390 Fifth Avenue, also known as the Gorham Building, is an
Italian Renaissance Revival
Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ...
''
palazzo
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
''-style building at
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 ...
and
West 36th Street 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 was designed by
McKim, Mead & White
McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), Wil ...
, with
Stanford White
Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in additio ...
as the partner in charge, and built in 1904–1906. The building was named for the
Gorham Manufacturing Company
The Gorham Manufacturing Company is one of the largest United States of America, American manufacturers of Sterling silver, sterling and silverplate and a foundry for bronze sculpture.
History
Gorham Silver was founded in Providence, Rhode Isl ...
, a major manufacturer of sterling and silverplate, and was a successor to the former Gorham Manufacturing Company Building at
889 Broadway. The building features bronze ornamentation and a copper
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 ...
.
390 Fifth Avenue was occupied by the Gorham Manufacturing Company between 1905 and 1923. It was then home to
Russeks
Russeks was a department store at 390 Fifth Avenue, at the intersection with West 36th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
The company was co-founded by brothers Frank Russek and Isidore H. Russek, and became Russeks Fifth Avenue, Inc.
...
department store from 1924 to 1959, and then Spear Securities from 1960, who changed the street level facade. It was designated a
New York City 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 ...
in 1998, after the lower floors were significantly altered from their original design.
Site
390 Fifth Avenue, also known as the Gorham Building, is in the
South Midtown neighborhood of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
in
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 ...
, on the southwestern corner of
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 ...
and
36th Street.
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 slightly "L"-shaped and covers .
The main building measures on Fifth Avenue and along 36th Street.
An annex, about wide with a similar facade to the original construction, is west of the main building.
Nearby buildings include
The Langham, New York
The Langham, New York, Fifth Avenue, or The Langham, New York, is a luxury suite hotel and skyscraper in Manhattan, New York City, operated by Langham Hospitality Group. It was constructed in 2010 as The Setai Fifth Avenue and took on its curre ...
hotel and
404 Fifth Avenue one block north;
200 Madison Avenue
200 Madison Avenue (also known as the Marshall Field Building, Astor Estate Building, International Combustion Building, and Tower Building) is a 25-story office building in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is alon ...
to the east; the
B. Altman and Company Building to the southeast; and the
Tiffany & Company Building to the northeast.
Before the Gorham Building was completed, the site had been occupied by the Hotel Shelburn,
which by 1902 was called the Hotel Lenox.
William Waldorf Astor
William Waldorf "Willy" Astor, 1st Viscount Astor (31 March 1848 – 18 October 1919) was an American-British attorney, politician, businessman (hotels and newspapers), and philanthropist. Astor was a scion of the very wealthy Astor family of ...
had acquired the site in 1890.
The residential core of Manhattan relocated north from lower Manhattan during the late 19th century. 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.
One of the first new store buildings in the area was the
B. Altman and Company Building, which opened in 1906.
Other department stores such as
Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor was the oldest brick and mortar department store in the United States, in business from 1826 to 2020. The brand was purchased during former owner Le Tote's 2020 liquidation bankruptcy and relaunched by new owner, Saadia Group, as ...
, as well as specialty stores such as
Tiffany & Co. and the
Gorham Manufacturing Company
The Gorham Manufacturing Company is one of the largest United States of America, American manufacturers of Sterling silver, sterling and silverplate and a foundry for bronze sculpture.
History
Gorham Silver was founded in Providence, Rhode Isl ...
, relocated during the 1900s and 1910s.
The Gorham, Tiffany,
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 ...
,
Coty, and
Demarest buildings are among the few surviving stores that were erected for smaller retailers on Fifth Avenue during the early 20th century.
Architecture
390 Fifth Avenue is an eight-story building designed by
McKim, Mead & White
McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), Wil ...
in an early
Italian Renaissance Revival
Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ...
style.
In his notes,
Stanford White
Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in additio ...
of McKim, Mead & White said he wanted both the facade and the store's interior to exhibit "a feeling of elegance and simplicity".
A variety of Renaissance inspirations were used in the design.
