The Emmet Building is a historic 16-story building located at 89–95

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stre ...

at 29th Street, in the NoMad neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was designed by

John Stewart Barney John Stewart Barney (October 12, 1867 - November 22, 1925) was an American architect and painter in New York City. His partnerships included Barney and Chapman and Barney & Colt, the firm responsible for the Emmet Building. Among his extant designs ...

and Stockton B. Colt of the architectural firm of Barney & Colt for Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet, a prominent gynecological surgeon who was also an author of books on Irish history. He was the son of Emmet John Patten (1796 - 1842), a chemistry professor at the University of Virginia who was born in Ireland and was the nephew of Robert Emmet, the advocate for Irish independence. The building was constructed between 1911 and 1912, replacing Emmet's own townhouse at 89 Madison, and four other properties at 91-95 Madison which he had acquired. Although the building's primary function was to serve commercial tenants in the area north of Madison Square Park,Herman, Margaret (February 20, 2018
"95 Madison Avenue (The Emmett Building) Designation Report"
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission Emmet had a penthouse apartment that included custom designed furnishings by Keeble, Ltd. It was served by a private elevator. He moved in with his 51-year old son, his nurse, and his cook, Koricki Myamiata, and lived in the building for more than 40 years. Commercial space was located on the lower floors of the building; early tenants included wholesale silk merchants

William Openhym & Sons William Openhym & Sons was a wholesale silk company in New York. The Manhattan Shirt Company was a subsidiary. The Copper Hewitt Museum has fabric samples from the company in its collection. The Queens Library has a silver gelatin print of the co ...

and the Manhattan Shirt Company.

Architecture

The neo-Renaissance building building is adorned in terracotta

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

ornamentation. The exterior of the first two floors used limestone and were adorned with cast-iron ornamentation and green marble-clad pillars. The lower story exterior features Medieval figures, canopies, and gargoyles, as well as "cavaliers and courtesans". Exterior columns span between the fourth and eleventh floors. The lobby was adorned with Sienna and Numida marble, mosaic floors, and bronze elevator doors and surround. The facade underwent restoration in 1991. The fifth edition of 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. ...

'' speculates that the design of the building may have been inspired by the Woolworth Building.

Landmarking

The Emmet Building, as well as the Beaux Arts architecture

James NoMad James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambigua ...

hotel (formerly the Seville Hotel) at 22 East 29th Street across the street from it, were designated as landmarks by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on March 6, 2018. Landmarks Preservation Commission chairperson Meenakshi Srinivasan said, "These elegant buildings are not only distinctive and exemplary on their own, but together they represent an era of change and development in the area north of Madison Square during the early 20th century." The family that owns it has been renovating the building, and, after initially supporting the landmarking, later expressed displeasure with how the Landmark Preservation Commission operates and its bureaucracy.

References

External links

* {{coord, 40.7444, -73.9851, type:landmark_region:US-NY, display=title Emmet family Office buildings in Manhattan Madison Avenue Renaissance Revival architecture in New York City New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Office buildings completed in 1912