Building type

Commercial landmarks

Manhattan's commercial landmarks include office towers, stores, newspaper headquarters, and exchanges.

Compare the entrances, ornament, and setbacks of office towers and financial buildings. The Chrysler Building, New York Stock Exchange, and Woolworth Building show different approaches to commercial architecture.

The buildings

172 building histories

Commercial · 1929-31

1 Wall Street Building

1 Wall Street, New York, NY

Constructed in 1929-31 as the corporate headquarters of the Irving Trust Company, this 50-story, limestone faced skyscraper is situated on what was considered the "most expensive real estate in New York," the...

Commercial · 1910-12

14 Wall Street Building

14 Wall Street, New York, NY

The 14 Wall Street Building, with its distinctive pyramidal roof, is one of the great towers that define the lower Manhattan skyline. Located in the heart of the financial district, the building was erected in 1910-12...

Commercial · 1964-68

140 Broadway Building (Former Marine Midland Bank)

89 Cedar Street, New York, NY

A critically-acclaimed example of mid-20th-century modernism, the former Marine Midland Bank Building at 140 Broadway was completed in early 1968. Architect Gordon Bunshaft, of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, was the...

Commercial · 1895-96

144 West 14th Street Building

144 West 14th Street, New York, NY

144 West 14th Street is a grandly-proportioned Renaissance Revival-style loft building.1 Faced with limestone, tan brick and terra cotta, it was designed by the architects Brunner & Tryon in 1895-96. Seven stories tall,...

Commercial · 1912-13

154 West 14th Street Building

154 West 14th Street, New York, NY

The 154 West 14th Street Building (1912-13), a 12-story speculative loft structure constructed for lawyer-banker and real estate developer Leslie R. Palmer, was the first completed New York City design by architect...

Commercial · 1836

163 John Street Building

163 John Street, New York, NY

In 1836, when this building was erected, its address was Curling Slip, rather than John Street. The extra width of John Street between Front Street and the East River reflects the earlier existence of the actual Slip....

Commercial · 1811

165 John Street Building

165 John Street, New York, NY

In the minutes of the Common Council, June 22, 1807, we find George Codwise, Jr. and Peter Schermerhorn engaged in negotiation with the City in connection with wharfage and development rights at the foot of Burling...

Commercial · 1849-50

171 John Street Building

171 John Street, New York, NY

n 1849-50, when this building was erected, this part of what is now John Street was known as Burling Slip. This building was 31-35 Burling Slip. The architect/builder cannot be ascertained, but the property was assessed...

Commercial · 1877

175 West Broadway Building

175 West Broadway, New York, NY

Erected in 1877 for the heirs of the Estate of Jerome B. King to the designs of the Newark architectural firm of Scott & Umbach, the 175 West Broadway Building is an exceptional example of late-nineteenth-century...

Commercial · 1840

176 John Street Building

176 John Street, New York, NY

In 1840, when this building was erected, its address was Burling Slip, rather than John Street. The extra width of John Street between Front Street and the East River reflects the earlier existence of the actual Slip....

Commercial · 1836

189 Front Street Building

189 Front Street, New York, NY

This building was erected in the same year as the corner building (159-163 John Street), matches it exactly, and, like the corner, replaces an earlier building owned by Anson O. Phelps. We may assume that though it has...

Commercial · Prior 1793

191 Front Street Building

191 Front Street, New York, NY

This completely simple five-story brick warehouse building has nonetheless a very handsome first floor supported on square cast iron columns which once had Corinthian capitals and which display ornamental forms at the...

Commercial · 1811-12

195 Front Street Building

195 Front Street, New York, NY

Forming a part of Schermerhorn Row, this handsome Federal style building is architecturally similar to it and is of equal height, with the uniform cornice line connecting it with the equally handsome hipped-roof corner...

Commercial · 1926-28

2 Park Avenue Building

2 Park Avenue, New York, NY

The colorful and striking 2 Park Avenue Building, built in 1926-28 on lower Park Avenue, was designed by one of New York’s foremost architects of the first half of the twentieth century, Ely Jacques Kahn. Constructed...

Commercial · 1929-31

21 West Street Building

21 West Street, New York, NY

The thirty-one story, brick Art Deco office building at 21 West Street was constructed in 1929-31 to the designs of the prolific architectural firm of Starrett & Van Vleck.

Commercial · 1856-57

23 and 25 Park Place Building

23 Park Place, New York, NY

Built in 1856-57 for the dry goods firm Lathrop, Ludington & Co. by the architect Samuel Adams Warner, the five-story party-wall building at 23 and 25 Park Place extends through the block to 20 and 22 Murray Street.

Commercial · 1856-57

254-260 Canal Street

260 Canal Street, New York, NY

No. 254-260 Canal Street, at the southwest corner of Canal and Lafayette Streets, is one of the earliest surviving cast-iron buildings in New York City. Built in 1856/57 for George Bruce, a leader of the printing...

Commercial · 1930-31

275 Madison Avenue Building

275 Madison Avenue, New York, NY

Rising 43 stories in height and completed in 1931, 275 Madison Avenue is an outstanding Art Deco skyscraper dating from the end of New York’s 1920s and early-1930s skyscraper boom. Designed by noted architect Kenneth...

Commercial · 1871-72

287 Broadway Building

287 Broadway, New York, NY

Prominently situated on a comer site, the 287 Broadway Building is notable for its combination of the Italianate and French Second Empire styles as executed in cast iron, and one of the few surviving examples in New...

Commercial · 1856-57

311 Broadway Building

311 Broadway, New York, NY

This distinguished commercial building located on the west side of Broadway between Duane and Thomas Streets was erected c. 1856- 57 by John and Daniel Jackson Steward. The building is a fine example of Italian...

Commercial · 1869-70

319 Broadway Building

319 Broadway, New York, NY

Located on the northwest corner of Broadway and Thomas Street, 319 Broadway is a distinguished cast-iron Italianate-style building and the survivor of the mirror-image pair at 317 and 319 Broadway known in recent years...

