Attractions
IWalked New York City’s Former Headquarters of Knights of Pythias
Due it’s off the beaten path location, the former headquarters of the Knights of Pythias is not usually a stop for many people. It is hard to believe that when initially constructed in 1927 as the Knights of Pythias Temple it was actually even more elaborate.
The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization similar to the Knights of the Templar, whom you may be more familiar with via Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code novels. The Knights of Pythias were founded in Washington D.C. in 1864 as the first fraternal organization with the mission of healing the nation’s wounds from the Civil War. They currently have approximately 50,000 members around the world. Former members have included Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Nelson Rockefeller and Louis Armstrong.
The organization hired Thomas Lamb in 1926 to construct an elaborate headquarters. Lamb, previously known for his elaborate movie palaces and theaters, responded to the Knight’s request by providing a $2 million eleven-story Art Deco structure wrought with Egyptian and Middle Eastern symbolism. Adorning the outside of the building you may see elements of carved capitols atop columns, seated pharaohs near the top, and a glazed terracotta tile entrance adorned by two winged Gryffindor atop it. There were reportedly many more elaborate features originally, however, many were removed when the structure was renovated in 1983 by architect David Gura. Within the interior Lamb had created a series of thirteen lodge rooms along with a gym on the roof and a bowling alley.
One element the original building by Thomas Lamb did not have was windows. All of these monster pieces of glass which currently adorn the front façade were actually part of the renovation which occurred in 1983. When the Knights had their building designed they specifically requested windows to not be placed on the front so as to maintain their secrecy. The vast amount of existing windows, probably about 75% of the façade, gives you an idea of just how much this temple has been altered.
The Knights of Pythias were forced to move from their headquarters in 1958 when they were no longer able to afford rent and maintenance on the facilities. It was said when they departed they left behind a number of relics including staffs, coffins (complete with skeleton), and thrones. Decca Records took over residency for a period in the 1950s and converted the former ballroom into a recording studio. Famous artists who recorded here included Bill Holiday and Sammy Davis Jr. Buddy Holly’s final studio session was at this site in October 1958 before his death via plane crash in February 1959. The studio is most famous though for being the site where Bill Haley & His Comets recorded their smash hit, “Rock Around the Clock.”
Subsequent to Decca, the site served as a community college before being converted into a luxury condominium in 1983 with eighty-four units. Reportedly a number of those exterior elements removed via the renovation in 1983 were integrated into the interior apartments.
Website: http://www.pythias.org/
Address: 135 West 70th Street, New York City, NY
Cost: Free.
IWalked Audio Tours To See This Site: New York City’s Upper West Side. (Purchase the MP3 tour here. iPhone application tour is available here. Please note, all NYC tours are now available as in-app purchases upon download of our FREE NYC Lite application, which includes a free 1.5 hour tour of a portion of the Upper West Side.)