781 Fifth Avenue Sidewalk Clock

The ornate cast iron sidewalk clock at 781 Fifth Avenue was manufactured by the E. Howard Clock Company; it was presumably installed in 1927 when the Sherry Netherland Hotel was built, although its design suggests the whimsicality of the 19th Century.  The flower-basket is a particularly pleasant touch. This is the northernmost of Fifth Avenue’s… Continue reading

781 Fifth Avenue, The Sherry Netherland Hotel

A glittering fantasy, the former Sherry Netherland Hotel at 781 Fifth Avenue is one of the city’s most remarkable towers.  Designed by Schultz & Weaver in 1927, the French Renaissance rocket is capped by a minaret that would do Arthur Rackham or J.R.R. Tolkien proud. The amazing visuals continue on the interior where the spectacular… Continue reading

768 Fifth Avenue, The Plaza Hotel

Perhaps the most famous of all New York’s hotels, The Plaza Hotel is the masterwork of architect Henry J. Hardenburgh, whose other well-known designs include what is certainly the city’s best-known apartment building, Central Park West’s majestic Dakota.  Erected in 1900-1902 some fifteen years after the Dakota, The Plaza’s design swaps out the older building’s… Continue reading

767 Fifth Avenue, The Apple Store

High-tech purity or corporate nihilism?  The glossy cube of the Apple Store takes reductivist branding to an extreme, and may be the city’s utmost example of architecture-as-commercial- packaging. Whether the result is a stunning icon of design or the complete negation of architecture is open to argument. The structure shares the 767 Fifth Avenue address… Continue reading

767 Fifth Avenue, The General Motors Building

Replacing the Savoy Plaza Hotel by McKim, Mead & White, the General Motors Building has long been seen as an intruder in the Plaza District, despite contributing a generous public plaza that increases the open space at Grand Army Plaza by nearly a third.  Designed by Edward Durell Stone in his signature mix of luxurious… Continue reading