Commercial · 1863-64

325-333 Broadway Building

333 Broadway, New York, NY

This imposing commercial building at the southwest corner of Broadway and Worth Street, erected for real estate investor Henry Barclay in 1863-64, was originally three store-and-loft buildings that have been joined...

Commercial · 1852

359 Broadway Building

359 Broadway, New York, NY

No. 359 Broadway, on the west side of Broadway between Leonard and Franklin streets, is a distinguished early Italianate commercial building constructed in 1852, a time when this section of Broadway was the city's most...

Commercial · 1881-82

361 Broadway Building

361 Broadway, New York, NY

No. 361 Broadway, built in 1881-1882 fOr James L. White, was designed by W. Wheeler Smith, a well respected architect active in New York during the last two decades of the nineteenth century. It was one of the last...

Commercial · 1888

380 Lafayette Street Building

380 Lafayette Street, New York, NY

This six-story building standing resolutely on its site is unusally imposing for its mass. It was completed in 1888 when buildings of this size were still considered high. Handsome dark brown brick piers form five bays...

Commercial · 1929-31

500 Fifth Avenue Building

500 5th Avenue, New York, NY

Built in 1929-31, Shreve, Lamb & Harmon’s 500 Fifth Avenue Building is a soaring 59-story Art Deco skyscraper, located at the northwest corner of 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue. The building was constructed concurrently...

Commercial · 1861

55 White Street Building

55 White Street, New York, NY

Fifty-five White street was commissioned in 1861 by cousins John Eliot and Samuel H. Condict as a store and warehouse for a saddlery business.

Commercial · 1893-94

56-58 Pine Street Building

58 Pine Street, New York, NY

This distinguished Lower Manhattan office building, built in 1893-94 by developer James G. Wallace and designed by his company’s architect Oswald Wirz, is a rare survivor. The building represents a period of great urban...

Commercial · 1903-04

574 Sixth Avenue Building

574 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY

The building at 574 Sixth Avenue, erected by the Knickerbocker Jewelry Company in 1903-04 as the firm's retail store, was built in response to the resurgence of retail activity in the ladies' Mile area around the turn...

Commercial · 1857-59

63 Nassau Street Building

63 Nassau Street, New York, NY

The 5-story, Italianate style cast-iron front facade on the building at No. 63 Nassau Street was almost certainly produced c. 1857-59 by James Bogardus, the pioneer of cast iron architecture in America, making it an...

Commercial · c. 1865

75 Murray Street Building

75 Murray Street, New York, NY

Conspicuous for its fine design and structural details, this five-story commercial building is a good example of the Italianate style of cast-iron architecture. This strikingly handsome facade, with its superimposed,...

Commercial · 1861

85 Leonard Street Building

85 Leonard Street, New York, NY

The building at 85 Leonard Street possesses unique historic significance of one of the few remaining works of James Bogardus, and his only surviving building in New York City. In 1818 Bogardus erected the first full...

Commercial · 1810-30

90-94 Maiden Lane Building

94 Maiden Lane, New York, NY

The small, elegant cast-iron-fronted mansarded building at 90-94 Maiden lane is the only remaining example in the Financial District of the many Second Empire style commercial buildings constructed in downtown Manhattan...

Commercial · 1811-12

91 South Street Building

91 South Street, New York, NY

Forming a part of Schermerhorn Row, this Federal style building was remodeled in the eighteen-sixties when it was increased to five stories in height. Today it has lost the heavy bracketed cornice which was added when...

Commercial · 1811-12

92 South Street Building

92 South Street, New York, NY

Forming a part of Schermerhorn Row, this building with its handsome Flemish bond brickwork, was increased to six stories in height with mansard roof and dormers to make it a hotel. This change took place in the lite...

Commercial · 1907-08

94-100 Lafayette Street Building (Avildsen Building)

98 Lafayette Street, New York, NY

Located at the southwest corner of Lafayette and Walker streets, the building at 94-100 Lafayette Street, now called the Avildsen Building, is an impressive early twentieth-century commercial style building designed by...

Commercial · 1869

97 Bowery Building

97 Bowery, New York, NY

The 97 Bowery Building is a five-story, 25-footwide, early Italianate style, significantly intact, cast-ironfronted store-and-loft building. Built in 1869 for John P. Jube and designed by architect Peter L.P. Tostevin,...

Commercial · 1894-95

Ahrens Building

76 Lafayette Street, New York, NY

Designed by Manhattan architect George H. Griebel, and constructed in 1894-95, the Ahrens Building is a distinctive example of the Romanesque Revival style successfully adapted to the requirements of a steel-framed...

Commercial · 1907-08

American Bank Note Company Office Building

70 Broad Street, New York, NY

The American Bank Note Company Office Building is a distinctive, neo-Classical structure which was built in 1907-08 as the corporate, administrative, and sales headquarters for this important, yet little-known company....

Commercial · 1916-17

American Express Company Building

65 Broadway, New York, NY

The 21-story (plus basement), neo-classical American Express Co. Building was constructed in 1916-17 to the design of James L. Aspinwall, of the firm of Renwick, Aspinwall & Tucker, the successor to the architectural...

Commercial · 1923-24

American Radiator Building

40 West 40th Street, New York, NY

The American Radiator Building, a striking twenty-three story black and gold tower, is one of the finest and most significant skyscrapers in Manhattan. Designed by Raymond M. Hood and built in 1923-24, the American...

Commercial · 1894-96

American Surety Company Building

100 Broadway, New York, NY

The American Surety Company Building, a key building in the evolution of the skyscraper, was erected to designs of the eminent architect Bruce Price between 1894 and 1896. Prominently sited at the southeast corner of...

Commercial · 1912-16

American Telephone & Telegraph Company Building

195 Broadway, New York, NY

The American Telephone & Telegraph Company Building, designed by noted architect William Welles Bosworth and constructed in three phases from 1912 to 1922, is an important example of Greek-inspired neo-Classical design....

