Jarmulowsky Bank Building

The Jarmulowsky Bank Building is a historic 12-story landmark at the intersection of Canal and Orchard Streets on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Constructed in 1912 for the Jarmulowsky Bank, it is associated with the commercial and immigrant history of the neighborhood and is recognized for its prominent Beaux-Arts design. William Lawrence Rouse and Lafayette A. Goldstone designed the building, whose lower levels are faced in limestone and whose upper stories use architectural terracotta. The building was commissioned by Sender Jarmulowsky, who had established the Jarmulowsky Bank in 1873. The bank served a community with strong international and immigrant connections, including customers who sent money abroad. Its banking history was cut short during the financial disruption surrounding the outbreak of the First World War. According to the building's documented history, German investors withdrew funds to send to relatives overseas, producing a run on the bank. The institution subsequently failed, leaving the building's original banking purpose behind. A defining feature of the original design was a rooftop tempietto, more precisely a monopteros, that rose approximately 50 feet to a dome surrounded by eagles. The feature was modeled on the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens. Local tradition held that the rooftop structure was intended to make the building taller than the nearby headquarters of the Jewish Daily Forward, although this explanation is described as legend rather than established fact. The tempietto remained part of the building's silhouette until a 1990 renovation undertaken by Sing May Realty, when it was removed. In the following decades, the property was repositioned for hospitality use. DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners announced plans in 2013 to convert the structure into a hotel. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a replica of the lost rooftop feature in 2014, and the reconstructed tempietto was completed by early 2020. This work restored a major element of the building's historic appearance while adapting the interior for contemporary use. The resulting hotel, Nine Orchard, opened in June 2022 as a luxury hospitality property. The hotel occupies the historic building while using its architectural identity as part of its guest experience and public positioning. In August 2025, MML Hospitality acquired Nine Orchard for a reported $92 million, according to the cited reference material. The property therefore remains active as a hospitality destination, while the Jarmulowsky Bank Building continues to function as an architectural and historical landmark of the Lower East Side.

The Jarmulowsky Bank Building was constructed in 1912 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, at the corner of Canal and Orchard Streets. It was commissioned for the Jarmulowsky Bank, founded by Sender Jarmulowsky in 1873, and designed by William Lawrence Rouse and Lafayette A. Goldstone. The architects produced a 12-story Beaux-Arts commercial building with limestone at the lower levels and architectural terracotta above, giving the structure a highly visible and formally monumental appearance within a densely developed immigrant and commercial district. The building's original institutional role was closely tied to the international banking needs of its neighborhood. The Jarmulowsky Bank served customers with financial connections outside the United States, including people who transferred money to relatives abroad. This business was vulnerable to geopolitical shocks. When World War I began, German investors reportedly withdrew deposits so that funds could be sent to family members overseas. The resulting run contributed to the bank's failure. The building consequently ceased to function as the headquarters of the institution for which it had been built. Its most distinctive historic feature was a rooftop tempietto, or monopteros, rising roughly 50 feet to a dome encircled by eagle sculptures. The design drew on the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens. A local story claimed that the structure was added to ensure that the bank building stood taller than the nearby Jewish Daily Forward headquarters. The story remains part of the building's lore, but it is not presented as a verified explanation for the design. The tempietto survived until 1990, when Sing May Realty carried out a renovation and removed it. The loss changed the building's skyline profile and became an important consideration in later preservation and redevelopment efforts. In 2013, DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners announced plans to convert the former bank building into a hotel. The proposal represented a major adaptive-reuse decision: the property would retain its exterior architectural identity while receiving a new commercial function based on lodging, hospitality, and related public uses. In 2014, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a replica of the removed tempietto. The reconstruction was completed by early 2020 and reinstated the building's most recognizable rooftop element. The restored structure subsequently became the home of Nine Orchard, a luxury hotel that opened in June 2022. The hotel uses the historic building as both its physical setting and its central identity, linking contemporary hospitality to the architecture and social history of the Lower East Side. In August 2025, MML Hospitality acquired Nine Orchard for a reported $92 million. The acquisition marked a change in ownership after the building's conversion and hotel opening, while the property continued operating as a hospitality destination. The building's current significance is therefore dual: it is a surviving example of early twentieth-century commercial architecture and an adaptive-reuse hotel property whose branding is expressed through the Nine Orchard name.

