712 Fifth Avenue

A breakthrough concession to preservation, 712 Fifth Avenue is a tall limestone tower that incorporates two beautiful small commercial buildings at its base alongside an entry façade that mimics the Beaux Arts style so completely that many see it as another historic feature. Constructed in 1990 through 1992 to designs by architectural firm Kohn Pedersen… Continue reading

640 Fifth Avenue

640 Fifth Avenue was designed for the magazine giant Crowell-Colliers and was finished in 1949 to plans by Leonard Schultze & Associates in a Rockefeller Center Moderne mode much in keeping with the Center itself.  Never anybody’s favorite building, 640 Fifth Avenue is further compromised by a jarring addition in 2004 by Kohn Pederson Fox… Continue reading

579 Fifth Avenue

A Kohn Pederson Fox recladding of an Emery Roth original, 579 Fifth Avenue is a glammed-up version of the classic white-brick commercial block that the latter firm turned out by the dozen in the post-war period.  The insertion of corner windows and renovated terraces make this a pleasant work space, although the new façade looks… Continue reading

505 Fifth Avenue

505 Fifth Avenue is a pleasant neo-constructivist confection by industry standards Kohn Pederson Fox.  The lobby incorporates a site-specific program by the artist James Turrell that includes a forced-perspective neon light box.  Floor-to-ceiling glass cladding gives the interiors arresting views of the New York Public Library and Bryant Park.