Commercial · 1894-95

American Tract Society Building

150 Nassau Street, New York, NY

The American Tract Society Building, at the southeast corner of Nassau and Spruce Streets, was constructed in 1894-95 to the design of architect R. H. Robertson, who was known for his churches and institutional and...

Commercial · 1905-13

B. Altman & Company Department Store Building

371 5th Avenue, New York, NY

The dignified B. Altman & Company Building, located at the northeast corner of 34th Street and Fifth Avenue, is a distinguished design by Trowbridge & Livingston and one of the flagship department stores of Fifth...

Commercial · 1909

B.F. Goodrich Company Building

1780 Broadway, New York, NY

1780 Broadway was constructed in 1909 as the New York headquarters of the B. F. Goodrich Company, a leading American manufacturer of automobile tires and other rubber products. Since the late 1880s the company had...

Commercial · 1923-27

Barclay-Vesey Building of the New York Telephone Company

140 West Street, New York, NY

The Barclay-Vesey Building of the New York Telephone Company (also known as the New York Telephone Building) was the first major work of prominent New York architect Ralph Walker. Constructed in 1923-27 and built at a...

Commercial · 1880-81

Baumann Brothers Furniture And Carpets Store

26 East 14th Street, New York, NY

The Baumann Brothers Furniture and Carpets Store was built in 1880-81 for James McCreery , a well-known textiles merchant of Scottish descent. It was designed by the architectural firm of D. & J. Jardine, whose...

Commercial · 1897-99

Bayard-Condict Building

69 Bleecker Street, New York, NY

This loft building, designed by famous Chicago architect Louis Sullivan with assistance from New York architect Lyndon P. Smith, was constructed in 1897-99 for the United Loan and Investment Company and is Sullivan’s...

Commercial · 1903-04

Beaver Building

92 Beaver Street, New York, NY

The 15-story Beaver Building, designed in the neo-Renaissance style by the well-known and prolific firm of Clinton & Russell and built in 1903-04, was commissioned by the Century Realty Co. as a speculative office...

Commercial · 1860

Bell Telephone Laboratories Complex (including the former Western Electric Company and Hook’s Steam-powered Factory Buildings) (now Westbeth Artists’ Housing)

465 West Street, New York, NY

The Bell Telephone Laboratories Complex of buildings, occupying an entire city block in Manhattan’s Far West Village, is highly significant as the site of one of the world’s most prestigious telecommunications research...

Commercial · 1872-73

Bennett Building

139 Fulton Street, New York, NY

The Bennett Building, constructed in 1872-73 and enlarged in 1890-92 and 1894, is a major monument to the art of cast-iron architecture. Ten stories high with three fully designed facades fronting Fulton, Nassau, and...

Commercial · 1895-98

Bowling Green Offices Building

11 Broadway, New York, NY

An enormous and beautifully crafted presence at the base of Broadway, facing Bowling Green and extending through the block to Greenwich Street, the seventeen story Bowling Green Offices Building was designed and built...

Commercial · 1900-02

Broad Exchange Building

25 Broad Street, New York, NY

Located in the heart of Manhattan's financial district. the Broad Exchange Building was, at the time of its construction in 1900-02, the largest office building with the highest estimated real estate value built in...

Commercial · 1899-1900

Broadway Chambers Building

277 Broadway, New York, NY

The Broadway Chambers Building is located on the northwest corner of the intersection of Broadway and Chambers Street. Broadway is one of the oldest roads on Manhattan Island and sections of it predate European...

Commercial · 1900-01

Brown Building (originally Asch Building)

29 Washington Place, New York, NY

Now a New York University science building, this neo- Renaissance-style loft building was constructed in 1900-01 for investor Joseph J. Asch. On March 25, 1911, it was the site of one of the worst industrial disasters...

Commercial · 1916-18

Bush Tower

132 West 42nd Street, New York, NY

The Bush Tower, designed by the prominent architectural firm of Helmle & Corbett and built in 1916-18 (added to in 1921) was an influential prototype for set-back skyscrapers, even though it was designed prior to the...

Commercial · 1856-57

Cary Building

107 Chambers Street, New York, NY

The Cary Building, built in 1856-57, is one of New York's most important 19th-century commercial structures. Designed by one of New York's most prominent firms specializing in commercial architecture, with cast-iron...

Commercial · 1961-64

CBS Building

51 West 52nd Street, New York, NY

The CBS Building was built in 1961-64 as the headquarters for one of America's three historic radio and television networks. The last completed work designed by architect Eero Saarinen, it is one of New York's premier...

Commercial · 1927-29

Chanin Building

122 East 42nd Street, New York, NY

The Chanin Building, built in 1927-29, rises 56 stories at the corner of Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street. Designed by the architectural firm of Sloan & Robertson with sculptural decoration by Rene Chambellan, it is a...

Commercial · 1912-13

Charles Scribner's Sons Building

597 5th Avenue, New York, NY

The Scribner Building, built in 1912-13, is an elegant Beaux-Arts commercial structure by the eminent American architect Ernest Flagg. This was the second building Flagg designed-for the prominent publishing firm of...

Commercial · 1930-32

Cities Service Building

70 Pine Street, New York, NY

The former Cities Service Building at 70 Pine Street is a 66-story skyscraper, rising from a trapezoidal site bounded by Pine Street, Cedar Street, and Pearl Street. An icon of the lower Manhattan skyline, the...

Commercial · 1930-31

City Bank-Farmers Trust Company Building

20 Exchange Place, New York, NY

One of the most prominent features of the Lower Manhattan skyline, the fifty-nine-story City Bank-Farmers Trust tower is among New York City's tallest skyscrapers. Designed by the architectural firm of Cross & Cross in...

Commercial · 1892

Claremont Stables (Now Claremont Riding Academy)

173 West 89th Street, New York, NY

Built in 1892, the Claremont Stables was designed in the then popular Romanesque Revival style by Frank A. Rooke. Now the oldest functioning commercial stable in Manhattan,' it was constructed as a livery stable...

