251 & 253 Fifth Avenue
The battle-worn relic at 251 Fifth Avenue, now linked to the even more vandalized 253 Fifth Avenue, is a rare surviving work by the architect George B. Post, one of New York’s earliest great architects. Built in 1872 as an early example of “French Flats,” the progenitor to the New York luxury apartment house, the… Continue reading
246 Fifth Avenue
One of the earliest commercial buildings on this stretch of the avenue, 246 Fifth Avenue was constructed in two stages in 1889 to designs by John E. Terhune. Engagingly cranky Richardsonian Romanesque features are obscured by a (non-original) pink paint job that brings the building into an uneasy accord with 251 Fifth Avenue, located diagonally… Continue reading
206 Fifth Avenue
Like the other buildings on this block, 206 Fifth Avenue has a Broadway as well as a Fifth Avenue address; unlike the others, the two street facades are by different architects. Originally a house constructed in 1856-57, 206 Fifth Avenue gained its first new commercial elevation at 1126 Broadway in 1892, a Queen Anne eclectic… Continue reading
166 Fifth Avenue
Along with its neighbor to the south, 166 Fifth Avenue was built on the site of one of two mansions owned by Mrs. Margaret Hardenbergh Budd, a prominent society figure of 19th century New York. When Mrs. Budd vacated Fifth Avenue for an apartment near Central Park, she developed her property, hiring the Parffit Brothers… Continue reading
123 Fifth Avenue, The Sittenham Building
One of my favorite buildings on this stretch of Fifth, the Sittenham Building at 123 Fifth Avenue is a brownstone residence converted to commercial use. The upper stores are a pleasant but unremarkable façade that was applied in 1926 – where the building really sings is at the shop front, a high-style Neo-Parisian confection installed… Continue reading