The bronze ornamentation for the facade and interior was designed by White and manufactured by Gorham.
Facade
Along the eastern elevation on Fifth Avenue and the northern elevation on 36th Street, the
facade is clad with yellowish-white
Bedford limestone.
These elevations are divided into three tiers, which are separated by horizontal
string courses.
The base comprises the first and second stories; the midsection comprises the third through sixth stories; and the
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 ...
-like attic section comprises the seventh and eighth stories.
The northeast corner is slightly rounded, similar to that of the
Judge Building.
The elevations to the south and west, which face other buildings, are made of brick.
As built, the Gorham Building was much taller than surrounding structures.
![5 Av Oct 2021 102](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/5_Av_Oct_2021_102.jpg)
There is an annex on 36th Street, which is the same height as the original building. The base is composed of a storefront, topped by three sets of sash windows, corresponding to the height of the base in the original building. The remaining stories are composed of six pairs of windows, one on each level. The ground-level arcade and attic loggia do not stretch around to the annex.
The top of the facade contains a parapet below the original cornice.
Base
The entirety of the base originally had a double-height
arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware
** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board
* Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games
* ...
running along it. The arches were supported at ground level by
Ionic columns,
which are made of gold-flaked Massachusetts granite.
Bas-relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
s, removed by 1936, were placed in the spandrels at the top of the arcade.
Andrew O'Connor sculpted the reliefs, which were made of bronze and depicted art and industry.
There were three arches on the Fifth Avenue side and seven arches on the 36th Street side.
There was a bronze frieze above the first floor.
Most of the easternmost arch on 36th Street, and all of the arches on Fifth Avenue, were replaced in 1960 with a storefront composed of an aluminum and glass grid.
The remaining arches on 36th Street were preserved, with the main entrance to the building being located within the westernmost arch.
Each of the arches at the base corresponded to two vertical window
bays on the upper floors. There are six bays on the upper floors on the Fifth Avenue facade and 14 such bays on the 36th Street facade.
Upper stories
The middle four stories are plainer in design compared to the base.
A cartouche with lions was installed above the windows on the fourth floor.
On the Fifth Avenue side, there is a balcony spanning the two middle bays on the fifth floor, and on the 36th Street facade, another balcony spans the four center bays on the fifth floor. On the cornice above the sixth floor of the Fifth Avenue facade, there is a frieze, with a cartouche in the center flanked by a pair of lions. The cartouche on Fifth Avenue contains the inscription "
ANNO D. MCMIIII", representing 1904, the year the building started construction. A simple frieze runs above the sixth floor of the 36th Street facade.
On the loggia-style facade of the upper two floors, each bay is separated by a
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 ...
column.
An
entablature
An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...
runs atop the loggia, wrapping along both sides.
There was a cornice above the eighth floor.
The copper cornice was once
polychrome
Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors.
Ancient Egypt
Colossal statu ...
and
gilded
Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...
.
Over the years, the cornice has corroded to a green color.
Interior
The interior was supported by
Guastavino tile
The Guastavino tile arch system is a version of Catalan vault introduced to the United States in 1885 by Spanish architect and builder Rafael Guastavino (1842–1908). It was patented in the United States by Guastavino in 1892.
Description
...
arches and contained a superstructure of steel beams. The fireproofing consisted of
fire clay
Fire clay is a range of refractory clays used in the manufacture of ceramics, especially fire brick. The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines fire clay very generally as a "mineral aggregate composed of hydrous silicates of alumin ...
,
masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...
, and
Portland cement
Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in the early 19th c ...
. At the time of the building's construction, it was one of the first in New York City to be constructed of Guastavino arches.
On the first floor, eight columns supported the Guastavino-tiled ceiling.
The second story had higher ceilings than the other floors, as the space measured high.
''Architects' and Builders' Magazine'' described the building a having a steel frame "combined with ribs and domes
hat were
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
self-supported and self-decorating".
The stairways and elevators were also clad with bronze.
Each story spanned .
When the building was used as a Gorham store, each floor had a different function. Most of the basement was used by the Storage Department and housed customers' silverware, which could be kept on-site indefinitely.