Commercial · 1910-29

Consolidated Edison Company Building

4 Irving Place, New York, NY

The Consolidated Edison Building, constructed in stages between 1910 and 1929 for the Consolidated Gas Company, predecessor to Consolidated Edison, and designed by the leading architectural firms of Henry Hardenbergh...

Commercial · 1920-21

Cunard Building

25 Broadway, New York, NY

Located at the head of Bowling Green and extending through the block to Greenwich Street, the twenty-two-story Cunard Building is among lower Manhattan's most architecturally and historically significant edifices. It...

Commercial · 1929-30

Daily News Building

220 East 42nd Street, New York, NY

Built in 1929–30 as the home of the Daily News, this East 42nd Street tower is a major work associated with Raymond Hood. The project credits John M. Howells, Raymond M. Hood, and J. André Fouilhoux as associated...

Commercial · 1890-91

Delmonico's Restaurant

56 Beaver Street, New York, NY

Erected in 1890-91, to the designs of the prominent architect James Brown Lord, this striking Renaissance Revival restaurant and office building is the only surviving building associated with the world-famous...

Commercial · 1885

DeVinne Press Building

399 Lafayette Street, New York, NY

As a commercial structure the DeVinne Press Building established a milestone both aesthetically and structurally for American commercial buildings in New York City. This eight story brick structure with terra-cotta...

Commercial · 1856

E. V. Haughwout Building

492 Broadway, New York, NY

This attractive five-story building, located on a corner site, has two cast-iron fronts designed in the Anglo-Italianate manner, with arched windows set between columns. The windows are reminiscent of those of...

Commercial · 1931-34

Edward Ridley & Sons Department Store Buildings

319 Grand Street, New York, NY

In the second half of 19th century, Edward Ridley & Sons was the largest department store on the Lower East Side. Founded by Edward Ridley in c. 1848, over the next three decades the business grew by converting...

Commercial · 1925-27

Elizabeth Arden Building (Formerly Aeolian Building)

691 5th Avenue, New York, NY

The Aeolian Building was constructed in 1925-27 to the design of architects Warren & Wetmore for the Gould Realty Co., controlled by Commodore Charles A. Gould, a wealthy iron and steel manufacturer and property owner...

Commercial · 1897-98

Empire Building

71 Broadway, New York, NY

The richly decorative, neo-classical Empire Building was commissioned in 1895 by the Estate of Orlando B. Potter and constructed in 1897-98 to the design of Kimball & Thompson.

Commercial · 1930-31

Empire State Building

350 5th Avenue, New York, NY

The Empire State Building opened on May 1, 1931, after a construction campaign that began in March 1930. Shreve, Lamb & Harmon designed the 102-story tower on the site of the original Waldorf-Astoria hotel. Its rapid...

Commercial · 1913-15

Equitable Building

120 Broadway, New York, NY

The Equitable Building, designed by the firm of E.R. Graham, successor to D.H. Burnham & Co., has long been considered a key element in the development and passage of New York’s zoning law, the first in the country....

Commercial · 1882-83

F.W. Devoe & Co. Factory

112 Horatio Street, New York, NY

Constructed in 1882-83 for paint manufacturers F.W. Devoe & Co. and designed by the noted architectural firm of Kimball & Wisedell, the six-story factory building at 110-112 Horatio Street is a rare surviving example of...

Commercial · 1902

Flatiron Building

175 5th Avenue, New York, NY

Completed in 1902 to designs by D. H. Burnham & Co., the Flatiron Building fits the triangular plot where Broadway crosses Fifth Avenue at 23rd Street. Its steel frame allowed an unusually tall, narrow building, while...

Commercial · 1891-92

Fleming Smith Warehouse

453 Washington Street, New York, NY

Distinguished by its picturesque gabled roof and striking dark brick trim, the Fleming Smith Warehouse is an impressive commercial building on the Southeast corner of Washington and Watts Streets in the warehouse...

Commercial · 1909

Former A. T. Demarest & Company and Peerless Motor Car Company Buildings

1770 Broadway, New York, NY

The A.T. Demarest & Company and Peerless Motor Car Company Buildings, located in the heart of the "Automobile Row" section of Broadway in Manhattan, were used by the automobile industry for over six decades. They were...

Commercial · 1907-08

Former Coty Building

714 5th Avenue, New York, NY

The former Coty Building, built in 1907-08 is a significant reminder of Fifth Avenue at the turn of the century, when the avenue, south of 59th Street, was shifting from residential to commercial use. Designed by...

Commercial · 1892-94

Former Home Life Insurance Company Building

257 Broadway, New York, NY

The (former) Home Life Insurance Company Building, a significant, early skyscraper richly designed in the neo-Renaissance style by Pierre L LeBrun of the firm of Napoleon LeBrun & Sons, was constructed in 1892-94. In...

Commercial · 1929-30

Former L.P. Hollander & Company Building

3 East 57th Street, New York, NY

The L.P. Hollander & Company Building, constructed in 1929-30, was part of the exclusive retail shopping district developing on East 57th Street that catered to New York’s wealthy and stylish women. Designed by the...

Commercial · 1869-70

Former Lord & Taylor Building

901 Broadway, New York, NY

One of the most impressive stores in the late 19th-century shopping district known as "The Ladies' Mile," the former Lord & Taylor building stands at the southwest corner of Broadway and 20th Street and, with its...

Commercial · 1906

Former New York Evening Post Building

20 Vesey Street, New York, NY

This fourteen-story building, designed by Robert D. Kohn, is a steel-framed structure veneered with stone. It is a fine example of the rarely used Art Nouveau Style which began in Europe at the turn of the century. This...

Commercial · 1894-98

Former New York Life Insurance Building

346 Broadway, New York, NY

The home office of the New York Life insurance Company, organized in 1841 and one of the oldest life insurance companies in America. was constructed between 1894 and 1898. A monumental freestanding skyscraper in the...

