712 Fifth Avenue
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712 Fifth Avenue is a skyscraper at 56th Street and
Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...
in the
Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
neighborhood of
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Constructed from 1987 to 1990, it was designed by
SLCE Architects SLCE Architects is an American architecture firm which provides architectural services in both the public and private sector. Between 2010 and 2015, the firm received the most commissions for residential developments in New York City. The firm is ...
and
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) is an American architecture firm that provides architecture, interior, programming and master planning services for clients in both the public and private sectors. KPF is one of the largest architecture firms in ...
. The skyscraper's base includes the
Coty Building The Coty Building is a building at 714 Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The six-story building contains a French-inspired facade and mansard roof, which are integrated into the base of the adjoining skysc ...
at 714 Fifth Avenue (built 1871) and the
Rizzoli Bookstore Rizzoli Bookstore is a general interest bookstore, located in the St. James Building, 1133 Broadway in New York City, that primarily specializes in illustrated books and foreign language titles. Its previous location at 31 W. 57th Street was no ...
building at 712 Fifth Avenue (built 1908), both of which are
New York City designated landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
s. The facades of the Coty and Rizzoli buildings are preserved at the base; an imitation facade was also built at 716 Fifth Avenue to complement the grouping. The lower floors contain a storefront and an atrium behind the landmark facades of the Coty and Rizzoli buildings. The tower stories contain a facade of white marble, gray limestone, and green and black granite. Inside the tower, each floor has of office space on average. The newer tower's juxtaposition with the Coty and Rizzoli buildings was both praised and criticized by architectural writers such as
Paul Goldberger Paul Goldberger (born in 1950) is an American author, architecture critic and lecturer. He is known for his "Sky Line" column in ''The New Yorker''. Biography Shortly after starting as a reporter at ''The New York Times'' in 1972, he was assign ...
and
Christopher Gray Christopher Stewart Gray (April 24, 1950 – March 10, 2017) was an American journalist and architectural historian,Schneider, Daniel B (August 27, 2000)"F.Y.I. Hell's Kitchen in the Raw" ''The New York Times''. March 4, 2010. noted for his week ...
. Before the construction of the present skyscraper, 712 Fifth Avenue was the address of the Rizzoli Bookstore building. Planning for 712 Fifth Avenue dates to 1983, but the project was delayed for several years because of opposition to the demolition of historic structures at the skyscraper's base. The Coty and Rizzoli buildings were incorporated into the base, where a
Henri Bendel Henri Bendel, Inc. (pronounced BEN-del), established in 1895, was a women's department store based in New York City which in its later history sold women's handbags, jewelry, luxury fashion accessories, home fragrances and gifts. Its New York Ci ...
store operated from 1990 until 2018. Upon completion, the skyscraper was mostly vacant because of a weak real-estate market. The building was sold in 1999 to the Paramount Group for a then-record $285 million.


