Tiffany and Company Building
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The Tiffany and Company Building, also known as the Tiffany Building and 401 Fifth Avenue, is an eight-story commercial building at
Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...
and 37th Street in the
Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
neighborhood of
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The structure was designed in the
Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...
style by
Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in additio ...
of
McKim, Mead & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), Wil ...
. It was built from 1903 to 1905 as the
flagship store A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
of jewelry company
Tiffany & Co Tiffany & Co. (colloquially known as Tiffany's) is a high-end luxury jewelry and specialty retailer, headquartered on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. It sells jewelry, sterling silver, porcelain, crystal, stationery, fragrances, water bottles, watc ...
. The building is a
New York City designated landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
and a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
. The Tiffany Building has a marble facade inspired by that of the
Palazzo Grimani di San Luca The Palazzo Grimani di San Luca is a Renaissance-style palace, located between the Palazzo Corner Valmarana and the Rio di San Luca and the flanking Palazzo Corner Contarini dei Cavalli on the Grand Canal in the sestiere of San Marco of the c ...
in
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
. The facade is divided by large
entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...
s and
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...
s into three horizontal tiers; the lowest tier has square
pier image:Brighton Pier, Brighton, East Sussex, England-2Oct2011 (1).jpg, Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century. A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of ...
s and rectangular openings, while the second and third tiers have round columns and arched openings. The Tiffany Building has a steel
superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...
and a sloped metal roof that resembles a tiled roof. The interior originally comprised seven above-ground stories and two basement levels; a mezzanine was added above the first story in 1952. The basement contained a vault, the first six stories contained various departments of the store, and the seventh story was an exhibition space. The interiors were decorated with various woods, marbles, and
Guastavino tile The Guastavino tile arch system is a version of Catalan vault introduced to the United States in 1885 by Spanish architect and builder Rafael Guastavino (1842–1908). It was patented in the United States by Guastavino in 1892. Description ...
s, much of which has since been removed. Tiffany & Co.'s president Charles T. Cook developed the building, which cost $600,000 and opened on September 5, 1905. The Tiffany store prospered through the 1920s, but it suffered through the Great Depression. After the company moved to a new flagship store on 57th Street in 1940, the building was occupied by
American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...
and
Textron Textron Inc. is an American industrial conglomerate based in Providence, Rhode Island. Textron's subsidiaries include Arctic Cat, Bell Textron, Textron Aviation (which itself includes the Beechcraft, and Cessna brands), and Lycoming Engines. ...
in the 1940s. Henry Goelet of the
Goelet family The Goelet family is an influential family from New York, of Huguenot origins, that owned significant real estate in New York City. History The Goelets are descended from a family of Protestant Huguenots from La Rochelle in France, who escaped per ...
acquired the building in 1951 and renovated the lower stories, while the upper stories were occupied by
Allied Stores Allied Stores was a department store chain in the United States. It was founded in the 1930s as part of a general consolidation in the retail sector by B. E. Puckett. See also Associated Dry Goods. It was the successor to Hahn's Department Store ...
from 1950 to 1973.
Sun Myung Moon Sun Myung Moon (; born Yong Myung Moon; 6 January 1920 – 3 September 2012) was a Korean religious leader, also known for his business ventures and support for conservative political causes. A messiah claimant, he was the founder of the Unif ...
of the
Unification Church The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists, or "Moonies". It was officially founded on 1 May 1954 under the name Holy Spi ...
bought the Tiffany Building in 1977 and used it as a newspaper office. Following a failed plan in the late 1980s to build a tower above the Tiffany Building, the upper stories were used as television studios. The Stahl Real Estate Company bought the building in 2000 and renovated the lower stories.


