854 Fifth Avenue, the R. Livingston Beeckman House
One of a relative handful of Fifth Avenue mansions surviving from the Gilded Age, the R. Livingston Beeckman House of 1905 at 854 Fifth Avenue is a temperate essay in French Beaux Arts by Warren & Wetmore, best known for Grand Central Terminal. Unusually narrow for a house of its type, it appears more so… Continue reading
730 Fifth Avenue, The Crown Building
A spectacular design by Warren & Wetmore, architects of Grand Central Terminal, the Crown Building at 730 Fifth Avenue and West 57th Street is a neo-Baroque delight. The ornate tower, brilliantly illuminated at night, is visible the length of Fifth Avenue from the north and serves as a distinctive gateway to Midtown from the Central… Continue reading
689-691 Fifth Avenue, The Elizabeth Arden Building
Built in 1925-27 as the Aeolian Building to designs by Grand Central Terminal architects Warren & Wetmore, 689-691 Fifth Avenue is better known today as the Elizabeth Arden Building, after the famed beauty salon housed there since 1930. A singularly graceful example of the setback skyscraper, the building is decked out in soigné French Classical… Continue reading
580 Fifth Avenue, The World Diamond Tower
A unique Gothic-Normandy mish-mash from Warren & Wetmore, 580 Fifth Avenue is also known as The World Diamond Tower. Located at the gateway to the block-long Diamond District on West 47th Street, it is an imposing if eccentric presence. The building is currently under renovation.
562 Fifth Avenue
Although Warren & Wetmore’s legacy may have taken a hit with 560 Fifth Avenue, they have thus far fared better directly across the street at 562 Fifth Avenue, a slender mini-skyscraper in a subdued classical mode where changes at the ground floor level have been in keeping with the overall building.