Site

712 Fifth Avenue is in the
Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
neighborhood of
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. It faces
Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...
to the east and 56th Street to the north. The
land lot In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner(s). A plot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property (meaning practically the same thing) in ...
is L-shaped and covers , with a
frontage Frontage is the boundary between a plot of land or a building and the road onto which the plot or building fronts. Frontage may also refer to the full length of this boundary. This length is considered especially important for certain types of ...
of on Fifth Avenue and a depth of . It wraps around another structure at 718 Fifth Avenue, on the southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 56th Street. The modern skyscraper spans what was formerly 12 separate parcels. The building is on the same block as the townhouses at 10 and
12 West 56th Street 12 West 56th Street (originally the Harry B. Hollins Residence) is a consular building in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, housing the Consulate General of Argentina in New York City. It is along 56th Street's southern sidewa ...
to the west, as well as the
Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) church in New York City. The church, on Fifth Avenue at 7 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan, has approximately 2,200 members and is one of the larger PCUSA congregations. The ...
to the south. Other nearby buildings include the
Rockefeller Apartments The Rockefeller Apartments is a residential building at 17 West 54th Street and 24 West 55th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Wallace Harrison and J. André Fouilhoux in the International Style, the ...
to the southwest;
The Peninsula New York The Peninsula New York is a historic luxury hotel at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 55th Street in Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1905 as the Gotham Hotel, the structure was designed by Hiss and Weekes in the neo-classical style. The hotel ...
hotel and the
University Club of New York The University Club of New York (also known as University Club) is a private social club at 1 West 54th Street and Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Founded to celebrate the union of social duty and intellec ...
to the south; the St. Regis New York hotel and
689 Fifth Avenue 689 Fifth Avenue (originally the Aeolian Building and later the Elizabeth Arden Building) is a commercial building in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, at the northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 54th Street (Manhattan), 54t ...
to the southeast; the
Corning Glass Building Corning may refer to: People * Corning (surname) Places In Canada: * Corning, Saskatchewan In the United States of America: * Corning, Arkansas * Corning, California * Corning, Indiana * Corning, Iowa * Corning, Kansas * Corning, Michig ...
and
550 Madison Avenue 550 Madison Avenue (formerly known as the Sony Tower, Sony Plaza, and AT&T Building) is a postmodern skyscraper at Madison Avenue between 55th and 56th Streets in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Philip Johnson ...
to the east;
Trump Tower Trump Tower is a 58-story, mixed-use skyscraper at 721–725 Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, between East 56th and 57th Streets. The building contains the headquarters for the Trump Organization, as well ...
, the Tiffany & Co. flagship store, and
590 Madison Avenue 590 Madison Avenue, also known as the IBM Building, is a skyscraper at 57th Street and Madison Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes and Associates the 41-story, -tall tower was dev ...
to the northeast; and
17 West 56th Street Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...
and the
Crown Building The Crown Buildings ( cy, Adeiladau y Goron), which are also known as the Cathays Park Buildings, are the Welsh Government's main offices in Cardiff, Wales. The buildings were formerly used by the Welsh Office and are situated in Cathays Park ...
to the north.
Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...
between 42nd Street and
Central Park South 59th Street is a crosstown street in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan, running from York Avenue and Sutton Place on the East Side (Manhattan), East Side of Manhattan to the West Side Highway on the West Side (Manha ...
(59th Street) was relatively undeveloped through the late 19th century. The western side of the avenue, between 55th and 56th streets, contained the
Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) church in New York City. The church, on Fifth Avenue at 7 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan, has approximately 2,200 members and is one of the larger PCUSA congregations. The ...
at the 55th Street corner and a series of
brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Type ...
houses on the rest of the block. The church built a brownstone with the address 712 Fifth Avenue in 1886. By the early 1900s, that section of Fifth Avenue was becoming a commercial area.


Architecture

712 Fifth Avenue includes a 52-story tower with 11 elevators and rises to a total height of . The tower, constructed in 1989, was designed by
Kohn Pedersen Fox Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) is an American architecture firm that provides architecture, interior, programming and master planning services for clients in both the public and private sectors. KPF is one of the largest architecture firms in ...
(KPF) along with
SLCE Architects SLCE Architects is an American architecture firm which provides architectural services in both the public and private sector. Between 2010 and 2015, the firm received the most commissions for residential developments in New York City. The firm is ...
. A. Eugene Kohn of KPF was the partner-in-charge, while William Pedersen was the design partner and Chao-Ming Wu was the senior designer. The building is a
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...
basic silver certified structure. The skyscraper's base includes two preexisting structures: the Rizzoli Building (1907) and the Coty Building (1908). The rest of the base was built with the skyscraper itself.