Commercial · 1888-89

Former New York Times Building

41 Park Row, New York, NY

This sixteen-story office building, constructed as the home of the New York Times, is one of the last survivors of Newspaper Row, the center of newspaper publishing in New York City from the 1830s to the 1920s. Erected...

Commercial · 1958-60

Former Pepsi-Cola Building

500 Park Avenue, New York, NY

Located on a prominent corner site along Park Avenue, a thoroughfare associated since the 1950s with sleek, understated modern monuments to corporate America, the Pepsi-Cola Building is one of New York's seminal...

Commercial · 1899-1900

Former Rogers and Peet Building

258 Broadway, New York, NY

The Rogers, Peet & Company building is an eight-story neo-Renaissance style commercial and office building designed by the firm of John B. Snook & Sons. Constructed in 1899-1900 for clergyman Eugene A. Hoffman, the...

Commercial · 1903-06

Former Tiffany Building

409 5th Avenue, New York, NY

The former Tiffany & Company Building at Fifth Avenue and 37th Street is one of the most elegant commercial palaces in New York. Built in 1903-06, the structure was designed by McKim, Mead & White, one of the nation's...

Commercial · 1911-12

Former United States Rubber Company Building

1790 Broadway, New York, NY

This elegant, Beaux-Arts style, twenty- story office building was constructed in 1911- 12 for the United States Rubber Company at a time when the automobile was beginning to exert a powerful influence on American...

Commercial · 1884-85

Former Young Men's Institute Building of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA)

222 Bowery, New York, NY

This 1884-1885 building, the first branch erected by the New York City YMCA Board of Directors, is the sole survivor of New York's nineteenth-century YMCA branches and the major surviving New York City work of architect...

Commercial · 1912

Forward Building

175 East Broadway, New York, NY

Constructed in 1912, the ten-story Forward Building remains to this day a towering presence within the context of its immediate Lower East Side neighborhood. Its only competitor for dominance, apart from the modern...

Commercial · 1719

Fraunces Tavern

54 Pearl Street, New York, NY

Fraunces Tavern is a three-story brick building with an attic with dormer windows. The west wall is notable for having been constructed of 18th century Holland Brick while the rest of the building utilized English...

Commercial · 1926-27

Fred F. French Building

551 5th Avenue, New York, NY

Located on the northeast corner of 45th Street and Fifth Avenue, the Fred F. French Building was constructed in 1926-27 as corporate headquarters for the prominent real estate firm of the same name. A proto - Art Deco...

Commercial · 1928-29

Fuller Building

599 Madison Avenue, New York, NY

The Fuller Building, designed by the prolific architectural firm of Walker & Gillette, and built in 1928-29 as the home office for one of the largest and most important construction firms in America, is a particularly...

Commercial · 1870

Germania Fire Insurance Company Building

357 Bowery, New York, NY

Designed by a prominent German-American architect and built in 1870, the Germania Fire Insurance Company Bowery Building recalls the time when the Bowery was a major thoroughfare of America’s leading German-American...

Commercial · 1910-11

Germania Life Insurance Building (Now Guardian Life Building)

50 Union Square East, New York, NY

"Regard for the safety of the assured" was the guiding principle of the Germania (now The Guardian) Life Insurance Company. Founded on the "trinity" of net reserve valuations (adequate reserves mathematically...

Commercial · 1930-32

Goelet Building

606 5th Avenue, New York, NY

The ten-story Goelet Building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 49th Street, built in 1930-32, was designed by Victor L. S. Hafner in the Art Deco style but modified to exhibit the supporting skeletal frame devised by...

Commercial · 1904-06

Gorham Building

390 5th Avenue, New York, NY

This elegant commercial building, constructed in 1904-05 for the Gorham Manufacturing Company, contained its wholesale and retail showrooms, offices, and workshops. Designed by Stanford White of the prominent...

Commercial · 1959-63

Guardian Life Insurance Company of America Annex

105 East 17th Street, New York, NY

In May 1860 a group of mainly German immigrants gathered at Delmonico’s restaurant to discuss the formation of a company that would become known as the Germania Life Insurance Company of New York. Hugo Wesendonk, who...

Commercial · 1912

Haskins & Sells Building

35 West 39th Street, New York, NY

The Haskins & Sells building, designed by architect Frederick C. Zobel, was originally constructed in 1912 as a speculative venture of the Brunswick Realty Company, a real estate enterprise headed by Zobel's brother...

Commercial · 1927-28

Hearst Magazine Building

69 8th Avenue, New York, NY

The Hearst Magazine Building was designed in 1926-27 by Joseph Urban (one of the foremost theater designers in America in the early twentieth century as well as a skilled architect) in association with George B. Pest &...

Commercial · 1930

Horn & Hardart Automat-Cafeteria Building

2714 Broadway, New York, NY

The 3-story, limestone-clad Horn & Hardart Automat-Cafeteria Building at 2710-2714 Broadway (at West 104th Street), a distinctive small-scale commercial structure executed in the Art Deco style, is one of the best...

Commercial · 1926

I. Miller Building

1554 Broadway, New York, NY

The I. Miller Building, with its four statues of leading actresses of the 1920s by the noted sculptor Alexander Stirling Calder, is an evocative reminder of the history of the Broadway theater district. Designed by...

Commercial · 1851-54

India House

1 Hanover Square, New York, NY

One of the finest buildings of the Anglo-Italianate Style in New York City is India House, built for the Hanover Bank between 1851 and 1854. This building has played an important role in the commercial life of New York,...

Commercial · 1882-87

International Mercantile Marine Company Building

1 Broadway, New York, NY

The International Mercantile Marine Company Building occupies a prominent and historic location at the south end of Broadway, facing both Bowling Green and Battery Park, on a lot that extends along the entire blockfront...

Commercial · 1906-07

J. & W. Seligman & Company Building

1 William Street, New York, NY

The rusticated, richly sculptural, neo-Renaissance style J. & W. Seligman & Company Building, designed by Francis Hatch Kimball in association with Julian C. Levi and built in 1906-07 by the George A. Fuller Co., is...

