Landmark Preservation Commission Approves Plan To Turn Brooklyn Lyceum Into Gym

Brooklyn Lyceum will officially become a gym, thanks to approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday, according to YIMBY. The gym will reportedly be operated by Blink Fitness.

When the building was designated as an individual landmark in 1984, it was as “Public Bath No. 7.” However, in the 1930s, it was made into a gym, closed in the 1950s, and later became a theater.

The preservation firm Higgins Quasebarth & Partners, working with the Chelsea-based architectural firm Daniel Goldner Architects, presented the plan.

New windows will be installed, as well as at-grade entrances on Fourth Avenue and on President Street. A gate will be removed from in front of the center of the Fourth Avenue façade and from the entirety of the President Street side of the building. Neon signs will also be added, as well as interior signage visible from the exterior, and four lanterns on the Fourth Avenue façade will be recreated.

New mechanical equipment will be installed on the roof, plus a new railing, minimally visible from the street.

Community Board 6 issued conditional approval of the project. One of those conditions was reducing the amount of neon, which Stachelberg said they’ve done. The other condition was setting back the HVAC units even farther, which Stachelberg said could not be done given planned construction next door.

Kelly Carroll gave the Historic Districts Council’s blessing to the project. “HDC is pleased with this sensitive restoration and the very modest alterations, allowing this building to keep its description of ‘most ornate public bath in Brooklyn.’” Carroll said, according to YIMBY. “The Committee also is relieved to see that this building will remain intact as a single entity, as opposed to being chopped into several units, which may have resulted in less sympathetic alterations to the façade.”

What do you think of the plan?