Facade


Rizzoli Building

The five-story Rizzoli Building, designed by Albert S. Gottlieb, carried the address of 712 Fifth Avenue before the present skyscraper was built. Designed in the French classical style, the structure is about deep and is five stories tall with a
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
-and-brick facade. The facade is three bays wide, and at ground level, had a door in the rightmost bay. On the upper stories, the Rizzoli Building had a
piano nobile The ''piano nobile'' (Italian for "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, ''bel étage'') is the principal floor of a palazzo. This floor contains the main reception and bedrooms of the hou ...
with three full-height, arched windows, as well as balusters underneath each opening. There were also Rizzoli inscriptions above the second floor. The third and fourth floors' articulation was designed as a single unit, with each bay separated by
pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...
s containing
Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...
-style capitals; the windows on these floors are
casement window A casement window is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges at the side. They are used singly or in pairs within a common frame, in which case they are hinged on the outside. Casement windows are often held open using a cas ...
s. The fifth floor is within a black slate
mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...
, recessed behind a stone
balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...
.


Coty Building

The six-story Coty Building at 714 Fifth Avenue was redesigned by Woodruff Leeming and is designed as a frame around a glass wall. The first two stories have limestone-faced
piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...
and a
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...
. The third through the fifth stories are also treated as one unit, as a wall of glass. The glass windows were designed by
René Lalique René Jules Lalique (6 April 1860 – 1 May 1945) was a French jeweller, medallist, and glass designer known for his creations of glass art, perfume bottles, vases, jewellery, chandeliers, clocks, and automobile hood ornaments. Life Lalique's ...
and comprise the only documented work by that architect in the United States. There are five vertical window bays, separated by thin vertical steel
mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...
s. The top floor is set off by a
modillion A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a cornice which it helps to support. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally translated as small teeth). All ...
ed cornice with console brackets supporting a balustrade. The sloping metal-covered roof with its arched
dormer A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the usable space ...
s allowed the building to harmonize with its neighbors.


Skyscraper addition

The rest of the skyscraper's base is made of solid masonry clad with rough
Indiana limestone Indiana limestone — also known as Bedford limestone in the building trade — has long been an economically important building material, particularly for monumental public structures. Indiana limestone is a more common term for Salem Limestone, ...
and is five stories tall. On Fifth Avenue, a two-bay-wide, five-story neoclassical facade was built north of the Coty Building. It serves as a "bookend" to the Coty facade and is similar to the facade of the Rizzoli Building. However, the detailing consists of more superficial two-dimensional forms, in contrast to the three-dimensional forms used in the Rizzoli Building. It contains a cornice that continues onto the cornice line of the Coty Building. The main entrance on 56th Street consists of a classical-style
loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...
. It contains a two-story etched glass window with depictions of zodiac signs. This window, designed by Thierry Bruet and Amy Rassinforf, is designed as an imitation of the Lalique windows at the Coty Building. The tower contains a setback from Fifth Avenue and a setback from 56th Street. The tower's facade is made of gray Indiana limestone, white Vermont marble, and green and black granite, with an aluminum curtain wall. On the intermediate stories of the tower, there are ten window bays per floor on the north and south facades and eight bays on the east and west facades. The two outer bays on each side are set within limestone, and the windows between the outermost bays are accented by black granite strips between each floor. The windows themselves are arranged in a grid, contrasting with the stone. The outer bays have narrow horizontal sidelights made of black granite. The inner bays on each side are faced with Vermont marble, recessed slightly behind the outer bays. The mullions of the inner bays' windows reflect those of the Coty Building facade. The Vermont marble is cut into slabs; the builders initially intended to cut the marble into 4-inch-thick slabs, but slabs of that thickness were prone to cracking. The architects chose to use limestone for its buff color, which would lighten over time. The limestone is cut into slabs. Because it was the weakest type of stone used on the facade, the limestone slabs are anchored via steel angles to an exterior wall behind them, made of steel and concrete. Horizontal bands of rusticated limestone wrap around the tower at the 14th and 15th floors and at the 43rd and 44th floors. These strips indicate the locations of the mechanical stories. There are thermal-finished
quoins Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th century encyclopedia, t ...
, made of green granite, at the base and at the top of the tower. At the top, there are bronze medallions.