Commercial · 1913

J. P. Morgan & Co. Building

23 Wall Street, New York, NY

This large, low building consists of three stories and a blind attic. The Morgan Building is a building which displays many handsome classical details, yet because of its broad smooth wall surfaces, great windows and...

Commercial · 1969-71

Japan Society Headquarters

333 East 47th Street, New York, NY

The headquarters of Japan Society, earlier called Japan House, is located in the Turtle Bay section of Manhattan on the north side of East 47th Street, close to First Avenue and the United Nations. Founded in 1907,...

Commercial · 1885-86

Joseph Loth & Company Silk Ribbon Mill

1838 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY

The Joseph Loth & Company Silk Ribbon Mill, which stands out among American textile mill buildings due to its exceptional architectural character and unusual design, was commissioned in 1885 by the Loth family of silk...

Commercial · 1892-93

Keuffel & Esser Company Building

127 Fulton Street, New York, NY

The 8-story Keuffel & Esser Co. Building was constructed in 1892-93 to the design of De Lemos & Cordes as the general offices and salesrooms for the firm that imported and manufactured drawing materials, drafting tools,...

Commercial · 1901-02

Knox Building

452 5th Avenue, New York, NY

The Knox Building, one of the finest Beaux-Arts style commercial buildings in the city, was designed by the notable New York City architect John H. Duncan. Built in 1902-02 as the headquarters of the Knox Hat Company,...

Commercial · 1950-52

Lever House

390 Park Avenue, New York, NY

Lever House, situated on the west side of Park Avenue between East 53rd Street and East 54th Street is a 24-story glass and stainless steel clad office building composed of a vertical slab rising above a horizontal...

Commercial · 1909-10

Liberty Tower

55 Liberty Street, New York, NY

Liberty Tower, designed by Henry Ives Cobb and built in 1909-10, is one of the early group of romantic skyscrapers which changed the skyline of New York in the 20th century. Built shortly after the Singer Tower,...

Commercial · 1932

Long Distance Building of the American Telephone & Telegraphy Company (AT&T)

322 Church Street, New York, NY

The Long Distance Building of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company was designed by noted architect Ralph Walker, a specialist in the design of communications buildings and partner in the office of Voorhees, Gmelin...

Commercial · 1948-50

Look Building

488 Madison Avenue, New York, NY

The 21-story Look Building dates to 1948-50, when the minimalist aesthetics of European Modernism first began to transform the character of “setback” office buildings. Located on the west side of Madison Avenue, between...

Commercial · 1913-14

Lord & Taylor Building

434 5th Avenue, New York, NY

Lord & Taylor is one of New York City’s oldest retail stores and a recognized innovator in the history of department stores. The store traces its origins to the dry goods store established on Catherine Street in 1826 by...

Commercial · 1924-25

Madison Belmont Building

181 Madison Avenue, New York, NY

The Madison-Belmont Building, a transitional style building combining neo-Renaissance with early modern designs, incorporates many ideas from the growing European modern movement. The building was designed by the...

Commercial · 1929-30

Manhattan Company Building (40 Wall Street)

40 Wall Street, New York, NY

The Manhattan Company Building, planned as the tallest building in the world, was constructed in 1929-30. When the project was announced in April 1929, the Manhattan Company, located at 40 Wall Street, had recently...

Commercial · 1950-52

Manufacturers Hanover Trust Building (originally the 600 Fifth Avenue Building)

600 5th Avenue, New York, NY

The Manufacturers Hanover Trust Building (originally the 600 Fifth Avenue Building), built in 1950-52, was the last addition to the Rockefeller Center complex, east of Sixth Avenue, replacing the building of the...

Commercial · 1930-31

McGraw-Hill Building

330 West 42nd Street, New York, NY

The 35-story blue-green McGraw-Hill Building sitting in the midst of parking lots , tenements and a bus station on the west side of Midtown, has been unique since its completion in 1931. Since its creation, the building...

Commercial · 1907-08

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower

1 Madison Avenue, New York, NY

The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company tower, designed by Pierre L. LeBrun of Napoleon LeBrun & Sons, is a major and memorable evocation of the world-famous campanile in Venice's Saint Mark's Square (Plate 1). Built in...

Commercial · 1878-80

Morse Building

142 Nassau Street, New York, NY

The current form of the Morse Building results from three periods of construction: the original (1878-80), as well as alterations in 1901-02 and c. 1965. Today, the structure’s 6-story midsection, with two articulated...

Commercial · 1941-44

Municipal Asphalt Plant

555 E 90th Street, New York, NY

The Municipal Asphalt Plant, built in 1941-44, was designed by the prominent New York City architects Ely Jacques Kahn and Robert Allan Jacobs for the Office of the Borough President of Manhattan. The asphalt pla.nt...

Commercial · 1914

Municipal Building

Chambers Street & Centre Street, New York, NY

The Municipal Building is an impressive Classical skyscraper, rising to a height of 25 stories with a tower above. It represents an effort made by the City, through the use of noted architects and sculptors, to achieve...

Commercial · 1892-94

Mutual Reserve Building

305 Broadway, New York, NY

The 13-story (plus basement) Mutual Reserve Building (1892-94), located on the northwest corner of Broadway and Duane Street, is one of New York City’s most significant examples of a tall late-19th-century office...

Commercial · 1927-29

New York Central Building (Now Helmsley Building)

230 Park Avenue, New York, NY

The New York Central Building is the skyscraping counterpart of Grand Central Terminal. It was designed by the same architects in the same materials and Beaux-Arts style, simultaneously developing some of the depot's...

Commercial · 1920-21

New York Curb Exchange (American Stock Exchange)

86 Trinity Place, New York, NY

The New York Curb Exchange, later called the American Stock Exchange, was constructed in two phases, the western portion in 1920-21 and the eastern portion in 1930-31. Located on an L-shaped mid-block parcel bordered by...