Site

The Tiffany and Company Building is at 401
Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...
in the
Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
neighborhood of
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, at the southeast corner with 37th Street. The building's
land lot In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner(s). A plot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property (meaning practically the same thing) in ...
is nearly rectangular, with a recess at its southeast corner, and has a total area of . It measures from north to south and from west to east. Nearby buildings include
The Langham, New York The Langham, New York, Fifth Avenue, or The Langham, New York, is a luxury suite hotel and skyscraper in Manhattan, New York City, operated by Langham Hospitality Group. It was constructed in 2010 as The Setai Fifth Avenue and took on its curre ...
hotel and 404 Fifth Avenue to the west; the
Lord & Taylor Building The Lord & Taylor Building is an 11-story commercial building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that formerly served as Lord & Taylor's flagship department store in the city. It is at 424–434 Fifth Avenue between 38th and 39th Streets. ...
one block north;
200 Madison Avenue 200 Madison Avenue (also known as the Marshall Field Building, Astor Estate Building, International Combustion Building, and Tower Building) is a 25-story office building in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is alon ...
to the southeast; and the Gorham Building at
390 Fifth Avenue 390 Fifth Avenue, also known as the Gorham Building, is an Italian Renaissance Revival ''palazzo''-style building at Fifth Avenue and West 36th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It was designed by McKim, Mead & Whi ...
to the southwest. The residential core of Manhattan relocated north from lower Manhattan during the late 19th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, development was centered on Fifth Avenue north of 34th Street, where new department store buildings were quickly replacing the street's brownstones. One of the first new store buildings in the area was the
B. Altman and Company Building The B. Altman and Company Building is a commercial building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, that formerly served as B. Altman and Company's flagship department store. It occupies an entire city block between Fifth Avenue, Madison Avenue, ...
, which opened in 1906. Other department stores such as
Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was the oldest brick and mortar department store in the United States, in business from 1826 to 2020. The brand was purchased during former owner Le Tote's 2020 liquidation bankruptcy and relaunched by new owner, Saadia Group, as ...
, as well as specialty stores such as Tiffany & Co. and the
Gorham Manufacturing Company The Gorham Manufacturing Company is one of the largest American manufacturers of sterling and silverplate and a foundry for bronze sculpture. History Gorham Silver was founded in Providence, Rhode Island, 1831 by Jabez Gorham, a master crafts ...
, relocated during the 1900s and 1910s.


Architecture

The Tiffany and Company Building was designed by
Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in additio ...
of
McKim, Mead & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), Wil ...
for luxury retail store Tiffany & Co.; It is the company's fifth
flagship store A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
in New York City. The facade is an adaptation of the
Palazzo Grimani di San Luca The Palazzo Grimani di San Luca is a Renaissance-style palace, located between the Palazzo Corner Valmarana and the Rio di San Luca and the flanking Palazzo Corner Contarini dei Cavalli on the Grand Canal in the sestiere of San Marco of the c ...
in
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
. The building was originally seven stories tall, though its facade is divided into three horizontal tiers.; The top of the roof is above ground; the high ceilings made the building about as tall as a typical 11-story structure. The facade remains intact, but the interior layout has been changed significantly. The addition of one story in the lowest tier makes the building now eight stories tall.


Facade

The facade is made largely of marble with finishes of iron and
terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, a ...
. It is divided vertically into five
bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...
on its western
elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...
, facing Fifth Avenue, and seven bays on its northern elevation, facing 37th Street. Originally, the facade used clear wire glass for fireproofing, which was imperceptible from both the inside and the outside.


First tier

The bays of the lowest tier are mainly
articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains. Steam locomotives were someti ...
by pairs of square
Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...
piers made of marble. Most bays are separated by two square piers, which rise from a single marble pedestal. These support an
entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...
and
balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...
above the second floor. Between these piers, each bay has a square-headed opening. These piers originally were topped by Corinthian capitals, which were removed in 1952.; On Fifth Avenue, the outermost bays provided an entrance to the Tiffany & Co. store. Each of these outermost bays contained brass porticos with revolving doors. The three inner bays on Fifth Avenue contained plate-glass storefront windows at the first story. Each first-story opening was topped by a marble
spandrel A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame; between the tops of two adjacent arches or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fill ...
, as well as a tripartite second-story window with six panes. Because the site slopes slightly downward to the south, there was a
level Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights *Spirit level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *Canal pound or level *Regr ...
platform in front of the Fifth Avenue elevation, which was two to four steps above the ground. In 1952, the storefronts, porticos, and spandrels on the first story were removed. In addition, the first story (which was originally slightly above the sidewalk) was lowered to ground level. Several storefronts, with black-granite piers and spandrels, were installed in their place. The black granite was removed in 2002 and the original design of the ground story was restored, with new square piers and bronze storefronts. The pilasters at the ground story are lighter in color than those above. On 37th Street, the third and fourth bays from west contained porticos similar to those on Fifth Avenue, while the remaining bays contained storefronts. The second story was designed with similar windows and spandrels as on Fifth Avenue.; The center three bays are separated by single rounded columns. The rest of the bays are separated by pairs of square piers, similar to those on Fifth Avenue. The two westernmost bays were modified in 1952 to resemble the storefronts on Fifth Avenue. The third through sixth bays from west remain intact, except for the addition of black-granite spandrels at the mezzanine level. The seventh bay from west (the easternmost bay on that elevation) was retrofitted with a black-granite entrance,; removed in 2002.