Interior

712 Fifth Avenue has of space in total, though the gross square footage is . The main lobby is decorated with imitation-historic details such as a mail chute with a mirror finish. All of the ground-level structures are internally connected. Behind the facade of the Coty Building is a four-story atrium, which contains marble and French limestone finishes. In 1988, during the development of the current skyscraper, the developers signed a written agreement in which the atrium could not be used for retail. Furthermore, the second through fourth floors were designed with a direct view of the atrium. These stories were originally taken up by a
Henri Bendel Henri Bendel, Inc. (pronounced BEN-del), established in 1895, was a women's department store based in New York City which in its later history sold women's handbags, jewelry, luxury fashion accessories, home fragrances and gifts. Its New York Ci ...
store. The store was designed with two elliptical staircases, as well as iron-railed balconies surrounding the atrium. The upper floors are intended for boutique tenants, such as fashion companies. Each of the upper stories has a typical floor area of . Granite, marble, wood, and glass are used for decorations within the tower stories. Real-estate magazine '' The Real Deal'' said that the building's appeal to fashion companies came from the fact that "few views beat those from the towers of 712 Fifth Avenue". The skyscraper has a concrete-tube frame to stiffen it against wind. The concrete cladding is thick on average and is placed along the tower's exterior, not connected to the core. The elevator shafts and emergency stairs were placed in one corner of the building. Weight loads from the upper stories are carried around the base to avoid placing loads on the Coty and Rizzoli buildings. Loads from the columns are horizontally shifted in small increments across a nine-story section of the tower, avoiding the need for a large load-transferring structure.


History


1907 structure

The Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church leased its parsonage, a four-story dwelling at the address 712 Fifth Avenue, to interior decorators L. Alavoine & Company in May 1906. The following March, Albert S. Gottlieb filed plans for a five-story store and office building at that site, on a lot measuring . The new structure, completed in 1908, was designed similarly to other residential buildings erected at the same time. At the time, the stretch of Fifth Avenue in Midtown was largely residential but was becoming more commercial.
Christopher Gray Christopher Stewart Gray (April 24, 1950 – March 10, 2017) was an American journalist and architectural historian,Schneider, Daniel B (August 27, 2000)"F.Y.I. Hell's Kitchen in the Raw" ''The New York Times''. March 4, 2010. noted for his week ...
wrote that the five-story structure was "elegantly designed, but still a business intrusion". The new office at 712 Fifth Avenue was first occupied by L. Alavoine & Company, and the jeweler
Cartier Cartier may refer to: People * Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player Places * Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australia' ...
had offices on the third floor. The Cartier store opened in 1909 and operated until 1917, when it moved to the former
Morton F. Plant House The Cartier Building, also 653 Fifth Avenue, is a commercial building on the southeast corner of 52nd Street and Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The building serves as the flagship store of Cartier in N ...
several blocks south. There were also numerous art galleries on the first floor. These included the galleries of Edward Brandus, which a ''
Brooklyn Daily Eagle :''This article covers both the historical newspaper (1841–1955, 1960–1963), as well as an unrelated new Brooklyn Daily Eagle starting 1996 published currently'' The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''King ...
'' writer described as making visitors feel "in the presence of a distinguished and refined company". Another art dealer in the building, Arthur Harlow & Co., moved elsewhere in 1927. Glassware and silver importer A. Schmidt & Sons leased the ground-floor storefront, as well as part of the basement, in 1934 for fifteen years. L. Alavoine continued to hold exhibitions at the building during this time. Men's furnishings store Budd Ltd. leased the storefront in 1948. The building continued to house art galleries through the 1950s, including the Louis Carr Gallery, Associated American Artists Galleries, and Albert Landry Gallery. 712 Fifth Avenue was owned by the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church until 1959, when jeweler
Harry Winston Harry Winston (March 1, 1896December 8, 1978) was an American jeweler. He donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution in 1958 after owning it for a decade. He also traded the Portuguese Diamond to the Smithsonian in 1963 in exchang ...
bought it.
Rizzoli Bookstore Rizzoli Bookstore is a general interest bookstore, located in the St. James Building, 1133 Broadway in New York City, that primarily specializes in illustrated books and foreign language titles. Its previous location at 31 W. 57th Street was no ...
, a division of
Rizzoli Libri Rizzoli Libri, formerly Rizzoli Libri S.p.A. and RCS Libri S.p.A. is an Italian book publisher and a division of Mondadori Libri, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore. RCS Libri was a former subsidiary of RCS MediaGroup, but in ...
, purchased the building from Harry Winston in 1963. The sale included a covenant that compelled the owners to use the building "only in a first-class manner" and maintain the exterior to a standard set by the Fifth Avenue Association. Rizzoli also bought the property at 2 West 56th Street, creating an "L"-shaped assemblage. The space was renovated by
Ferdinand Gottlieb Ferdinand Gottlieb (October 5, 1919 in Berlin, Germany – October 27, 2007, in Dobbs Ferry, New York) was a New York-based architect. He headed his own firm, Ferdinand Gottlieb & Associates, based in Dobbs Ferry (1961–2007). He is perhaps ...
to include one- and two-story-high spaces with wood paneling. The Rizzoli store opened within 712 Fifth Avenue in October 1964. The store attracted customers with its "marble floors, oak paneling, ndsparkling chandeliers", as ''
The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...
'' described its design. The Rizzoli store also had an art gallery where drawings and paintings were exhibited. In 1966, the store expanded into the section along 2 West 56th Street. Over the next two decades, the store gained popularity as an unofficial landmark. Rizzoli was one of several bookstores in the midtown section of Fifth Avenue during this time, along with
Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...
at 597 Fifth Avenue and
Brentano's Brentano's was an American bookstore chain with numerous locations in the United States. As of the 1970s, there were three Brentano's in New York: the Fifth Avenue flagship store at Rockefeller Center, one in Greenwich Village, and one in Whit ...
at 586 Fifth Avenue.


