7. The Puck Building used to House a Political Satire Magazine
One of the defining buildings of Nolita is the Puck Building, which was built in the round-arch style (or Rundbogenstil in German). The large building, bounded by Lafayette, Houston, Mulberry, and Jersey Street, was the masterpiece of
Albert Wagner. It was constructed between 1885 and 1886. A year after its completion, the satirical magazine Puck moved in. The magazine, founded in 1876 in St. Louis, covered issues like Tammany Hall and took its name from a character in Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The magazine gained fame for depictions of presidents and major political figures, New York political bosses, and foreign politicians.
The same year Puck moved in, a major fire destroyed the magazine’s editorial rooms; another fire took place later that year causing $50,000 in damages. As Puck recovered and grew its reader base, other major printing and ink companies moved into the building. Alger Hiss, who was accused of spying for the Soviet Union, got his start as a salesman for stationery company S. Novick & Son, which was based on the building’s second floor. The magazine shut down in 1918, and slowly tenants left, leading to plans to convert the building into residences.