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Seen from across Fifth Avenue

Site edit

404 Fifth Avenue, also known as 402 Fifth Avenue and the Stewart & Company Building, is in the South Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, on the southwestern corner of Fifth Avenue and 37th Street.[1][2] The land lot is slightly "L"-shaped and covers 9,965 square feet (925.8 m2),[1] with a frontage of 65 feet 4 inches (19.91 m) on Fifth Avenue and 141 feet 6 inches (43.13 m) on 37th Street.[1][3] Nearby buildings include The Langham, New York hotel and 390 Fifth Avenue to the south; the Lord & Taylor Building one block north; the Tiffany & Company Building to the east; and 200 Madison Avenue to the southeast.[1]

404 Fifth Avenue was constructed on a site owned by Robert Walton Goelet, a member of a wealthy Dutch family[4] that had founded the Chemical Bank.[5][6] Robert Walton's father Robert and uncle Ogden had acquired the site in two parts. The first portion of the site was acquired from Montague M. Hendricks in 1886, while the second portion was acquired from Thomas Scott in 1891.[7] At the time of the building's construction, the Goelets reportedly owned more land in New York City than any family except the Astors.[7][8] Just before the current building was completed, the site had been occupied by three smaller commercial loft buildings.[9] The structures had been built in 1889–1890 as hotels and boarding houses; two years later, McKim, Mead & White converted the structures into a banquet hall.[9][10]

Architecture edit

404 Fifth Avenue is eight stories tall and was designed by the firm of Warren and Wetmore.[11][12] Whitney Warren, one of the firm's partners, was Robert Walton Goelet's maternal uncle.[12] The building's architectural terracotta was manufactured by the New York Architectural Terra Cotta Company.[9][11] In addition, Balcom and Darrow were the structural engineers, and the Harry E. Campbell Company made the ornamental iron.[11] The structure was designed with elements of several architectural styles, including the late-19th-century Chicago school and the 18th-century British neoclassical styles.[9] The columns on the lowest two stories were originally proposed to be made of black and white marble, while the upper stories were to use tinted black and white terracotta.[13][9] The upper stories were ultimately clad with white and blue terracotta, an unusual color scheme typically found in pottery.[14]

Facade edit

The Fifth Avenue elevation of the facade is divided into five bays, while the 37th Street elevation is divided into nine bays. At ground level, the Fifth Avenue elevation and the easternmost three elevations of the 37th Street elevation were used as storefronts.[15] Originally, these storefronts contained glass-and-metal display windows, transom panels, stone bulkheads, and black marble cladding;[13][16] these features were replaced in 1936.[15][16] The modern-day storefronts on Fifth Avenue contain metal and glass display windows or doors. The six western bays had canopies and stone bulkheads, which were removed before 1940. The ground floor was originally clad in a dark black material, which was replaced with stucco at some point from 1940 to the 1970s.[17] There is a tenants' entrance and a service entrance in the westernmost bay on 37th Street.[18] There is a decorative horizontal band above the first story, which contains lozenge motifs with flowers inside them. On the second story, each bay originally contained single-pane windows; the western six bays on 37th Street have since been replaced with tripartite windows.[19] Above the second floor is a cream-colored masonry cornice, above which the facade is ornately decorated with blue and white terracotta.[20]

On the third through eighth floors, the Fifth Avenue and 37th Street elevations are designed in the same manner, with one window per floor on each bay. With a few exceptions, the windows are mostly composed of a central glass pane, casement windows on either side, and a transom window or metal transom panel above.[19] Above the windows on the third, fourth, and sixth stories are spandrel panels with a grid of squares and flowers.[14][19] There are horizontal bands above and below each spandrel, which are decorated with roundels, floral motifs, and rounded motifs. Above the fifth and seventh stories are horizontal string courses, which consist of white intertwined laurels and wreaths on a blue background; each string course contains ornate borders above and below it.[19] Above the eighth story are brackets with acanthus-leaf motifs and flower designs, which alternate with blue panels that contain white laurels and ribbons.[14][19] These brackets support a white terracotta cornice with various motifs.[20]

Three of the building's corners face the street and are decorated with rope moldings at the first and second stories. The number "404" is placed on both elevations at the northeast corner.[17] The bays on Fifth Avenue and 37th Street are divided by pilasters that run from the third to the eighth floors, interrupted by the string courses above the fifth and seventh floors. These pilasters are decorated with white egg-and-reed designs and are topped by acanthus-leaf capitals. The extreme ends of either facade contain piers that consist of white intertwined laurels and wreaths on a blue background, the same design as the string courses; there are urns at the bottom of each pier. There are rope motifs at each corner, which rise above rectangular bases at the second, fifth, and seventh floors.[20]