The first floor, used as a gold and silverware showroom,
had wide and shallow arches containing ornamental
relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
s.
Custom designs were shown on the second floor, while bronze objects and ecclesiastical and hotel merchandise were on the third floor. Wholesale merchandise was sold on the fourth floor. The fifth story was used for administrative functions, while the top three stories contained the polishing, stationery, and engraving departments.
When women's department store
Russeks
Russeks was a department store at 390 Fifth Avenue, at the intersection with West 36th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
The company was co-founded by brothers Frank Russek and Isidore H. Russek, and became Russeks Fifth Avenue, Inc.
...
moved into the building in 1924, the floors were redecorated slightly to give the appearance of individual shops.
The first story sold accessories such as undergarments, perfume, and toiletries; it contained marble floors and walnut fixtures. The second story, used for selling furs, was covered in Caen stone and light-stained oak. The third story sold dresses and had stone decorations, a tan carpet, and display niches at each corner. That story also contained three
Louis XVI style
Louis XVI style, also called ''Louis Seize'', is a style of architecture, furniture, decoration and art which developed in France during the 19-year reign of Louis XVI (1774–1793), just before the French Revolution. It saw the final phase of t ...
lounges, as well as women's dressing rooms decorated in enamel. The fourth story sold suits and cloaks and was decorated in walnut; there was a Louis XVI style room on that floor as well. The fifth story, which sold millinery and shoes, also had walnut decorations, and the floor had a blue carpet. On all five stories, there were stockrooms behind the partitions.
Between 1959 and 1960,
part of the ground story was converted into a lobby that was decorated in marble, bronze, and stainless steel. The upper stories became offices.
History
![Gorham_Building_from_south](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Gorham_Building_from_south.jpg)
In 1884, the
Gorham Manufacturing Company
The Gorham Manufacturing Company is one of the largest United States of America, American manufacturers of Sterling silver, sterling and silverplate and a foundry for bronze sculpture.
History
Gorham Silver was founded in Providence, Rhode Isl ...
opened its New York City showroom on
889 Broadway, at 19th Street in the
Ladies' Mile Historic District
The Ladies' Mile Historic District was a prime shopping district in Manhattan, New York City at the end of the 19th century, serving the well-to-do "carriage trade" of the city. It was designated in May 1989, by the New York City Landmark Preser ...
. By the first decade of the 20th century, factories and lofts were opening in the area around 889 Broadway.
Furthermore, stores on Ladies' Mile began to move further north into larger space. The Gorham Manufacturing Company was one of the earliest companies to consider moving uptown.
As late as May 1902, Gorham denied rumors that it was planning to develop a new store near the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 33rd Street. Later that year, Gorham leased the Hotel Cambridge at that intersection with plans to build a store at the site.
Gorham use
In December 1902, after acquiring the 33rd Street plot, Gorham president Edward Holbrook leased the southwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 36th Street.
At the time,
John Jacob Astor IV
John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was an American business magnate, real estate developer, investor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish–American War, and a prominent member of the Astor family. He died in the sinki ...
owned much of the site that Holbrook had leased.
Holbrook hired
McKim, Mead & White
McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), Wil ...
for the building's design, with
Stanford White
Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in additio ...
as the architect in charge. Holbrook requested that the Fifth Avenue building be fireproof and that its layout be able to accommodate the "needs of a great commercial enterprise".
The building was designed entirely to the specifications of Gorham, its sole tenant.
Fireproofing was considered especially important due to the value of Gorham's merchandise.
When the store opened, one journal estimated that, while the building was worth $1.25 million (equal to about $ million in ), its merchandise was worth twice as much.
McKim, Mead & White filed plans in July 1903 with 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 ...
for an eight-story building at Fifth Avenue and 36th Street. The building was planned to cost $400,000 and would operate as a store for the Gorham Company.
M. & L. Hess leased the building on the southernmost portion of the site (at 384 Fifth Avenue) from Gorham in 1904, and Gorham ultimately sold that building in 1920. Because Gorham was developing its store on 36th Street, it leased the 33rd Street site to other merchants, including jewelry store
Shreve & Co.