Skyscraper development


Early plans

In 1983, developer David S. Solomon began planning a 44-story office skyscraper at the southwest corner of 56th Street and Fifth Avenue. Since neither the Rizzoli Building nor the adjacent
Coty Building The Coty Building is a building at 714 Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The six-story building contains a French-inspired facade and mansard roof, which are integrated into the base of the adjoining skysc ...
at 714 Fifth Avenue were designated as official landmarks, he intended to replace them. The owners of Steadsol Fifth Associates, a consortium of which Solomon was part, bought both buildings in 1984 with the intent of demolishing them. The owners of the Rizzoli and Coty Buildings initially refused to sell their respective properties. At the time, the Rizzoli Building and the bookstore were controlled by the Carraro family, which lived in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
. After Solomon made several trips to Milan, the Carraro family decided to sell the 712 Fifth Avenue house to Solomon. The doctor who owned the Coty Building also agreed to sell his structure in return for a stake in the new skyscraper. Solomon also acquired the
air rights Air rights are the property interest in the "space" above the earth's surface. Generally speaking, owning, or renting, land or a building includes the right to use and build in the space above the land without interference by others. This legal ...
over the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church as well as the three-story Custom Shop at 716 Fifth Avenue.
Harry B. Macklowe Harry B. Macklowe (born 1937) is an American real estate developer and investor based in New York City. Early life Macklowe was born to a Jewish family, the son of a garment executive from Westchester County, New York. He graduated from New Roc ...
had already owned the properties at 4 and 6 West 56th Street and ultimately agreed to sell these structures to Steadsol after the latter bought two additional properties at 2 and 8 West 56th Street. The assemblage cost Steadsol $86 million in total, or about . Several designs were proposed for the new tower, including those for an apartment, hotel, apartment hotel, and office building. The developers promised the new skyscraper would harmonize with the structures around it, with a facade clad largely in limestone. The Coty Building's grimy windows caught the attention of architectural historian
Andrew Dolkart Andrew Scott Dolkart is a professor of Historic Preservation at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) and the former Director of the school's Historic Preservation Program. Professor Dolkart i ...
, who found that the Coty Building's windows were the only documented architectural work by
René Lalique René Jules Lalique (6 April 1860 – 1 May 1945) was a French jeweller, medallist, and glass designer known for his creations of glass art, perfume bottles, vases, jewellery, chandeliers, clocks, and automobile hood ornaments. Life Lalique's ...
in the United States. The discovery of the Coty Building's windows spurred a movement to oppose Steadsol's proposed tower. Real estate developer
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
also opposed the development of the new skyscraper. Trump's opposition was related to the fact that the new skyscraper would compete with his
Trump Tower Trump Tower is a 58-story, mixed-use skyscraper at 721–725 Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, between East 56th and 57th Streets. The building contains the headquarters for the Trump Organization, as well ...
was diagonally across Fifth Avenue and 56th Street. The
Municipal Art Society The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS) is a non-profit membership organization for preservation in New York City, which aims to encourage thoughtful planning and urban design and inclusive neighborhoods across the city. The organization was ...
petitioned the
Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
to designate the buildings, and both were designated on January 29, 1985, temporarily delaying the skyscraper's development. Due to a lack of communication between the
New York City Department of Buildings The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) is the department of the New York City government that enforces the city's building codes and zoning regulations, issues building permits, licenses, registers and disciplines certain construction tra ...
and the Landmarks Preservation Commission, alteration permits for the Coty and Rizzoli Buildings were initially approved in spite of the designations. The Coty and Rizzoli Buildings were given 24-hour police protection because of fears they could be demolished. Steadsol Fifth Associates later had its alteration permits for the Coty Building revoked.


