Graydon Carter, who has for the past few years been creating his own little posh principality among Manhattan’s tonier neighborhoods, has his eye on a new prize. After starting restaurants and toying with the idea of founding a school, he now wants a hand in creating a museum. The Vanity Fair editor has his eye on the 1904 Beaux-Arts IRT Powerhouse on Eleventh Avenue at 58th Street. It’s currently owned by Con Ed and used as a steam plant, but apparently it has an elegant interior to match its imposing yet refined exterior. He’s not the first person to express interest in turning the McKim, Mead, and White–designed behemoth into a museum (others have proposed that it could be a Tate Museum for Manhattan), but nonetheless the Observer reports that he’s talked to developer Doug Durst about potentially moving the International Center for Photography (which is currently housed in one of Durst’s midtown buildings) there. He’s also talked to community-board leaders, who no doubt would love a little of the glitzy High Line magic to extend past the end of the elevated rail all the way up to Clinton. Sadly, the Observer reports, Con Ed has no interest in giving up the space.
Graydon Goes All Beaux-Arts: Condé Editor Eyes Con Ed Building [NYO]