The southern facade (now obscured by the Langham New York hotel) was clad with white brick and originally contained windows, many of which have been infilled. The facade contained the outline of two of the previous buildings at 400 Fifth Avenue. On the fifth through eighth stories, the easternmost eight bays had the same design as the rest of the facade, including a cornice above the eighth story. The rest of the south facade is topped by a white-and-blue band, and a mechanical penthouse is located above the southwestern corner of the roof. The west facade is also clad with white brick but is plain in design, without any cornices. The only ornamentation on this facade is a vertical white-and-blue band at the northwestern corner, as well as a horizontal band just below the roof.[20]

Features edit

Originally, leather firm Mark Cross Company operated a store on the northern half of the ground floor, while department and mail-order firm Stewart & Company used the southern half of the ground level.[21] Women's clothing store Emily Shops Inc. combined the two storefronts in 1936.[16] During the late 20th century, the seventh and eighth floors contained a squash and racquet club[22] with an aerobics club and two courts.[23]

History edit

Many stores established in the 1850s and 1860s were located along Broadway south of 14th Street. By the 1870s, stores were being established between 14th and 23rd Streets in the Ladies' Mile area.[7] At the beginning of the 20th century, development was centered on Fifth Avenue north of 34th Street, where new department store buildings were quickly replacing the street's brownstones.[24][25][26] One of the first new store buildings in the area was the B. Altman and Company Building, which opened in 1906.[26][27] Other department stores such as Lord & Taylor, as well as specialty stores such as Tiffany & Co. and the Gorham Manufacturing Company, relocated during the 1900s and 1910s.[28]

Early and mid-20th century edit

In February 1914, Robert Walton Goelet announced that he would develop an eight- to ten-story loft building at Fifth Avenue and 37th Street, giving the site's existing tenants 60 days to leave.[3] Goelet then leased the corner storefront to the Mark Cross Company.[3][29] Shortly afterward, Goelet hired Warren & Wetmore to design the structure,[29] and the firm completed plans for an eight-story building in March.[30] Stewart & Company, an existing tenant on the site,[21][31] leased the southern storefront,[32] as well as several floors of offices.[13][33] Construction started on July 8, 1914;[9] the structure was one of several store buildings constructed on the surrounding section of Fifth Avenue during the mid-1910s.[13][34] The Mark Cross store in the building opened on October 19, 1914, relocating from 210 Fifth Avenue.[35] Records show that the building was completed on December 28, 1914, for about $250,000.[9] The site's value increased rapidly, from $1.1 million in 1914 to $1.6 million by 1915, after the building was completed.[36]

Initially, Mark Cross Co. leased the building from Goelet, and it subleased the upper stories to other tenants.[37][38] The upper stories were leased to various companies in the 1920s, including milliners Gage Brothers & Co.,[39] watchmaker Wittnauer,[21] and embroidery company Stein-Doblin & Co..[40] Stewart & Company merged with Arnold Constable & Company in 1925 but continued to operate a store there.[33][41] Women's clothing store Emily Shops Inc. leased the basement, southern storefront, and second floor in January 1929,[38][42] and Stewart and Company relocated out of the building in April 1929.[43][44][a] Emily Shops expanded to the third floor that July,[46] and 404 Fifth Avenue was known as the Mark Cross Building y the end of that year.[47] The Mark Cross Co. store in the building closed in April 1936, when the company relocated further north.[48] Emily Shops then leased the northern ground-level storefront and renovated the ground-story space.[49][50] Emily Shops installed a green-and-white marble wall, with three large display windows on the ground story, and it rearranged some of its departments; the store reopened in September 1936.[16]

By 1940, the building's tenants included a wool manufacturer, a jeweler, and an importer.[51] Goelet continued to own the building until his death in 1941, upon which he bequeathed the building to his family.[52] The Rhode Island Corporation, operated by the Goelet family, then took over the building.[9] Emily Shops remained in the building until the mid-1950s. Other tenants during this 1940s and 1950s included jewelry manufacturer Swank, media company Condé Nast, publisher Ballantine Books,[21] and real-estate firm Helmsley-Spear.[53] According to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), the building's tenants included merchants who sold products such as watches, clothing, jewelry, and rubber. Tenants came from such varied industries as banking, beauty care, dentistry, fitness, importing, legal, photography, publishing, and real estate.[21] Laurel Books leased the storefront in the 1960s.[54]