Revisions

In mid-1985, the commission approved a revised plan designed by
Kohn Pedersen Fox Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) is an American architecture firm that provides architecture, interior, programming and master planning services for clients in both the public and private sectors. KPF is one of the largest architecture firms in ...
, which called for a tower with several setbacks. The facades of the landmark Coty and Rizzoli Buildings would be preserved under this plan. Architectural historian Charles Lockwood criticized the proposal as an "unacceptable preservation solution", and
Paul Goldberger Paul Goldberger (born in 1950) is an American author, architecture critic and lecturer. He is known for his "Sky Line" column in ''The New Yorker''. Biography Shortly after starting as a reporter at ''The New York Times'' in 1972, he was assign ...
described the plan as part of a trend in "facadism", in which the "essence" of the landmarks was still destroyed with the demolition of their interiors. In preparation for the skyscraper's construction, the Coty Building's windows were restored in 1986; the building at 716 Fifth Avenue, a two-story jewelry store, was demolished. The same year, luxury store Henri Bendel announced its intent to move its flagship store to the base of 712 Fifth Avenue. Steadsol Fifth Associates edited their plans again, this time designing 650-foot tower with flat facades because the setbacks would have made the upper floors too small. This drew consternation from
Manhattan Community Board 5 Manhattan Community Board 5 is a New York City community board, part of the local government apparatus of the city, with the responsibility for the neighborhoods of Midtown, Times Square, most of the Theater District, the Diamond District, the ...
, which requested that another hearing be held. The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved modified plans in March 1987. Construction began later that year, and a joint venture between Solomon and the
Taubman Company Taubman Centers, Inc. is an American real estate investment trust headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The company invests in shopping centers, and is a subsidiary of Simon Property Group since 2020. History The company was founded in 19 ...
took over the development. ''Architectural Record'' reported that the building would rise 53 stories and be completed by December 1989. As part of the project, Bendel hired
Beyer Blinder Belle Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLP (BBB) is an international architecture firm. It is based in New York City and has an additional office in Washington, DC. The firm's name is derived from the three founding partners: John H. Beyer, Ri ...
to restore the landmark facades and build a five-story neoclassical-style facade at 716 Fifth Avenue. The interiors of the landmark structures were completely demolished and the facades were braced back 50 feet into the new tower. The commission needed to approve any interior or exterior work within 50 feet of a landmark designation, but the tower was exactly 50 feet away from the landmark facades, so such approval was not needed. The building was
topped out In building construction, topping out (sometimes referred to as topping off) is a builders' rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed atop a structure during its construction. Nowadays, the ceremony is often parlaye ...
by 1989.