Second and third tiers

The second and third tiers are designed similarly with only minor differences. On both tiers, the windows are designed as double-height arches. The bays are separated by rounded Corinthian-style
engaged columns In architecture, an engaged column is a column embedded in a wall and partly projecting from the surface of the wall, sometimes defined as semi- or three-quarter detached. Engaged columns are rarely found in classical Greek architecture, and then ...
, which are generally grouped in pairs (except the center three bays on 37th Street, which are separated by single columns). The second tier consists of the third and fourth stories. The third story contains rectangular double-hung windows, each divided into several panes. The windows at the third and fourth stories are separated by stone spandrel panels.; The columns contain imposts at that level; these imposts support round arches that rise to
keystones A keystone (or capstone) is the wedge-shaped stone at the apex of a masonry arch or typically round-shaped one at the apex of a vault. In both cases it is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allo ...
at the top of the fourth story. The spandrels above the corners of these arches are exposed, allowing the installation of rectangular windows on the fourth story. The exposed spandrels increased the amount of glass used in the windows behind them. Above the fourth floor, at the central bay on 37th Street, was a statue of the mythological figure
Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...
, designed by Henry Frederick Metzler. This statue had been placed on Tiffany & Co.'s previous headquarters and has been at 6 East 57th Street since 1940. The statue stood as an icon of the brand; the flagship store did not have the name "Tiffany" appear on its facades, and only the statue and clock denoted the company's occupancy. The statue was of a bearded, thin man and was sculpted from wood of a
fir tree Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The genus is most closely related to ...
, painted to resemble the
patina Patina ( or ) is a thin layer that variously forms on the surface of copper, brass, bronze and similar metals and metal alloys (tarnish produced by oxidation or other chemical processes) or certain stones and wooden furniture (sheen produced b ...
of weathered
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
. The feet were made of solid lead. Aside from the ''Atlas'' statue, White intentionally did not put any sculpture on the facade. An entablature separated the fourth floor (top of the second tier) and fifth floor (bottom of the third tier). The fifth and sixth stories are designed almost identically to the third and fourth stories, respectively. The main difference is that the engaged piers are covered with panels, and the spandrels of the arches are covered. The facade is topped by an entablature and a
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...
with large
modillions A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a cornice which it helps to support. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally translated as small teeth). All ...
. Above the cornice, the seventh story is placed within a
pitched roof Roof pitch is the steepness of a roof expressed as a ratio of inch(es) rise per horizontal foot (or their metric equivalent), or as the angle in degrees its surface deviates from the horizontal. A flat roof has a pitch of zero in either insta ...
, which due to its location is not easily visible from the street. The roof appeared to be a tile roof, but it was actually a fireproof metal surface fabricated by the Meurer Brothers.