Commercial · 1926-28

New York Life Insurance Company Building

51 Madison Avenue, New York, NY

The 40-story tower for the New York Life Insurance Company, one of the "big three" insurance companies, was designed by noted architect Cass Gilbert in 1926 and constructed in 1927-28. The building is Gilbert's third...

Commercial · 1901-03

New York Stock Exchange

18 Broad Street, New York, NY

George B. Post designed the New York Stock Exchange's Broad Street building, which opened in 1903. Its monumental columns frame a large wall of glass built to admit daylight to the trading floor. The classical front...

Commercial · 1912-13

New York Times Building (Originally The Times Annex)

247 West 43rd Street, New York, NY

Built in three stages between 1912 and 1932, the New York Times Building reflects both the development of the Times Square neighborhood and the history of one of the most highly-respected newspapers in the United...

Commercial · 1888-90

New-York Cab Company Stable

330 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY

The former New-York Cab Company Stable is a striking reminder of the time when horse-drawn carriages crowded Manhattan streets. Built in 1888-90, 318-330 Amsterdam Avenue was one of the earliest commercial stables on...

Commercial · 1875-76

No. 8 Thomas Street Building

8 Thomas Street, New York, NY

Described by the prominent architectural historian Henry-Russell Hitchcock as one of the handsomest specimens of High Victorian Gothic 'architecture which survives in the city," the building at 8 Thomas Street was built...

Commercial · 1957-64

One Chase Manhattan Plaza

48 Liberty Street, New York, NY

Faced with shimmering panels of natural color and black-enameled aluminum, H-shaped mullions and glass, One Chase Manhattan Plaza is among the largest and most important 20th century skyscrapers in New York City. The...

Commercial · 1896-99

Park Row Building

15 Park Row, New York, NY

The 30-story, 391-foot-high Park Row Building was the tallest building in New York City and one of the tallest structures in the world between 1899, the year of its completion, and 1908. Located on Park Row across from...

Commercial · 1883-86

Potter Building

38 Park Row, New York, NY

The eleven-story Potter Building was commissioned by Orlando B. Potter, a prominent figure in New York politics with prime commercial real estate holdings in Manhattan, and constructed in 1883-86 to the design of N.G....

Commercial · 1885-86

Puck Building

309 Lafayette Street, New York, NY

The Puck Building, originally the home of Puck magazine, is one of the great surviving buildings from New York's old publishing and printing district. The red-brick round-arched structure occupies the entire block...

Commercial · 1897

R.H. Macy & Co. Store, 14th Street Annex

56 West 14th Street, New York, NY

Located near the intersection of 14th Street and Sixth Avenue in the midst of New York City’s then-primary retail shopping district, Ladies’ Mile, the R.H. Macy & Co. Store, 14th Street Annex was the last phase in the...

Commercial · 1907-08

Rizzoli Building

712 5th Avenue, New York, NY

The Rizzoli Building, unlit in 1901-08, is not only a significant reminder of fifth Avenue at the turn of the century, when the avenue, south of 59th Street, was shifting from residential to commercial use, but the...

Commercial · 1879-80

Robbins & Appleton Building

5 Bond Street, New York, NY

The Robbins & Appleton Building at 1-5 Bond Street, an excellent example of cast-iron architecture, was designed by Stephen Decatur Hatch. Built between June 4, 1879, and April 30, 1880, it served as a factory for the...

Commercial · 1912-13

Russell Sage Foundation Building and Annex

130 East 22nd Street, New York, NY

The Russell Sage Foundation Building was constructed in 1912-13 for the foundation established in 1907 with an unprecedented ten million dollar bequest of Olivia Sage, one of the world's wealthiest and most important...

Commercial · 1922-24

Saks Fifth Avenue

611 5th Avenue, New York, NY

Saks Fifth Avenue is one of the grand flagship department stores that turned Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan into the city's and the country's premier shopping street. Saks's move from Herald Square to Fifth Avenue at...

Commercial · 1811–1812; later alterations

Schermerhorn Row

2–18 Fulton Street, New York, NY

Schermerhorn Row was built for merchant Peter Schermerhorn in the early 1810s to serve New York's growing port. Its brick buildings combined storage and trade along the waterfront, and the row survived the Great Fire of...

Commercial · 1956-58

Seagram Building & Plaza

375 Park Avenue, New York, NY

The Seagram Building, erected in 1956-58, is the only building in New York City designed by architectural master Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Carefully related to the tranquil granite and marble plaza on its Park Avenue...

Commercial · 1954-56

Socony-Mobil Building

150 East 42nd Street, New York, NY

A curtain wall of seven thousand embossed stainless steel panels gives the Socony-Mobil Building a unique presence on the midtown skyline. Constructed between 1954 and 1956, this impressive skyscraper fills an entire...

Commercial · 1929-30

Sofia Brothers Warehouse

43 West 61st Street, New York, NY

The Art Deco Sofia Brothers Warehouse was designed by the firm of Jardine, Hill & Murdoch as one of two Kent Automatic Parking Garages. Built in 1929-30, the garage used a patented automatic parking system in which an...

Commercial · 1961-63

Springs Mills Building

104 West 40th Street, New York, NY

The Springs Mills Building is a 21-story office tower located in midtown Manhattan on a mid-block site, close to Bryant Park and just south of Times Square. Constructed in 1961-63 for a leading American textile...

Commercial · 1921-28

Standard Oil Building

26 Broadway, New York, NY

The Standard Oil Building, largely erected between 1921 and 1926 and finally completed in 1928, incorporates the company's original building (built in 1884-85 and enlarged in 1895). Designed by Thomas Hastings of the...

Commercial · 1930-31

Starrett-Lehigh Building

625 West 26th Street, New York, NY

The Starrett-Lehigh Building, constructed in 1930-31 by architects Russell G. and Walter M. Cory with Yasuo Matsui as associate architect and Purdy & Henderson as consulting engineers, is an enormous warehouse building...

Commercial · 1924-25

Steinway Hall

113 West 57th Street, New York, NY

The sixteen-story Steinway Hall was constructed in 1924-25 to the design of architects Warren & Wetmore for Steinway & Sons, a piano manufacturing firm that has been a dominant force in its industry since the 1860s....

