History and architecture
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 palaces of the Italian Renaissance. Designed by the New York architects, Joseph Trench and John B. Snook, it was built by one of the century's greatest merchants, Alexander Turney Stewart. Within its marble walls, Stewart began the city's first department store, a type of commercial enterprise which was to have a great effect on the city's economic growth and which would change the way of merchandising in this country.
The image the building conveyed, that of a Renaissance palace, reflected a new, more conspicuous, image on the part of the city's wealthy merchants and captured the imagination of the public. The building set a style and form for mercantile buildings that lasted into the 20th century. Thus the Sun Building is an important milestone in the development of American architecture and a dignified memorial to one of the city's most respected 19th-century businessmen, A.T.
Stewart.
Sources and further reading
This history comes from the Landmarks app’s historical catalog. Names and building uses may reflect the period described.