Late 20th century to present edit

In May 1967, the Rhode Island Corporation sold the building to Lorraine Gallagher Freimann for an estimated $2 million; at the time, the building was subject to a $1,2 million mortgage.[55] Larry Silverstein and Bernard H. Mendik bought the building from Freimann later the same year.[56] Records indicate that Robert R. Zeiller acquired the deed to the building in April 1976. The building was transferred yet again to H & H Associates in 1979; that company owned the building for seven years.[21] In the mid-1980s, the building's tenants included a squash and racquet club,[22] as well as a jewelry showroom.[57]

Murray Hill Properties acquired three adjacent structures at 396 to 400 Fifth Avenue in 1987,[58] with plans to construct a 31-story[58] or 35-story building on that site.[14] Part of the skyscraper would have been cantilevered over the Stewart Building, which was owned by Manhattan Realty Acquisition Fund, a separate syndicate that also included Murray Hill Properties.[14] Manhattan Realty Acquisition Fund sold the site's unused air rights to Tower Fifth Avenue, the limited partnership that owned 396–400 Fifth Avenue.[21][14] Norman Sturner of Murray Hill Properties was considering renovating the Stewart Building's facade to harmonize with that of the new building, but he did not have a strong opinion on that matter. Nonetheless, he opposed a potential city-landmark designation for the Stewart Building, as that would give the LPC authority to prevent the adjacent skyscraper from being cantilevered over 404 Fifth Avenue.[14]

In 1998, Prince Management and several other investors paid Murray Hill Properties $16 million for the building, a rate of $175 per square foot ($1,880/m2). Prince Management already owned the sites at 398 and 400 Fifth Avenue and, in theory, could combine the three sites to erect a 250,000-square-foot (23,000 m2) building.[59] The LPC designated 404 Fifth Avenue and the nearby 2 Park Avenue as official city landmarks on April 18, 2006.[60] Joseph Chetrit bought the building in the early 21st century, relocating his office there.[61] Coworking space operator WeWork also occupied 404 Fifth Avenue until 2021.[62]

References edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Stewart & Co. moved to a store on Fifth Avenue and 56th Street in October 1929; it was also known as the Stewart Building.[45] The 56th Street store went bankrupt in 1930 and was replaced with a Bonwit Teller store, which itself was razed to make way for Trump Tower.[21]