Office use

712 Fifth Avenue's completion in 1990 coincided with the beginning of the
early 1990s recession The early 1990s recession describes the period of economic downturn affecting much of the Western world in the early 1990s. The impacts of the recession contributed in part to the 1992 U.S. presidential election victory of Bill Clinton over incu ...
, when 14.5 percent of Manhattan office space was vacant. At the time, of 712 Fifth's was vacant, and the skyscraper was seen as a
white elephant A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, construction project, sch ...
project as a result. Solomon Equities also had difficulties finding tenants at
750 Seventh Avenue 750 Seventh Avenue is a 36-story office building in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The building was designed by Kevin Roche of Roche-Dinkeloo and developed by David and Jean Solomon. 750 Seventh Avenue occupies a site on ...
and
1585 Broadway 1585 Broadway, also the Morgan Stanley Building, is a 42-story office building on Times Square in the Theater District neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The building was designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects and Emery R ...
, which had been completed around the same time. The Solomons withdrew from the development of 712 Fifth Avenue in 1990, and Taubman then took over the project. In February 1991, the Henri Bendel store opened; at the time, there were six office tenants, including the Taubman Company. Six months later, several small tenants had signed leases for a collective of space. Several floors were subdivided into smaller offices, some with shared conference rooms. Because of the relatively small floor size, 712 Fifth Avenue's owners had to charge high rents to make profits. In 1998, the building was sold to the Paramount Group for $285 million (or roughly , then a record rate for office space. Two years later, the Lalique windows in the former Coty Building had to be removed for restoration, as the steel frame had rusted and expanded, cracking some panes. The windows were restored by Arthur Femenella. The writer Jerold S. Kayden published the book ''Privately Owned Public Space: The New York City Experience'' around the same time, in which he described Henri Bendel as selling merchandise in the atrium. Though this was a violation of the 1988 agreement that prohibited retail uses in the atrium, the city government took no action for two years. The city considered it a lower-priority violation since Henri Bendel's actions did not result in "a total denial of access". By 2007, space in the building was in high demand, and office space was rented at an average of per year. At the time, the average annual rent for "premium" Midtown office space was per year. The high rents were in part because 712 Fifth Avenue was near the
Plaza Hotel The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, a ...
; nearby buildings such as the
Solow Building The Solow Building, also known as 9 West 57th Street, is a skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Completed in 1974 and designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, it is west of Fifth Avenue between 57 ...
, the
Carnegie Hall Tower Carnegie Hall Tower is a skyscraper at 152 West 57th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Completed in 1990 and designed by César Pelli, the building measures tall with 60 stories. Due to the presence of Carnegie H ...
, the
General Motors Building A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...
, and
888 Seventh Avenue 888 Seventh Avenue is a 628 ft (191m) tall modern-style office skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan which was completed in 1969 and has 46 floors. Emery Roth & Sons designed the building. 888 Seventh Avenue is "L"-shaped in plan, with wings ext ...
also had high asking rates. In 2017, Paramount refinanced the building, securing a $300 million loan. The Henri Bendel store closed at the end of 2018. The following year, fashion designer Alexander Wang held a party in the vacant space to celebrate a business partnership with Bulgari. Harry Winston, which occupied the adjacent store at 718 Fifth Avenue, leased the former Henri Bendel storefront in 2020 for $7.87 million. The lease covered in 712 Fifth Avenue; Harry Winston demolished a wall between 712 and 718 Fifth Avenue to expand its store.