Commercial · 1914

Stewart & Company Building

404 5th Avenue, New York, NY

The Stewart & Company Building, designed by Warren and Wetmore, is one of the firm’s most unusual designs. The 1914 building reflects the unusual combination of diverse influences such as the 18th century British...

Commercial · 1845-46

Sun Building

280 Broadway, New York, NY

The Sun Building, originally the A.T. Stewart Store, is one of the most influential buildings erected in New York City during the 19th century. Its appearance in 1846 introduced a new architectural mode based on the...

Commercial · 1857-58

Swift, Seaman & Co. Building

122 Chambers Street, New York, NY

Erected in 1857-58 for Emily Jones, a daughter of the late Isaac Jones, third president of Chemical Bank, the Swift, Seaman & Co. Building at 122 Chambers Street extends through the block to 52 Warren Street. It is a...

Commercial · 1889-90

Temple Court Building & Annex

9 Beekman Street, New York, NY

The Temple Court Building and Annex consists of two connected structures on the designated Landmark Site. The nine-story (ten stories in certain portions) Temple Court Building was commissioned by Eugene Kelly, an...

Commercial · 1930-31

The Brill Building

1619 Broadway, New York, NY

Since its construction in 1930-31, the 11-story Brill Building has been synonymous with American music – from the last days of Tin Pan Alley to the emergence of rock and roll. Occupying the northwest corner of Broadway...

Commercial · 1880-81

The Century Building

33 East 17th Street, New York, NY

The Century Building is a rare surviving Queen Anne style commercial building in New York City. Designed by William Schickel and built in 1880-81, it has been a major presence in Union Square for over a century.

Commercial · 1928-30

The Chrysler Building

405 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY

William Van Alen designed the Chrysler Building for automobile manufacturer Walter P. Chrysler. Completed in 1930, it briefly held the world's height record before the Empire State Building overtook it in 1931. The...

Commercial · 1908

The Everett Building

45 East 17th Street, New York, NY

The Everett Building is a sixteen-story commercial structure located on the northwest corner of East 17th Street and Park Avenue South. Named for Union Square's nineteenth-century Everett Hotel, and built in 1908 for...

Commercial · 1929-31

The General Electric Building

570 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY

The General Electric Building, constructed in 1929-31 to create a highly visible image for the fledgling RCA Corporation, has a significant place in the history of architecture in New York City. Designed by the firm of...

Commercial · 1889-90

The Lincoln Building

3 Union Square West, New York, NY

A classic example of the layered arcade design solution, a solution in which New York pioneered, the Romanesque Revival Lincoln Building is representative of an important transitional phase in the history of tall...

Commercial · 1892-93

The Union Building (Former Decker Building)

33 Union Square West, New York, NY

An important example of the Moorish style (with Venetian touches), with a profusion of terra-cotta embellishment that enlivens and adds variety to the facade, the Union Building (originally known as the Decker Building)...

Commercial · 1902-04

The Whitehall Building

17 Battery Place, New York, NY

The twenty-story Whitehall Building, named for Peter Stuyvesant's seventeenth-century house that had been located nearby, was constructed in 1902-04 and designed by the preeminent turn-of-¬the-century architect Henry J....

Commercial · 1905-07

Trinity Building

111 Broadway, New York, NY

The Trinity Building, designed by Francis Hatch Kimball and built in 1905, with an addition of 1907, is among the first Gothic-inspired skyscrapers in New York. Kimball's sensitive adaptation of this historical style...

Commercial · 1907

U.S. Realty Building

115 Broadway, New York, NY

The U.S. Realty Building, designed by Francis Hatch Kimball and built in 1907, is among the first Gothic-inspired skyscrapers in New York. Kimball's sensitive adaptation of this historical style established a...

Commercial · 1903-04

Van Tassell & Kearney Auction Mart

128 East 13th Street, New York, NY

The former Van Tassell & Kearney auction mart is a three-story Beaux-Arts style building on the south side of East 13th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues.

Commercial · 1886-87

Webster Hall and Annex

125 East 11th Street, New York, NY

One of New York City’s most historically and culturally significant large nineteenth-century assembly halls, Webster Hall was constructed for Charles Goldstein in 1886-87, with an eastern Annex in 1892, to the designs...

Commercial · 1905-07

West Street Building

90 West Street, New York, NY

The West Street Building, one of three major Downtown office buildings designed by Cass Gilbert, was built in 1905-07 for the West Street Improvement Corporation, a partnership headed by Howard Carroll. Carroll was...

Commercial · 1928-30

Western Union Building

60 Hudson Street, New York, NY

The Western Union Building (1928-30), designed by Ralph Walker, one of New York's foremost architects of the period, is a recognized achievement in modernistic skyscraper design. The building is characteristic of a...

Commercial · 1927-28

Wheatsworth Bakery Building

444 East 10th Street, New York, NY

The Wheatsworth Bakery Building was constructed in 1927-28 to the designs of J. Edwin Hopkins, a specialist in the design of industrial bakeries. This Art Deco/Viennese Secessionist style factory building features a...

Commercial · 1865

Woods Mercantile Buildings

50 White Street, New York, NY

The Woods Merchantile Buildings at Nos. 46-50 White Street are handsome examples of mid-19th century commercial architecture. Built of marble with a cast-iron ground floor, these two buildings were designed as a single...

Commercial · 1911-13

Woolworth Building

233 Broadway, New York, NY

Cass Gilbert completed the Woolworth Building in 1913 for retailer F. W. Woolworth. Its Gothic ornament gave a modern commercial tower the appearance of a much older architectural tradition, earning it the enduring...

Commercial · 1931-32

Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) Building 135th Street (later Harlem) Branch

180 West 135th Street, New York, NY

The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) Building, 135th Street Branch, was constructed in 1931-32 according to plans prepared by the Architectural Bureau of the National Council of the YMCA and to the design and...

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