The O'Neill Building is a

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

ed former

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

, located at 655-671

Sixth Avenue Sixth Avenue – also known as Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers, p.24 – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown". It is commercial ...

between West 20th and 21st Streets in the

Flatiron District The Flatiron District is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, named after the Flatiron Building at 23rd Street, Broadway and Fifth Avenue. Generally, the Flatiron District is bounded by 14th Street, Union Square and Green ...

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 ...

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 ...

. The building was originally Hugh O'Neill's Dry Goods Store, and was designed by Mortimer C. Merritt in the neo-Grec style.Pearson, Marjorie (ed.) et al
''Ladies' Mile Historic District Designation Report vol. 1''

New York 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 ...

(May 2, 1989), pp.367-70 It was built to four stories in two stages between 1887 and 1890, to allow the existing O'Neill store to continue operating during construction, with the addition of a fifth floor in 1895, created by raising the

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

. The gilded corner domes of this cast-iron-fronted building were restored c.2000. On the death of Hugh O'Neill in 1902, his heirs were unable to continue running the business, which was sold and merged in 1907 with the Adams Dry Goods Store immediately to the north at 675 Sixth Avenue. The combined business did not succeed and, like all the department stores in the Ladies' Mile, was gone by the advent of World War I. The building was converted to manufacturing lofts, and then back into offices around 1969. As of 2014, the building is owned by ElAd Properties, and was converted into condominiums in 2005. On Christmas Day 2012 the building suffered a partial collapse of its facade and was evacuated. The O'Neill Building is part of 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 ...

, which was created by 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 ...

in 1989. In its designation report, the Commission wrote "Because of its architecture and history, the Hugh O'Neill Building is one of the department store buildings which give the Ladies Mile Historic District its special character."

References

Notes

External links

The O'Neill Building web siteO'Neill Building
from CityRealty.com Commercial buildings in Manhattan Cast-iron architecture in New York City New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Flatiron District {{Manhattan-struct-stub