Structural and mechanical features

The interior was divided into seven above-ground stories and two basement levels. The current first story was rebuilt at a lower height in 1952 to allow the installation of a mezzanine above it. The sub-basement is below the sidewalk. The floor slabs are about thick and the exterior walls are up to thick, much larger than in similar buildings. The building also used a steel
superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...
, which allowed the use of thinner exterior walls, thereby permitting large glass windows at the first story and exposed spandrels on the fourth story. High ceilings and glazed windows allowed natural light to illuminate almost all of the selling spaces on the first to sixth floors. As a fireproofing measure, the Tiffany store minimized the use of wood. In addition, all doors were made of steel and all windows were made of wire-glass with steel frames. Terracotta and clay were also used for fireproofing. The ceilings of the basement and top floor were both made of Guastavino tiles, manufactured by the National Fire Proofing Company. Also included within the building were glass partitions made by the
Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company PPG Industries, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 company and global supplier of paints, coatings, and specialty materials. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, PPG operates in more than 70 countries around the globe. By re ...
in a manner resembling marble. All the interior windows, facing adjacent buildings on the same block, are made of wire glass. Six elevators originally served the building's upper floors. The elevators were steel cages and were in the rear (eastern) part of the store. In 1952, two of the elevators were removed while the other four elevators were rebuilt. In addition to those, a lift allowed patrons to bring their valuables down to the basement vault. There was a private elevator for customers who had valuables in the vault. Wrapping around the elevator cabs was the main stairway, which was decorated with
exedra An exedra (plural: exedras or exedrae) is a semicircular architectural recess or platform, sometimes crowned by a semi-dome, and either set into a building's façade or free-standing. The original Greek sense (''ἐξέδρα'', a seat out of d ...
and mythical creatures. The risers of the stairway were wide and were made of Formosa marble. The entire building was fitted with a pneumatic tube system. The basement contained three small generators and an ice machine; to prevent vibrations, the foundation of the basement was encased in a layer of sand. Each floor had eight ventilation fans.


Interior


Basement

The basement contained a safe deposit vault and a valuables-storage department. The vault's ceiling was made of masonry. Its walls were thick and included steel plates measuring thick. The two vault doors were secured to the vault's steel frame by heavy bolts. The outer vault door was thick and was unlocked by three dials made of white enamel. The inner door was thick and was operated using a lever. ''Architects' and Builders' Magazine'' wrote that explosives or drills could not penetrate the vault. Inside were 2,036 safe-deposit boxes, each of which was secured by a double combination lock. The vault was so closely guarded that, when the vault experienced a minor fire in 1914, the store's security guards initially refused to let
New York City Fire Department The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...
firefighters in. The safe remained in place even after Tiffany & Co. relocated in 1940. The vault was accessed by a marble hallway with decorative gates at one end. There was also a safe-keeping department with Guastavino-tiled ceilings and marble walls. The coupon room was surrounded by white-glass walls. On the 37th Street side was the shipping department. Packages would be loaded in the basement, where they were then lifted to a vestibule at street level and loaded onto trucks.


First story

The original first story contained gray decoration. The space had purplish-gray German marble columns. which were cast in four pieces and hollowed out, surrounding the steel superstructure. The floor surface was made of Philippine teak. On this story were Philippine
teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...
display boxes, as well as selling counters decorated with
griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...
-shaped legs. Some wall surfaces were made of Formosa marble. Other walls and counters had teakwood with brass-and-steel borders. The first story originally contained ten tons of bronze fixtures, which were removed from the store in a 1952 renovation. Behind the elevators was an exhibit room trimmed in ash, which contained a brass
coffered ceiling A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also c ...
. The double-height ceiling was extensively coffered, and silvered chandeliers were hung from the coffers. In 1952, a mezzanine level was created within the upper half of the original space, and the original first story was slightly lowered.


Upper stories

The front of the second floor, facing Fifth Avenue, was used for selling
Tiffany glass Tiffany glass refers to the many and varied types of glass developed and produced from 1878 to 1933 at the Tiffany Studios in New York City, by Louis Comfort Tiffany and a team of other designers, including Clara Driscoll, Agnes F. Northrop, an ...
, statuary, and bronze merchandise. There were Ionic columns within this space. The rear of the second floor contained the president's and board of directors' offices, which were decorated with wood. The second floor also contained the counting rooms, correspondence, and mail order departments. Tableware, pottery, and glass were sold on the third floor, and the registry offices and the order department were also on that story. The fourth floor contained the photography, engraving, design, heraldic, and library departments. Goldsmiths, polishers, and diamond cutters worked on the fifth floor, while the sixth floor sold leather goods and clocks. Two of the upper floors contained wooden-tiled floor surfaces laid in a
herringbone pattern The herringbone pattern is an arrangement of rectangles used for floor tilings and road pavement, so named for a fancied resemblance to the bones of a fish such as a herring. The blocks can be rectangles or parallelograms. The block edge length ...
. The seventh floor, at the top of the building, was not in the original plans. It was only added after McKim, Mead & White realized that there was enough space beneath the metal roof. The top floor was used for exhibitions. It measured about in total. The center of the ceiling had an oval glass
skylight A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes. History Open ...
measuring . The
vaulted ceiling In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...
was high and was covered with Guastavino tiles. Though one account described the ceiling as being supported by Corinthian columns, ''The New York Times'' cited a press release as saying that the space was "a column-free expanse". Architect
Robert A. M. Stern Robert Arthur Morton Stern, usually credited as Robert A. M. Stern (born May 23, 1939), is a New York City–based architect, educator, and author. He is the founding partner of the architecture firm, Robert A.M. Stern Architects, also known a ...
described the top floor as "an elegant and spartan antidote to the opulence of the main hall at street level". Only the decorations on the top floor remain intact, except the skylight, which has been removed.