390 Fifth Avenue opened on September 5, 1905,
the same day as the nearby
Tiffany and Company Building. The building ultimately cost $1.25 million, of which bronze ornamentation accounted for ten percent.
Gorham closed its Broadway store in 1906. In the 1910s, the Gorham Art Galleries operated in the Gorham Building. Among the gallery's exhibitions were works from the American League of Young Sculptors; a spring collection of American sculpture; a set of animal sculptures; and a stained-glass window that Gorham made for a church in Baltimore.
Russeks use
In early October 1923, Gorham announced it would move uptown and sell both the building and its land lease.
Three weeks later, the Martiz Realty Company bought the building on behalf of women's department store
Russeks
Russeks was a department store at 390 Fifth Avenue, at the intersection with West 36th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
The company was co-founded by brothers Frank Russek and Isidore H. Russek, and became Russeks Fifth Avenue, Inc.
...
.
The lease was finalized the next month, when Russeks also leased the adjacent 384 Fifth Avenue.
Prior to moving into the property, Russeks added reinforced concrete floors and a new shop window. In addition, a four-story section of the building on 36th Street was enlarged to eight stories.
Russeks moved into 390 Fifth Avenue in September 1924
and expanded into 384 Fifth Avenue in January 1926.
Meanwhile, department store Stewart & Co. (which already had a store at 404 Fifth Avenue) filed a lawsuit against Russeks and a bank involved in the transaction, claiming that the lease had violated Stewart & Co.'s rights to the site.
A judge upheld Russeks's lease in December 1924,
and the state's highest court, the
New York Court of Appeals
The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by t ...
, dismissed the suit in 1927.
P. W. Chapman & Co. placed a $1.5 million first mortgage loan on the building in January 1928.
George H. Burr & Co. then distributed about 50,000 shares of
common stock
Common stock is a form of corporate equity ownership, a type of security. The terms voting share and ordinary share are also used frequently outside of the United States. They are known as equity shares or ordinary shares in the UK and other Com ...
in Russeks Fifth Avenue, a subsidiary of Russeks that owned the building.
Structural engineer David M. Oltarsh added a five-story annex to a two-story section of the Russeks building. The additional floors were suspended from the building's roof because it would have been prohibitively expensive to rebuild the foundation to support the extra weight.
Russeks opened its Southern Resort Shops division within the third floor in 1930.
Russeks announced in 1936 that 384 Fifth Avenue would be remodeled to complement the design of 390 Fifth Avenue, giving the store a frontage of on Fifth Avenue.
The buildings were linked internally and the facade of number 384 was rebuilt with a limestone base and ground-floor display windows.
At this time, the store was expanded at its southwestern corner, within the interior of the block.
The next year, the Empire Trust Company acquired 390 and 384 Fifth Avenue at a foreclosure auction.
The
City Bank-Farmers Trust Company, acting as trustee for the Astor family, sold the site of 390 Fifth Avenue (but not that of 384 Fifth Avenue
) in July 1949 to a syndicate represented by Frederick Fox & Co. The two lots at 384 and 390 Fifth Avenue were worth a combined $2.1 million, while the building was worth $750,000.
The syndicate was identified as Spear Securities.
The syndicate finalized its acquisition that August, and the
Prudential Life Insurance Company placed a $1.2 million mortgage on the site.
By the late 1950s, Russeks was reporting year-over-year losses.
James Kassner took over the store around 1957 and remodeled it twice, but the small selling floors remained unprofitable and the high ceilings increased the cost of air conditioning and heating.
In February 1959, after five years of losses,
the company announced the closure of its Fifth Avenue store.
A writer for ''Women's Wear Daily'' attributed the decline of the Russeks store to its heavy focus on luxury fashion, even though most such stores had long since moved further up Fifth Avenue.
The store closed on May 2, 1959.
Office use
Renovation and initial tenants
After the Russeks store closed, the building was sold to Spear Securities.
Robert H. Arrow, who represented the owners, first attempted to find another discount store that was willing to occupy the Gorham Building.
