Headline address

This week, during my wanderings around Greenwich Village, I happened to walk past 114 E 13th St. And I noticed that it has a name.

The building is officially called the “American Felt Building”. I have since looked it up on-line, and it turns out that this building was originally the home of the American Felt Company.

Now long gond, back in the day that esteemed company supplied the felt for the hammers of Steinway pianos. The building currently seems to be the home of condo apartments.

But my first impression when I saw the words “American Felt Building” was that it sounded like a sentence in a newspaper headline. I can still see that headline in my head: “Extra, extra, read all about it! American felt building!”

It remains clear why that particular American was feeling this particular building, or why the event is newsworthy. But that’s only the more reason to pay your nickel and read the daily paper. Good stories always begin with a mystery.

I wonder how many other buildings around New York City have names that sound like newspaper headlines. Are there lots of them? I’ve never thought about it before, but now I’m going to keep an eye out.

In case you are wondering, yes I did indeed walk up to the side of the building, reach out my hand, and feel it. The building felt nice.