History

Charles Lewis Tiffany Charles Lewis Tiffany (February 15, 1812 – February 18, 1902) was an American businessman and jeweler who founded New York City's Tiffany & Co. in 1837. Known for his jewelry expertise, Tiffany created the country's first retail catalog and ...
and John B. Young founded the stationery store Tiffany, Young and Ellis in 1837; the store was housed at 259 Broadway in
Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
. The company began selling jewelry, glassware, and clocks in 1839, and these items comprised most of the firm's sales four years later. This prompted the firm to expand to a neighboring building. The name was shortened to Tiffany & Company in 1853, when Charles Tiffany took control and established the firm's emphasis on jewelry. Tiffany & Co. moved to 271 Broadway in 1847 and then to 550 Broadway in 1854. The ''Atlas'' clock was sculpted with the construction of 550 Broadway. By the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, Tiffany & Co. was one of the nation's leading jewelry makers. With the uptown movement of commerce, Tiffany & Co. built a headquarters at
15 Union Square West 15 Union Square West is a residential building on East 15th Street overlooking Union Square, Manhattan, Union Square in Manhattan, New York City. Originally Tiffany & Company’s 19th-century headquarters, it was refurbished and reopened in 2008 a ...
in 1870. As late as 1893, Charles Tiffany denied rumors that the company would move yet again to Fifth Avenue and 34th Street, even as other companies were doing so.


Tiffany use


Development

Charles Tiffany was again planning to relocate the headquarters of Tiffany & Co. by 1902, but he died that year, before the company could relocate. Tiffany's successor as company president, Charles T. Cook, bought a site at Fifth Avenue and 37th Street from George C. Boldt in April 1903. The site cost $2 million and measured on Fifth Avenue by on 37th Street. At the time, this was the most anyone had ever paid for a commercial site in Manhattan. Cook planned to build a new headquarters on the site, hiring McKim, Mead & White to "build me a palace". McKim, Mead & White filed plans for a seven-story store with the New York City Bureau of Buildings in September 1903. The building was to measure 117 by 152 feet and was to contain a marble facade with cornices, three Atlas statues, and two entrances. The next month, the Charles T. Wills Company was hired as the building's
general contractor A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...
. As the site was being excavated that October, the foundation walls collapsed, killing one laborer. The building's
cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...
was laid on March 16, 1904. That month, city inspectors alleged that the Tiffany Building's contractors were violating construction codes by hastily erecting steel frames in the winters and then installing the brick-arched floors in the summers. At the time, New York City law mandated that the top of a development site's steel structure could not progress more than three stories beyond the highest brick-arched floor. The southern
lot line A unit of real estate or immovable property is limited by a legal boundary (sometimes also referred to as a property line or a lot line). The boundary (in Latin: ''limes'') may appear as a discontinuation in the terrain: a ditch, a bank, a hedge, a ...
, which abutted the home of
Henry O. Havemeyer Henry Osborne Havemeyer (October 18, 1847 – December 4, 1907) was an American industrialist, entrepreneur and sugar refiner who founded and became president of the American Sugar Refining Company in 1891. Havemeyer was the third generation of h ...
, was originally irregular in shape; this created a situation in which parts of one lot were surrounded on three sides by the other lot. In August 1904, Havemeyer and Tiffany & Co. swapped two of the interior lots to straighten out the boundary of the site. The building ultimately cost $600,000 to complete, excluding the cost of the land. The firm also designed a garage at 141 East 41st Street for Tiffany & Co.