Spear announced plans in October 1959 to renovate the building,
hirring Herbert Tannenbaum as the architect in charge and the MacArthur Construction Corp. as the general contractor.
The renovation was completed the next year
at a cost of $1 million.
The building's colonnade and carved-marble sheets were removed as part of the renovation, and a glass facade was installed along the lower stories.
Tannenbaum later said he had wanted to save the carved marble and the colonnade.
The contractors built a new marble lobby, replaced three elevators, and added a freight entrance with its own elevator.
384 Fifth Avenue again became its own building and was leased by the
Tandy Corporation
Tandy Corporation was an American family-owned leather goods company based in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. Tandy Leather was founded in 1919 as a leather supply store. By the end of the 1950s, under the tutelage of then-CEO Charles Tandy, ...
. The Gorham Building was one of more than 25 buildings on Fifth Avenue between 34th and 50th Street that had been significantly altered since World War II, even as only eight new buildings had been erected in that area during the same time.
![5 Av Oct 2021 91](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/5_Av_Oct_2021_91.jpg)
Williams Real Estate, which was hired to rent out 390 Fifth Avenue's office space, recommended customizing each story's design to a specific tenant.
Williams opened a rental office at the building in November 1959, while renovation was underway.
Early the next year, Coquette's shoe store took over the former storefront.
The office space was leased by several manufacturers of men's and boys' clothing,
including shirt company F. Jacobson & Sons, which was the building's largest tenant and occupied two and a half floors.
In 1961, a year after the renovation was completed, the building had 40 office tenants that occupied 90 percent of the space.
The storefront was being used by a store named Dennison's Party Bazaar by 1962.
Later years
In January 1970, United States Realty Investments sold the building and the lease to Jacques Schwalbe.
The building and its lease were given to 390 Fifth LLC, a
limited liability company
A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...
affiliated with the Schwalbe family, in 1996. Around the same time, changes were made to the storefront facade.
The Dennison's Party Bazaar store subsequently became Party Bazaar and lasted through the 1990s. Menswear companies continued to occupy the building through that decade.
In December 1998, the
New York City 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 ...
(LPC) designated the building as an official city landmark.
By 2000, the owner had hired architect Andrew Tedesco and decorator Eric Cohler to restore White's original facade in paint. The owner proposed painting 80 sheets of signboard, each measuring ; the signboards would then be affixed to the exterior.
The plan would have cost $7 million.
The LPC opposed the proposal, and the Schwalbes withdrew the plan before the LPC could vote on it.
The Schwalbes then hired architect
Arthur Kahane
Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more ...
to draw up plans for a full restoration of the building in the 2010s.
Reception
In its early years, 390 Fifth Avenue was lauded for its design. Augustin-Adolphe Rey, a French architectural critic, referred to 390 Fifth Avenue as "the most beautiful business building in the world" in 1904.
Three years later, ''Architectural Record'' dubbed the building "a surprise and a joy",
and that "compared to the Gorham Building, the Tiffany Building is by way of being frivolous".
A critic in 1912 said that following the construction of the Tiffany & Co, Gorham, and
Knickerbocker Trust Company
The Knickerbocker Trust was a bank based in New York City that was, at one time, among the largest banks in the United States. It was a central player in the Panic of 1907.
History
The bank was chartered in 1884 by Frederick G. Eldridge, a frie ...
buildings, "the standard of excellence in commercial architecture was raised to a height previously unknown."
Some of the building's praise concerned Stanford White's role in its design. in 1908, a critic for ''New York Architect'' said that 390 Fifth Avenue was among McKim, Mead & White's "best designs
..for a commercial edifice, both from a monumental and practical point of view".
Another writer referred to the building as White's "best piece of work" as well as "perhaps the
nited States'most beautiful store building".
See also
*
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
{{Fifth Avenue
1905 establishments in New York City
Commercial buildings in Manhattan
Fifth Avenue
Italian Renaissance Revival architecture in the United States
McKim, Mead & White buildings
Midtown Manhattan
New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan
Office buildings in Manhattan
Office buildings completed in 1905