Citations edit

  1. ^ a b c d "402 5 Avenue, 10018". New York City Department of City Planning. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  2. ^ White, Norval; Willensky, Elliot; Leadon, Fran (2010). AIA Guide to New York City (5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 267. ISBN 978-0-19538-386-7.
  3. ^ a b c "The Real Estate Field; Business Building Planned by Robert W. Goelet for Fifth Avenue and Thirty-seventh Street -- Operators Assemble East Side Plot -- Upper West Side Apartment in Trade -- Bronx Activity". The New York Times. February 17, 1914. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  4. ^ The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. 35. 1930. p. 417 – via HathiTrust.
  5. ^ Goelet Building (PDF) (Report). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. January 14, 1992. p. 2.
  6. ^ History of the Chemical Bank, 1823–1913. Country life Press. 1913. p. 104. Archived from the original on August 22, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c Landmarks Preservation Commission 2006, p. 2.
  8. ^ Gray, Christopher (December 16, 1990). "Streetscapes: The Goelet Building; A Facade Rich in Marble". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Landmarks Preservation Commission 2006, p. 5.
  10. ^ Roth, Leland (1983). McKim, Mead & White, Architects. Harper & Row. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-06-430136-7. OCLC 9325269.
  11. ^ a b c Architecture and Building. Vol. 47. W.T. Comstock Company. 1915. p. 76.
  12. ^ a b Landmarks Preservation Commission 2006, pp. 2–3.
  13. ^ a b c d "Noteworthy Building Operations on Fifth Avenue Will Add to Importance of Forty-second Street Section; New Rogers Peet Structure Will Occupy Large Corner at Forty-first Street, Ten Stories High, with Employes' Club on Roof -- Goelet Building at Thirty-seventh Street Will Be Attractive Addition to Shopping Centre -- Thirty-Story Skyscraper for Times Square". The New York Times. May 10, 1914. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g Gray, Christopher (July 22, 1990). "Streetscapes: The 1914 Stewart Building; A Delicate Work of Ceramic in the Path of a Tower". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  15. ^ a b Landmarks Preservation Commission 2006, pp. 7–8.
  16. ^ a b c d "Emily Shops Open Enlarged Store: Fifth Avenue Establishment Expanded, Remodeled— New Depts. Added". Women's Wear. Vol. 53, no. 57. September 18, 1936. p. 16. ProQuest 1653801647.
  17. ^ a b Landmarks Preservation Commission 2006, p. 8.
  18. ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 2006, pp. 8–9.
  19. ^ a b c d e Landmarks Preservation Commission 2006, p. 9.
  20. ^ a b c d Landmarks Preservation Commission 2006, p. 10.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h Landmarks Preservation Commission 2006, p. 7.
  22. ^ a b Forbes, John B. (March 23, 1984). "Popularity of Racquet Sports". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  23. ^ Reed, Danielle (March 23, 2000). "New Trump Project's Neighbors". New York Daily News. p. 36. ProQuest 313745667.
  24. ^ Wist, Ronda (1992). On Fifth Avenue : then and now. New York: Carol Pub. Group. ISBN 978-1-55972-155-4. OCLC 26852090.
  25. ^ "Catharine Street as Select Shopping Centre Recalled in Lord & Taylor's Coming Removal; Business Established on Lower East Side in 1826, and Brooks Brothers Had Store on Cherry Street Corner – In 1850 Broadway Above Grand Street Became Popular Retail Section – In Last Ten Years Movement Has Been to Fifth Avenue North of 34th Street". The New York Times. November 3, 1912. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  26. ^ a b Stern, Gilmartin & Massengale 1983, p. 194.
  27. ^ Williams, Sarah (March 12, 1985). "B. Altman & Company" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  28. ^ Stern, Gilmartin & Massengale 1983, pp. 195–196.
  29. ^ a b "Robert W. Goelet Selects Architects". The Real Estate Record: Real estate record and builders' guide. Vol. 93, no. 2397. February 21, 1914. p. 358 – via columbia.edu.
  30. ^ "The Real Estate Field; Washington Heights Apartment Houses Sold to Investors -- Site for Girls' School Purchased in East Seventy-ninth Street -- Good Demand for Small Suburban Properties". The New York Times. March 21, 1914. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  31. ^ "Chicago Firm Takes Loft Space". The Real Estate Record: Real estate record and builders' guide. Vol. 93, no. 2405. April 18, 1914. p. 684 – via columbia.edu.
  32. ^ "Manhattan". The Real Estate Record: Real estate record and builders' guide. Vol. 93, no. 2402. March 28, 1914. p. 554 – via columbia.edu.
  33. ^ a b "Control Of Arnold, Constable & Co. Purchased By Stewart's Interests: Isaac And Meyer Lieberman To Continue Operations Of Former Store Without Change—Expect To Extend Activities Into Chain Organization—Leopard Remains As Member Of Board—Peck And Miller To Continue—Stockholders Have Until September To Ratify Proposed Changes In Stock Corporation". Women's Wear. Vol. 31, no. 31. August 6, 1925. pp. 1–2, 55. ProQuest 1677174906.
  34. ^ "Prominent Owners to Improve Sites: Astor, Goelet and Boldt Among Those Who Will Build This Year ... Structures for This Borough New Projects, Including Pan-american States, Will Cost $17,500,000". New-York Tribune. April 26, 1914. p. C2. ProQuest 575221912.
