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THE STONE LIONS are wrapped in plastic. Broken ornamental urnslitter the balcony. Portions of the terra cotta facade are missing. The copper dome is encased in scaffolding. But despite the ongoing restoration work, the Police Building retains its aura of grandeur. The landmark building, which occupies an entire city block on Centre Street in downtown Manhattan is being transformed into a luxury co-op. It is an imposing, grandiose structure, whose wrought-iron gates, vaulted ceilings and Corinthian columns look as if they belong in a cathe dral instead of a 54unit apartment building.
"It's one of the finest examples of Italian Renaissance architecture built at the turn-of-the-century," said Dr. Gerard Wolfe, an architectural historian. "The building has long been the centerpiece of Little Italy. Of course, whether it was a plus or a minus depended on what side of the law you were on."
When the architectural firm of Hoppin & Koen built the BeauxArts style police headquarters in 1909, they boasted that it "would impress both officer and prisoner with the majesty of the law."
For more than 60 years, the imposing civic structure lived up...