2098-2103 Fifth Avenue

A trio of boisterous French Second Empire houses, 2098-2103 Fifth Avenue have been subjected to some curious paint choices (pistachio?)  regarding trim as well as an inexplicable fence at the rooftop level. Despite these additions they are an otherwise a well-preserved and engaging presence on the street, displaying an eclectic sensibility that commands the corner… Continue reading

Just Off Fifth: 15 and 17 East 128th Street

15 and 17 East 128th Street are a charming pair of neighbors, with the former’s Italianate detailing a catalogue of Neo-Grec effects and the latter surviving as one of New York’s earliest surviving houses in the French Second Empire style.

452 Fifth Avenue, the Knox Hat Building

The jauntiest of Fifth Avenue’s mansards, 452 Fifth Avenue wears its soaring roof like a couture chapeau – and considering that it was constructed as the Knox Hat Building, this is more than appropriate.  Designed by John H. Duncan, perhaps best known as the architect of the General Grant National Monument (itself better known as… Continue reading

437 Fifth Avenue

A dignified French Second Empire Design by the famed architect C.P.H. Gilbert, 437 Fifth Avenue was designed in 1904 and completed in 1907.  Home of the Knabe Piano Company, the structure makes an attractive counterpoint to the similar Knox Hat Building, which stands a block north on the opposite side of the street. 437 Fifth… Continue reading

113 Fifth Avenue, Arnold Constable & Co.

This spectacular survivor from the post-Civil War period is one of the most significant commercial buildings on Fifth Avenue and one of the largest examples of the French Second Empire in New York. 113 Fifth Avenue was originally a Broadway building, part of the Arnold Constable & Co. complex designed by architect Griffith Thomas. In… Continue reading