  35. ^ "Joins Uptown Movement.: Mark Cross Opens At Fifth Avenue And 37th Street". Women's Wear. Vol. 9, no. 96. October 23, 1914. pp. SII11. ProQuest 1699856935.
  36. ^ "Rising Values in Fifth Avenue Retail Zone; Assessments Show Increases from Thirty-fifth to Forty-second Streets of 20 to 42 Per Cent". The New York Times. November 1, 1914. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  37. ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 2006, p. 13.
  38. ^ a b "Emily Shops,Inc Leases Present Stewart Home: Will Take Over Basement, Street, Mezzanine And Second Floor At Annual Rental Of $150,000 — Will Open Unit In Washington March 1". Women's Wear Daily. Vol. 38, no. 7. January 10, 1929. p. 1. ProQuest 1699894523.
  39. ^ "$150,000 Lease on Fifth Avenue". The New York Times. October 10, 1922. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  40. ^ "Stein-Doblin & Co. To Move Uptown Dec. 15". Women's Wear Daily. Vol. 39, no. 64. September 30, 1929. pp. SII6. ProQuest 1676933854.
  41. ^ "Arnold Constable and Stewart's Join; Coming Merger of Two Big Fifth Avenue Stores Is Announced". The New York Times. August 6, 1925. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  42. ^ "Business Leases; Emily Shops to Occupy Stewart & Co. Space--Other Rentals". The New York Times. January 12, 1929. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  43. ^ "Stewart & Co. Take Other Quarters on Fifth Ave". New York Herald Tribune. April 15, 1929. p. 33. ISSN 1941-0646. ProQuest 1111607294.
  44. ^ "Stewart Building Site; Was Formerly Owned by William Waldorf Astor". The New York Times. October 13, 1929. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  45. ^ "Stewart Building Site; Was Formerly Owned by William Waldorf Astor". The New York Times. October 13, 1929. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  46. ^ "Trust Company Gets Option on Newark Site". New York Herald Tribune. July 16, 1929. p. 41. ISSN 1941-0646. ProQuest 1111645751.
  47. ^ "Increasing Demand For Busiuess Space In Midtown Zone: 30,000 Square Feet Leased in West 22d Street Building; Fifth Ave. Floor Leased". New York Herald Tribune. October 2, 1929. p. 41. ISSN 1941-0646. ProQuest 1111697803.
  48. ^ "Mark Cross Store At 5th And 37th Closed". Women's Wear. Vol. 52, no. 78. April 20, 1936. p. 6. ProQuest 1653824939.
  49. ^ "Many Stores Leased in Midtown Section; Large Space at Fifth Av. and 37th St. Will Be Altered for Apparel Shop". The New York Times. August 5, 1936. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  50. ^ "More 5 Th Ave. Space For Emily Shops Unit: Aiding Former Mark Cross Premises, 40,000 Sq. Ft., To Midtown Shop". Women's Wear. Vol. 53, no. 25. August 4, 1936. pp. 1, 5. ProQuest 1653679529.
  51. ^ "Chinese Importer Takes Space Here; Wing-On Company Leases Store in 13-15 West 28th St. for Eastern Office". The New York Times. January 19, 1940. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  52. ^ "Goelet Will Gives 'Ritz' to Harvard; Hotel and Its Site, Taxed on $3,675,000, Go to the University Unrestricted". The New York Times. July 12, 1941. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  53. ^ "Realty Concern Enters Fiftieth Year". The New York Times. September 30, 1953. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  54. ^ "Recordak Leases Showroom Space; Eastman Subsidiary Moves to Sperry Rand Building". The New York Times. November 26, 1964. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  55. ^ "News of Realty: Jewelry Center: Syndicate Obtains Title to 55 West 47th Street". The New York Times. May 8, 1967. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  56. ^ Ennis, Thomas W. (November 10, 1967). "News of Realty: Building is Sold; 8-Story Office Structure Located at Fifth and 37th". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  57. ^ "Accessories Report News Beat: Trifari To Move Showroom, Offices". Women's Wear Daily. Vol. 155, no. 74. April 15, 1988. p. 6. ProQuest 1445576027.
  58. ^ a b Foderaro, Lisa W. (September 27, 1987). "Postings; Southward on Fifth: Moving Mystique". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  59. ^ Croghan, Lore (October 12, 1998). "Malkins' surprising skyscraper sale". Crain's New York Business. Vol. 14, no. 41. p. 21. ProQuest 219159933.
  60. ^ "Two buildings designated". CityLand. May 15, 2006. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  61. ^ Geiger, Daniel (January 28, 2013). "How Did This Man Buy That Building?". Crain's New York Business. Vol. 29, no. 4. p. 1. ProQuest 1284117392.
  62. ^ "WeWork abandons the second location it ever opened". Crain's New York Business. April 8, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2022.

Sources edit

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 404 Fifth Avenue.

  • [[Category:1914 establishments in New York City]] [[Category:Fifth Avenue]] [[Category:Midtown Manhattan]] [[Category:New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan]] [[Category:Office buildings completed in 1914]] [[Category:Office buildings in Manhattan]] [[Category:Warren and Wetmore buildings]]
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