• 2025

  MML Hospitality acquired Nine Orchard

  [1]Jarmulowsky Bank Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  MML Hospitality acquired the hotel and associated property for a reported $92 million.

• 2022

  Nine Orchard opened

  [1]Jarmulowsky Bank Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  The restored building began operating as the Nine Orchard luxury hotel in June.

• 2020

  Tempietto reconstruction was completed

  [1]Jarmulowsky Bank Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  The recreated rooftop feature was completed by the beginning of 2020.

• 2014

  Replica tempietto received landmark approval

  [1]Jarmulowsky Bank Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a replica of the lost rooftop structure.

• 2013

  Hotel conversion was proposed

  [1]Jarmulowsky Bank Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners announced plans to adapt the former bank building for hotel use.

• 1990

  Historic rooftop feature was removed

  [1]Jarmulowsky Bank Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  Sing May Realty renovated the building and demolished the original tempietto.

• 1914

  The Jarmulowsky Bank failed

  [1]Jarmulowsky Bank Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  A run on the bank following the outbreak of World War I contributed to its failure.

• 1912

  The bank building was completed

  [1]Jarmulowsky Bank Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  A 12-story Beaux-Arts building designed by William Lawrence Rouse and Lafayette A. Goldstone was completed on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

• 1873

  Jarmulowsky Bank was established

  [1]Jarmulowsky Bank Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  Sender Jarmulowsky established the bank that later commissioned the building at Canal and Orchard Streets.

Historic New York landmark adapted for luxury hospitality, combining early twentieth-century Beaux-Arts architecture with a contemporary hotel operation.

• Luxury hotel · 2022

  Nine Orchard

  Nine Orchard is the luxury hotel created through the adaptive reuse of the Jarmulowsky Bank Building. Opened in June 2022, it occupies the restored historic structure and incorporates the building's Beaux-Arts architecture into its hospitality identity. The hotel represents the property's transition from financial institution to lodging and event destination while preserving the landmark's prominent exterior and reconstructed rooftop tempietto.

• 2025

  Acquisition of Nine Orchard by MML HospitalityM&A

  Background

  Following the hotel's opening and operation within the restored landmark, ownership of the hospitality property changed hands.

  Action taken

  MML Hospitality acquired Nine Orchard in August 2025 for a reported $92 million.

  Aftermath

  MML Hospitality became the reported owner of the active hotel property.

  Reported acquisition price. $92 million (August 2025)

  Source

• 2022

  Launch of Nine OrchardProduct launch

  Background

  The completed adaptive-reuse project repositioned the historic bank building for contemporary hospitality.

  Action taken

  Nine Orchard opened as a luxury hotel in June 2022.

  Aftermath

  The building became an active hotel property while continuing to operate as a recognizable historic landmark.

  Source

• 2014

  Approval to reconstruct the tempiettoOther

  Background

  The original rooftop tempietto had been removed during the 1990 renovation, leaving a significant gap in the building's historic silhouette.

  Action taken

  The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a replica of the lost rooftop structure.

  Aftermath

  The replica was completed by early 2020 and restored the building's distinctive rooftop profile.

  Source

• 2013

  Conversion of the former bank building into a hotelStrategy

  Background

  The former banking property required a new use after its original financial institution had disappeared and the building had undergone earlier alterations.

  Action taken

  DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners announced plans to redevelop the structure as a hotel while retaining its historic architectural character.

  Aftermath

  The project ultimately produced Nine Orchard, which opened in 2022.

  Source

1. 1Jarmulowsky Bank Buildingen.wikipedia.org