Tenants

*
Aberdeen Asset Management Aberdeen Asset Management was an international investment management group, managing assets for both institutions and private investors from offices around the world. Its head office was in Aberdeen, Scotland. The company was listed on the Lon ...
*
Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...
*
CVC Capital Partners CVC Capital Partners is a Luxembourg-based French private equity and investment advisory firm with approximately US$133 billion of assets under management and approximately €157 billion in secured commitments since inception across American, E ...
*
Riverstone Holdings Riverstone Holdings is a multinational private equity firm based in New York City focused on leveraged buyout, growth capital, and credit investments in the energy industry and electrical power industry sectors. The firm focuses on oil and gas ...
*
Roberto Cavalli Roberto Cavalli (; born 15 November 1940) is an Italian fashion designer and inventor. He is known for exotic prints and for creating the sand-blasted look for jeans. The high-end Italian fashion house Roberto Cavalli sells luxury clothing, perfu ...
*
TSG Consumer Partners TSG Consumer Partners is an American private equity company based in San Francisco, California. The firm was founded in 1987, and was among the first private equity firms to invest exclusively in consumer companies.
*
Vector Group Vector Group Ltd. is an American diversified holding company with two major businesses: Liggett Group LLC (tobacco) and New Valley LLC (real estate), including Douglas Elliman. Bennett S. LeBow founded Vector Group in 1986. Since then, he has ...


Critical reception

The ''Real Estate Record and Guide'' wrote of the original building in December 1908: "a certain residential character is retained as befitting the use of the building by a decorative artist, without in any way affecting its rental value". The ''
AIA Guide to New York City The ''AIA Guide to New York City'' by Norval White, Elliot Willensky, and Fran Leadon is an extensive catalogue with descriptions, critique and photographs of significant and noteworthy architecture throughout the five boroughs of New York City. ...
'' described the skyscraper as rising from the base of the landmark structures, saying that "the two tails (Rizzoli and Coty) wag this architectural dog, internally related to the Fifth avenue charmers, but externally isolated by Harry Winston's heavy handed folly at the corner."
Christopher Gray Christopher Stewart Gray (April 24, 1950 – March 10, 2017) was an American journalist and architectural historian,Schneider, Daniel B (August 27, 2000)"F.Y.I. Hell's Kitchen in the Raw" ''The New York Times''. March 4, 2010. noted for his week ...
, architecture critic at ''The New York Times'', criticized the building when it was topped out, saying that "it already has come to overpower what was a nicely balanced grouping." Paul Goldberger of the same newspaper wrote that the building held "more promise for the revival of Fifth Avenue than anything that has happened to that troubled boulevard in the last decade", despite his initial skepticism of the project. Goldberger dubbed it the "Best Tower Over the Store" in a 1991 column summarizing new buildings in New York City.
Brendan Gill Brendan Gill (October 4, 1914 – December 27, 1997) was an American journalist. He wrote for ''The New Yorker'' for more than 60 years. Gill also contributed film criticism for ''Film Comment'', wrote about design and architecture for Architectu ...
of ''The New Yorker'' wrote that 712 Fifth Avenue was "notable both as contemporary architecture and as a work of historic preservation" and that it offered "an especially attractive argument in favor of facadism". The author Eric Nash wrote that the multifaceted exterior ""looks right at home with the gray limestone of
Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco ...
in the background and the marble front of
Bergdorf Goodman Bergdorf Goodman Inc. is a luxury department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son, Andrew Goodman. To ...
in the foreground".


See also

*
List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
*
List of tallest buildings in New York City New York City, the most populous city in the United States, is home to over 7,000 completed high-rise buildings of at least , of which at least 95 are taller than . The tallest building in New York is One World Trade Center, which rises ...


References


Notes


Citations


Sources

* * * * *


External links

* {{Fifth Avenue 1907 establishments in New York City 1991 establishments in New York City Fifth Avenue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design basic silver certified buildings Midtown Manhattan New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Office buildings completed in 1907 Office buildings completed in 1991 Skyscraper office buildings in Manhattan