From Lofts To Living Quarters: Garment District Architecture And Workers Housing

In the early 20th Century, New York City’s garment industry not only clothed the nation, but also helped shape New York’s urban fabric, creating the manufacturing lofts in Manhattan where workers toiled, and the cooperative housing developments in the Bronx where they lived. Join us for an in-depth exploration of how labor history and architectural history shaped The Garment District and the North East Bronx, stitching these two neighborhoods together.

First, we will explore Manhattan’s Garment District, a 2024 Six to Celebrate priority neighborhood. Andrew Scott Dolkart will discuss the history of loft manufacturing buildings and how purpose-built architecture contributed to the fashion industry. He will provide an overview of the Garment District’s development from its early days as a center for garment production to its current status as a pivotal location for fashion and design.

Our second speaker, Steven Payne, will discuss the United Workers Cooperative Colony—the Allerton Coops in The Bronx (also a 2024 Six to Celebrate priority)—whose construction and design were cooperatively funded by a group of workers in the so-called needle trades of the early 20th century. He will examine the complex role of these workers in driving economic and social changes—first within the Coops and then within the Garment District, with a focus on racial equality, civil rights, labor activism, and working-class culture and solidarity. He will explain the lasting legacy of the Allerton Coops in today’s Garment District and explore how their model continues to inspire contemporary cooperative movements and community-based enterprises.

 Our expert panelists are architectural historian and author of “The Fabric of New York City’s Garment District: Architecture and Development in an Urban Cultural Landscape,” Andrew Scott Dolkart; and Director of The Bronx County Historical Society, Steven Payne. The panel will be moderated by fashion studies professor at Pratt Institute, and organizer of the New York Fashion Workforce Development Coalition, Tessa Maffucci.

Whether you’re interested in architecture, labor or civil rights history, or simply curious about the intersection of urban design and industry, this panel promises a fascinating discussion.