his work. It is one of only five known Bogardus buildings in the United States (four in New York City). It is also one of the oldest surviving cast-iron-fronted buildings in the city, and one of the very few located in Lower Manhattan."

The sculptures of Franklin and two of George Washington that are missing from the building are known on other work by Bogardus, and are found only on his work.

The report notes that at the time of the Landmarks designation hearings, seven people spoke in favor of designation, including representatives of the Municipal Art Society and the Historic Districts Council. "A representative of the building's owner spoke against designation," the report says.

Construction is booming in the Financial District as developers eye old buildings that they can convert to condos or tear down and replace with high-rise apartments and hotels. Nassau Street is not immune. "Some of the buildings have been landmarked," said Svehlak. "I think there are others that should be."

He said that the public can weigh in by writing to the Landmarks Preservation Commission. "Anyone can propose the designation of any site or neighborhood as an individual landmark or historic district by submitting a Request for Evaluation (RFE) application, to the Commission's Research Department," the Landmarks Preservation Commission says on its website. "The Commission reviews approximately 200 RFEs each year." (For the website, click here.)

Downtown bulletin board

Free senior swim: Seniors can swim for free at the Downtown Community Center, 120 Warren St. from Monday through Thursday, 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. The Community Center offers aerobic water classes for seniors on Mondays and Thursdays at 12:45 p.m. To register, click here or call Lily at (212) 766-1104, ext. 221.

Deadline near to enroll in Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund: If you were diagnosed with a 9/11-related eligible cancer before Oct. 12, 2012, you may be entitled to compensation from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. Registration preserves your right to file a claim in the future (before the VCF ends on Oct. 3, 2016). Registration is not the same as filing a claim and you are not required to file a claim even if you have registered. Register online at vcf.gov by Oct. 12, 2014. For more information click here or call VCF's toll-free helpline at (855)-885-1555 (or 855-885-1558 for the hearing impaired).

Plans are under way for the 13th Annual Battery Park City Block Party, which will be held on Sat., Sept. 27 from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the esplanade just south of North Cove Marina. As usual, there will be vendors, food, a talent show and games for kids.

Vendors can rent tables at the block party for $25. To reserve a table, email [email protected].

Talent at all levels is welcome for the talent show. To participate, email Vicki Winters at [email protected]. Volunteers to set up and break down the Block Party and to keep it working smoothly are needed. Contact Tammy Meltzer at [email protected] to find out more and to volunteer. Bob Townley, executive director of Manhattan Youth, is coordinating the children's rides and activities. He is looking for an assistant who could become the supervisor next year. For more information, email [email protected]/

Electronics recycling: Unclutter your home by bringing your unwanted electronics to the block party. The following working and non-working items will be accepted: computers, monitors, printers, scanners, keyboards, mice, cables, TVs, VCRs, DVD players, phones, audio/visual equipment, video games, cell phones and PDAs. For more information, click here or call (212) 477-4022.

Governors Island as depicted on a map made in 1776 and now on display at the Fraunces Tavern Museum in an exhibit called "Defining Lines."  (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)