Terminal Warehouse — 11th Avenue at 27th Street, Manhattan

Era I

Pre-1891 · Hudson Shoreline, Landfill, and Lumber

The Terminal Warehouse stands on land that did not exist when George Washington was inaugurated. The natural Hudson River shoreline along this stretch of Chelsea ran roughly along present-day Tenth Avenue; everything west of it — including the full block where the warehouse would rise — is 19th-century landfill, deposited piece by piece between 1855 and the late 1880s.

Era II

1890–1900 · Construction of Central Stores

William Wickes Rossiter, working with his brother E. V. W. Rossiter (Treasurer of the New York Central Railroad), buys the entire blockfront in 1890. Architect George B. Mallory unifies 25 separate warehouses into a single Romanesque-Revival fortress.

Era III

1891–1960 · Train & Freight Era

Trains of the New York Central enter the building from 11th Avenue; Erie and Lehigh cars roll in from the 12th Avenue side and out onto Hudson River transfer-bridge floats to New Jersey. The building stores everything from Anna Held's stage scenery to Stanford White's architectural salvage.

Era IV

1947–1986 · Long Working Warehouse, Lost Towers

The Terminal Warehouse Company sells in 1947. The corner-tower parapets come down at some point in the 20th century. The fire shutters are stripped. The building keeps working as a warehouse, quietly, for another four decades — until a 1983 sale ends the era.

Era V

1986–2001 · The Tunnel Nightclub

Inside the cavernous arched space where freight trains once rolled through, impresario Peter Gatien opens The Tunnel. The Club Kids, Junior Vasquez, and a generation of New York nightlife pass through.

Era VI

2001–2020 · West Chelsea Galleries

Far-west Chelsea reinvents itself as the world's densest concentration of contemporary art galleries. The High Line opens. The Terminal Warehouse fills with art and design tenants.

Era VII

2020–2026 · Renovation

A new ownership group launches a major adaptive-reuse renovation, restoring the building to its 1891 grandeur while transforming the interior into a modern office and retail complex.