Every Building on Fifth

Dwarfed by many of its neighbors, 250-252 Fifth Avenue often passes unnoticed; yet it is the southernmost building on the avenue to be designed by the celebrated firm of McKim, Mead & White, also responsible for the Washington Square Arch (a picture of which commences this blog) and for numerous major landmarks through the city… Continue reading

Replacing The Knickerbocker, one of New York’s earliest apartment houses, the gothic skyscraper at 243-249 Fifth Avenue was designed by George Pelham and finished in 1927.  The highly modeled setbacks on the upper floors incorporate a hexagonal water tower.  The lobby is a classic of its kind, a swanky, atmospheric space that suggests a lush… Continue reading

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

A narrow limestone-faced shaft, 244 Fifth Avenue is typical of architect Robert Maynicke’s work and, like 236-238 Fifth, is similar to the early skyscrapers that line the Ladies’ Mile south of 23rd Street.

One of one of only a handful of cast iron façades on Fifth Avenue itself, 242 Fifth Avenue is a currently under renovation.  We’ll be revisiting when it emerges from its scaffolding.