164 Fifth Avenue
A 1918 design by the great department store architects Starrett & van Vleck, 164 Fifth Avenue is an elegantly framed composition that suggests an abstracted triumphal arch. The fourth floor is a later addition. 164 Fifth Avenue was for a time tenanted by the Knights of Pythias, who moved here in the 1970s from their… Continue reading
162 Fifth Avenue, the Union Exchange Building
A typically accomplished design from the architectural firm of Buchanan & Fox, 162 Fifth Avenue’s boldly scaled cornice and extensive stonework are notable features. The building is on the site of the fourth clubhouse of the Union Club, one of New York’s oldest and most exclusive private clubs. Despite the seeming pun, 162 Fifth Avenue itself takes… Continue reading
153-157 Fifth Avenue, The Scribner Building
A Beaux Arts tour-de-force and one of architect Ernest Flagg’s extant masterpieces, 153-57 Fifth Avenue, the original Scribner Building, was constructed in 1893-1894 as the headquarters of the famed Charles Scribner’s Sons’ publishing house. Flagg’s first commercial commission, the Indiana limestone-faced building is a trove of Renaissance details (including two pert, banner-bearing cherubs above the… Continue reading
142 Fifth Avenue
Not to be confused with the Los Angeles landmark of the same name, the Bradbury Building at 142 Fifth Avenue is a handsome entry in the Beaux Arts style by Robert Maynicke. The westernmost portion of the building’s site contained a structure at 5 West 19th Street that was built sometime before 1879 and was… Continue reading
141-147 Fifth Avenue
141-147 Fifth Avenue, one of the Ladies’ Mile’s most distinctive buildings, is shown here during a current renovation. We’ll be revisiting it once it emerges from its cocoon.