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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. Designed by Starrett & van Vleck in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, it is at 424–434 Fifth Avenue between 38th and 39th Streets. Since 2023, it has been an office building for Amazon.
The building's facade is made of limestone on the lower stories and gray brick on the upper stories, capped by a copper cornice. The structure contains a chamfered corner at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 38th Street, and it wraps around another building at Fifth Avenue and 39th Street. The store had multiple entrances, including a barrel-vaulted arch on Fifth Avenue The building was designed with several features that enabled the store to function efficiently, such as delivery ramps and movable window displays on elevators. The above-ground floors were connected via various elevators and stairs; there were no retail areas on the tenth floor.
The building was constructed from 1913 to 1914 and served as Lord & Taylor's flagship store for over a hundred years. It was described as the first "frankly commercial" structure on Fifth Avenue north of 34th Street, and it replaced several of the company's previous headquarters. During the building's operation as Lord & Taylor's flagship store, it was renovated several times, and by the late 20th century, the store had expanded into an adjacent building. The Lord & Taylor Building was designated a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on October 30, 2007. The building was mostly sold in a joint venture to workspace company WeWork in 2019. Amazon acquired the building in 2020, and opened an office there in mid-2023, so Lord & Taylor is officially gone after almost 200 years of business.
The Lord & Taylor Building is located on an L-shaped lot at 424–434 Fifth Avenue between West 38th and 39th Streets in Midtown Manhattan. Its frontage totals about 260 feet (79 m) to the south on 38th Street, 200 feet (61 m) to the west, 160 feet (49 m) to the north on 39th Street, and 150 feet (46 m) to the east on Fifth Avenue. The lot wraps around the Dreicer Building, erected on a holdout lot at 39th Street and Fifth Avenue, which was separately owned when the Lord & Taylor Building was erected. The holdout lot's owner had refused to sell the land, and the Dreicer Building was ultimately combined with the Lord & Taylor Building after 1992.
The 11-story Lord & Taylor Building was designed by Starrett & van Vleck in the Italian Renaissance Revival style. The total square footage of the building exceeds 600,000 square feet (56,000 m2) and includes two basement levels and ten above-ground levels.
The 10-story facade of the building is split into three layers: the two-story limestone base, the brick-bonded facade of the third through eighth floors, and the terracotta-faced ninth and tenth floors. The ninth- and tenth-floor facade is designed to look like a colonnade with the windows located in recessed bays between the "columns" of the colonnade. These "columns" are spaced at intervals of 22 feet (6.7 m). The chamfered corner at Fifth Avenue and 38th Street, which intersects at a 45-degree angle with each facade, is a visual element that unites the Fifth Avenue and 38th Street elevations. The chamfer is clad with terracotta below the eighth floor and blends with the colonnade wrapping around the ninth- and tenth-floor facades. The section of the facade that wraps around the holdout lot is windowless and undecorated.
Decorative elements were used sparingly on the facade. These included the two-story coffer-vaulted main entrance on Fifth Avenue, the balustrade and balconies on the facade, the ninth- and tenth-floor colonnade, and the copper cornice on the facade above the tenth floor. The main entrance was spanned by an arch topped by an elaborately decorated keystone, while cartouches and other decorations were present in other parts of the entrance vestibule. "Multi-light windows" were added on the third through tenth floors, deviating from the plate glass windows typically used in retail buildings, which one critic said "added much to the appearance of the openings". In addition to the main entrance, there were smaller side entrances on 38th and 39th Streets.
Travertine was used for the surface of the first floor. Cork surfaces were incorporated into the selling counters to reduce strain on employees who leaned on the counters. Wood was also used in the decorative features and on the fifth floor, where there was originally a carpet department.
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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. Designed by Starrett & van Vleck in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, it is at 424–434 Fifth Avenue between 38th and 39th Streets. Since 2023, it has been an office building for Amazon.
The building's facade is made of limestone on the lower stories and gray brick on the upper stories, capped by a copper cornice. The structure contains a chamfered corner at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 38th Street, and it wraps around another building at Fifth Avenue and 39th Street. The store had multiple entrances, including a barrel-vaulted arch on Fifth Avenue The building was designed with several features that enabled the store to function efficiently, such as delivery ramps and movable window displays on elevators. The above-ground floors were connected via various elevators and stairs; there were no retail areas on the tenth floor.
The building was constructed from 1913 to 1914 and served as Lord & Taylor's flagship store for over a hundred years. It was described as the first "frankly commercial" structure on Fifth Avenue north of 34th Street, and it replaced several of the company's previous headquarters. During the building's operation as Lord & Taylor's flagship store, it was renovated several times, and by the late 20th century, the store had expanded into an adjacent building. The Lord & Taylor Building was designated a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on October 30, 2007. The building was mostly sold in a joint venture to workspace company WeWork in 2019. Amazon acquired the building in 2020, and opened an office there in mid-2023, so Lord & Taylor is officially gone after almost 200 years of business.
The Lord & Taylor Building is located on an L-shaped lot at 424–434 Fifth Avenue between West 38th and 39th Streets in Midtown Manhattan. Its frontage totals about 260 feet (79 m) to the south on 38th Street, 200 feet (61 m) to the west, 160 feet (49 m) to the north on 39th Street, and 150 feet (46 m) to the east on Fifth Avenue. The lot wraps around the Dreicer Building, erected on a holdout lot at 39th Street and Fifth Avenue, which was separately owned when the Lord & Taylor Building was erected. The holdout lot's owner had refused to sell the land, and the Dreicer Building was ultimately combined with the Lord & Taylor Building after 1992.
The 11-story Lord & Taylor Building was designed by Starrett & van Vleck in the Italian Renaissance Revival style. The total square footage of the building exceeds 600,000 square feet (56,000 m2) and includes two basement levels and ten above-ground levels.
The 10-story facade of the building is split into three layers: the two-story limestone base, the brick-bonded facade of the third through eighth floors, and the terracotta-faced ninth and tenth floors. The ninth- and tenth-floor facade is designed to look like a colonnade with the windows located in recessed bays between the "columns" of the colonnade. These "columns" are spaced at intervals of 22 feet (6.7 m). The chamfered corner at Fifth Avenue and 38th Street, which intersects at a 45-degree angle with each facade, is a visual element that unites the Fifth Avenue and 38th Street elevations. The chamfer is clad with terracotta below the eighth floor and blends with the colonnade wrapping around the ninth- and tenth-floor facades. The section of the facade that wraps around the holdout lot is windowless and undecorated.
Decorative elements were used sparingly on the facade. These included the two-story coffer-vaulted main entrance on Fifth Avenue, the balustrade and balconies on the facade, the ninth- and tenth-floor colonnade, and the copper cornice on the facade above the tenth floor. The main entrance was spanned by an arch topped by an elaborately decorated keystone, while cartouches and other decorations were present in other parts of the entrance vestibule. "Multi-light windows" were added on the third through tenth floors, deviating from the plate glass windows typically used in retail buildings, which one critic said "added much to the appearance of the openings". In addition to the main entrance, there were smaller side entrances on 38th and 39th Streets.
Travertine was used for the surface of the first floor. Cork surfaces were incorporated into the selling counters to reduce strain on employees who leaned on the counters. Wood was also used in the decorative features and on the fifth floor, where there was originally a carpet department.