551 Fifth Avenue, The Fred F. French Building
One of the city’s best Art Deco buildings, the Fred F. French Building at 551 Fifth Avenue was completed in 1927 to designs by H. Douglas Ives and Sloan & Robertson. The first setback skyscraper on Fifth Avenue and the tallest building on the street when completed, 551 Fifth Avenue did much to establish the… Continue reading
550 Fifth Avenue
Currently lurking under construction netting, 550 Fifth Avenue was built in 1910 for the Montross Gallery. One of the city’s most distinguished such venues, the gallery showed such French and American artists as Cezanne, Matisse, Man Ray and Charles Sheeler; its handsome Beaux Arts home has since suffered mutilation at the lower two floors. We’ll… Continue reading
546 Fifth Avenue
Completed in 1990 for the Bank of Brazil, the mirrored 546 Fifth Avenue is a flashy and (almost immediately) dated affair that suggests the opening credits of Dallas rather than the Midtown blocks of Manhattan. A rather bizarre first floor commercial space features neo-classical wood paneling jarringly at odds with the exterior. Emery Roth &… Continue reading
545 Fifth Avenue
545 Fifth Avenue, the former Hotel Lorraine, was designed by the architectural firm of Jeremiah O’Rourke & Sons. The handsome details are offset by a gracefully curved corner; the lower floors are currently undergoing the butchering endemic to this stretch of Fifth. Better known for his churches and public buildings, O’Rourke’s most celebrated edifice is… Continue reading
535 Fifth Avenue, The Ruppert Building
A subdued work that suggests the Colonial Revival writ extra large, 535 Fifth Avenue, the Ruppert Building, was designed by H. Craig Severance in 1930. It is one of three similarly proportioned buildings on its side of Fifth Avenue, neighbored by the Lefcourt Building to the south and the Fred F. French Building to the… Continue reading