Operation

The new Tiffany Building opened on September 5, 1905. At the time, the seventh floor was not complete. Within the first three minutes of the new store's opening, a customer had bought $9,575 worth of merchandise. The store's merchandise at the time ranged from $2,000 garters to $700,000 necklaces. In February 1908, the city government ordered that buildings on Fifth Avenue between 26th and 47th Streets had to remove stoops and vaults that encroached onto the street, as the city planned to widen Fifth Avenue. That December, McKim, Mead & White filed plans to remove the marble steps in front of the building. Three months later, the firm filed plans for a seven-story building to the south, later the Gunther Building. Although that site was owned by Tiffany & Co., the Tiffany store did not occupy that land lot. Tiffany & Co. had been one of the earliest stores to move uptown to Fifth Avenue, which at the time was still primarily residential. In 1910, the ''New-York Tribune'' reported that the Altman and Tiffany buildings had prompted high demand "of high-class retail houses for locations on the avenue". Tiffany & Co. temporarily switched to making surgical instruments for the government during World War I. After the war, the company reverted to producing luxury items. The Tiffany store prospered through the 1920s, but it suffered through the Great Depression, recording net losses for the first time in its history. Nonetheless, the corner of 37th Street and Fifth Avenue "stood as the symbol of wealth in the richest shopping area in the country, if not in the world", according to ''The New York Times''. By the late 1930s, commerce on Fifth Avenue had relocated still further uptown to 57th Street. In May 1939, the company leased a site on 57th Street from
First National City Bank Citibank, N. A. (N. A. stands for " National Association") is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City ...
, which acted as trustee for the
William Waldorf Astor William Waldorf "Willy" Astor, 1st Viscount Astor (31 March 1848 – 18 October 1919) was an American-British attorney, politician, businessman (hotels and newspapers), and philanthropist. Astor was a scion of the very wealthy Astor family of ...
estate, the previous owner of the property. In exchange, National City Bank agreed to take over the 37th Street building. Tiffany & Co. then hired
Cross & Cross Cross & Cross (1907–1942) was a New York City-based architectural firm founded by brothers John Walter Cross and Eliot Cross. History Cross & Cross was known as Old New York City Society's architectural firm of choice. John Cross (1878–1951) ...
to design a new flagship store at 6 East 57th Street. The new flagship store opened on October 21, 1940. The same day, Tiffany & Co. deeded the 37th Street site to the Astor estate, with National City Bank paying $1.2 million. The interior of the old store was disassembled immediately after the Astors acquired the building.


1940s to mid-1970s

For three years in the early 1940s, the ground floor was leased to the
American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...
, which hosted events such as home-nursing courses as well as volunteer art exhibitions. In 1945, Alad Holding Inc., led by Alan N. Adelson, leased the building for $2 million and then sold the leasehold to industrial company
Textron Textron Inc. is an American industrial conglomerate based in Providence, Rhode Island. Textron's subsidiaries include Arctic Cat, Bell Textron, Textron Aviation (which itself includes the Beechcraft, and Cessna brands), and Lycoming Engines. ...
. Textron then remodeled the first to third floors and, in the interim, opened an office on the seventh floor in April 1946. Textron planned to eventually occupy the entire building and rename it. The company also added an
air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...
system. In July 1949, Textron announced plans to move its men's division to the
Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...
while keeping the women's division at 401 Fifth Avenue. That November, Textron sold the leasehold, which was then acquired by Charles A. Frueaoff.
Allied Stores Allied Stores was a department store chain in the United States. It was founded in the 1930s as part of a general consolidation in the retail sector by B. E. Puckett. See also Associated Dry Goods. It was the successor to Hahn's Department Store ...
leased the third through sixth stories of the Tiffany Building in 1950, and the
Office of Price Stabilization An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...
also briefly occupied the building until early 1952.
Henry Goelet Henry may refer to: People * Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portuga ...
of the Goelet real-estate family obtained full ownership of the Tiffany Building in January 1951 in a series of transactions worth $8.5 million. He bought the leasehold from the Frueaoff estate, as well as the
fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in contra ...
interest in the land, from the Astor estate, obtaining $1.5 million in short-term financing. Goelet had planned to lease the lowest stories to a "Midwestern department store", but this deal was canceled after the U.S. federal government demanded that the Office of Price Stabilization use the space. In 1952, Goelet detailed his plans to renovate the building. He planned to lower the first story slightly, add a mezzanine above it, remodel the storefronts, and add new air conditioning and elevators. Charles N. and Selig Whinston conducted the renovations, which cost $1 million. Ten tons of bronze and $1 million of marble were removed during the project. The Gotham Hosiery Company leased the new mezzanine level in 1953, and American Bleached Goods opened a second-story office with two showrooms the same year. Other tenants in the 1950s included shoe chain Stuart Brooks Red Cross Shoes, as well as a
Horn & Hardart Horn & Hardart was a food services company in the United States noted for operating the first food service automats in Philadelphia, New York City, and Baltimore. Philadelphia's Joseph Horn (1861–1941) and German-born, New Orleans-raised Frank ...
restaurant. Goelet sold the Tiffany & Co. Building in 1957 to a syndicate of Nelson Properties Inc. and Burnebrook Manor Inc. Allied renovated the fifth to seventh floors in 1960, consolidating its marketing department there. Allied continued to occupy the Tiffany Building until 1973, when it moved to 1120 Avenue of the Americas. The surrounding stretch of Fifth Avenue had begun to decline by the 1970s. A
Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...
fast-food restaurant had opened within the Tiffany Building by 1976.


Late 1970s to present

In 1977,
Sun Myung Moon Sun Myung Moon (; born Yong Myung Moon; 6 January 1920 – 3 September 2012) was a Korean religious leader, also known for his business ventures and support for conservative political causes. A messiah claimant, he was the founder of the Unif ...
of the
Unification Church The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists, or "Moonies". It was officially founded on 1 May 1954 under the name Holy Spi ...
bought the Tiffany & Co. Building for a reported $2.4 million. The Tiffany & Co. Building was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
(NRHP) as a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
on June 2, 1978. The church promised to restore the Tiffany Building into offices for its daily newspaper, ''
The News World The ''New York City Tribune'' was a daily newspaper that existed from 1976 to 1991 in New York City and was published by News World Communications, owned by the Unification Church and its leader Reverend Sun Myung Moon. Its offices were in the f ...
''. Within four years, the building had an estimated value of $4.3 million, and it housed the English and Spanish editions of the church's daily newspapers. The ''
New York City Tribune The ''New York City Tribune'' was a daily newspaper that existed from 1976 to 1991 in New York City and was published by News World Communications, owned by the Unification Church and its leader Reverend Sun Myung Moon. Its offices were in the f ...
'', a subsidiary of ''The News World'', was formed in 1983 and also had its offices in the Tiffany Building. ''Noticias del Mundo'', a newspaper also run by the Unification Church, took some office space as well. The Unification Church planned to eventually restore the Tiffany Building, but it did not conduct any work in the decade after it purchased the building. The Unification Church proposed restoring the building and erecting a tower above it in 1987. The tower would have been designed by
Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates' (HHPA) was an internationally recognized American architecture firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Established by Hugh Hardy, Malcolm Holzman and Norman Pfeiffer in 1967 in New York, HHPA was noted ...
. If built, it would have been 40 stories tall and made of precast concrete. Most of the facade of the original building would have been restored, except for two bays on the highest tier, which would have been removed to create a
light court In architecture, a lightwell,light well, light-well sky-well,skywell, sky well or air shaft is an unroofed or roofed external space provided within the volume of a large building to allow light and air to reach what would otherwise be a dark or ...
. In February 1987, the
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
(LPC) deferred a decision on whether to designate the Tiffany Building as a city landmark. The next year, the LPC designated the building as a landmark. Meanwhile, News World Communications acquired three lots beside the Tiffany Building to enable the construction of a tower with . The Unification Church canceled its plans to build a tower above the Tiffany Building in 1990, after the LPC rejected a similar tower over the
Metropolitan Club The Metropolitan Club of New York is a private social club on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded as a gentlemen's club in 1891 for men only, but it was one of the first major clubs in New York to admit women, t ...
building. Instead, the church planned to restore only the exterior storefront signs. By 1991, the top floor was available for lease. Its broker described the space as being "ideal for a fashion or accessories showroom, or a television or video production company" due to its high ceilings. The Image Group then leased in the building, spanning four stories. The company taped ''
The Ricki Lake Show ''The Ricki Lake Show'' (also known as ''Ricki'' or ''The New Ricki Lake Show'') was an American first-run syndicated talk show hosted by Ricki Lake. The series also marked her return to talk television after leaving the genre in 2004. After sev ...
'' on the seventh floor. The Image Group also produced ''
The People's Court ''The People's Court'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show, featuring an arbitrator handling small claims disputes in a simulated courtroom set. Within the court show genre, it is the first of all arbitration-based reality styl ...
'' in the building, and
American Eagle Outfitters American Eagle Outfitters, Inc., also known as American Eagle, is an American lifestyle, clothing, and accessories retailer headquartered at SouthSide Works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1977 by brothers Jerry and Mark Silverma ...
occupied two floors by the end of the 20th century. In 2000, the Stahl Real Estate Company bought the building, evicted three retail tenants, and began restoring the space. After the renovations, Stahl leased out on the ground floor and in the basement. The piers at the ground story were restored, although they were much lighter in color than the original piers above them.


Reception

When the building opened, ''Architects and Builders'' magazine said the interior color scheme "has been treated by a master hand". Henry James described the building as "a great nobleness of white marble... with three fine arched and columned stages above its high basement". James described the building as having been designed "within the conditions of sociable symmetry", complementing McKim, Mead & White's other buildings on Fifth Avenue, including the Knickerbocker Trust Company Building, the Gorham Building, and the clubhouses of the
University Club of New York The University Club of New York (also known as University Club) is a private social club at 1 West 54th Street and Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Founded to celebrate the union of social duty and intellec ...
and
Metropolitan Club The Metropolitan Club of New York is a private social club on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded as a gentlemen's club in 1891 for men only, but it was one of the first major clubs in New York to admit women, t ...
. ''
Architectural Record ''Architectural Record'' is a US-based monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design. "The Record," as it is sometimes colloquially referred to, is widely-recognized as an important historical record of the unfolding debates in a ...
'' wrote: "Compared to the Gorham Building, the Tiffany Building is by way of being frivolous". Henry Olmsted Jr. said: "Architects and Capitalists are awakening to the splendid returns obtained from building construction embodying the best skill and materials money can purchase", with the Tiffany Building being one such example. When the building was renovated in the 1950s, architectural writer
Lewis Mumford Lewis Mumford (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a wr ...
disapproved of the changes, saying there should be a "Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Buildings". In the late 1970s,
Paul Goldberger Paul Goldberger (born in 1950) is an American author, architecture critic and lecturer. He is known for his "Sky Line" column in ''The New Yorker''. Biography Shortly after starting as a reporter at ''The New York Times'' in 1972, he was assign ...
said the Tiffany and Gorham buildings were "splendid examples" of Renaissance palazzos on Fifth Avenue, even though the style "did not remain the favored architectural motif of the avenue for too long". Architectural critic
Ada Louise Huxtable Ada Louise Huxtable (née Landman; March 14, 1921 – January 7, 2013) was an architecture critic and writer on architecture. Huxtable established architecture and urban design journalism in North America and raised the public's awareness of the ...
described the Burger King's presence at ground level as part of "the mutilation of Fifth Avenue", while Robert A. M. Stern described it as an "indignity". By 1990,
Christopher Gray Christopher Stewart Gray (April 24, 1950 – March 10, 2017) was an American journalist and architectural historian,Schneider, Daniel B (August 27, 2000)"F.Y.I. Hell's Kitchen in the Raw" ''The New York Times''. March 4, 2010. noted for his week ...
had described the building as "a notorious object lesson in how not to treat a landmark"; at the time, the facade was extremely dirty. Even after the lower section of the facade had been restored in the 2000s, Gray described the restored section as being like "a pair of khakis dipped in bleach".


See also

* List of National Historic Landmarks in New York City *
List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets This is intended to be a complete list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Manhattan Island, the primary portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan (also designated as New York County, New York ...


References


Notes


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * * *


External links


Retail websiteImages from Architectural Record (pp. 219-221)
{{National Register of Historic Places in New York 1905 establishments in New York City Commercial buildings completed in 1905 Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Fifth Avenue McKim, Mead & White buildings Midtown Manhattan National Historic Landmarks in Manhattan New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Renaissance Revival architecture in New York City Retail buildings in New York (state) Tiffany & Co.