Coty Building
Coty Building | |
---|---|
General information | |
Location | Manhattan |
Address | 714 Fifth Avenue |
Town or city | New York City |
Coordinates | 40°45′44″N 73°58′29″W / 40.76222°N 73.97472°W |
Named for | François Coty |
Groundbreaking | 1871 |
Renovated | 1907 1990 |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 6 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Woodruff Leeming |
Known for | René Lalique Windows |
Renovating team | |
Architect(s) | Beyer Blinder Belle |
New York City Landmark | |
Designated | January 29, 1985[1]: 1 |
Reference no. | 1534[1]: 1 |
The Coty Building is a building at 714
Built as a
Architecture
The design of the Coty Building's six-story
There are five vertical bays of windows, separated by thin vertical steel mullions. The general articulation remains unchanged from its original construction, although the original casement windows were removed and replaced with windows by René Lalique.[1]: 6 These windows comprise the only documented Lalique architectural work in the United States.[2] Each bay consists of a multi-paned casement separated by a transom. The central bays contain clear glass, though decorative glass is located in the side bays. There is an arched, scallop-shaped pediment with small brackets above the third floor. Each pane is about 0.5 inches (13 mm) thick, surrounded by metal frames; the exterior of each frame is raised.[1]: 6 There are 276 panes in total, each measuring 14 by 14 inches (360 mm × 360 mm).[3]
The third- through fifth-story facade contains intertwining vine and flower designs, which according to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission are tulips. The top floor is set off by a modillioned cornice with console brackets supporting a balustrade. The sloping metal-covered roof with its arched dormers allowed the building to harmonize with its neighbors.[1]: 5–6
Originally, 714 Fifth Avenue contained a storefront on its ground story and offices on the other stories. During the development of the skyscraper at 712 Fifth Avenue in the late 1980s, all of the original interiors were removed.[4] A four-story atrium was installed behind the facade of the Coty Building.[5][6][7] A 79,000-square-foot (7,300 m2) Henri Bendel store was built on the lower stories of the atrium.[7][8] The store was designed with iron-railed balconies surrounding the atrium,[7] and it was arranged so all stories of the building could have a direct view of the atrium.[9]
History
Early and mid-20th century
By the first decade of the 20th century, owner and real estate investor Charles A. Gould, foreseeing the neighborhood shift from residential to commercial use, wished to replace the facade of the brownstone. Consequently, in 1907, architect Woodruff Leeming was hired to remodel the house.[1]: 5 [13] Donald M. Mitchell received the general contract to remodel the town house, A side extension was to be erected at the rear, one story was to be added over the main building, and the interior would be renovated with electric lighting, an electric passenger elevator, partitions, and plumbing fixtures.[13] The Real Estate Record and Guide wrote in December 1908 that the remodeled building had "a maximum of light and air on each floor, the general composition being good and at the same time securing the effect of proper supports for the upper stories by means of the side piers carried all the way down to the sidewalk level".[14]
In 1910, the building was leased to perfumer François Coty, who used it as the U.S. headquarters of Coty. Coty commissioned jeweler and glass maker René Lalique to design a wall of glass windows. Lalique created a Art Nouveau-style composition of panes of glass decorated with flower vines, large enough to go from the third through fifth floors.[1]: 4 The renovated building hosted exhibitions such as a 1910 exhibit to spread awareness of tuberculosis,[15] as well as a 1914 benefit for the Committee of Mercy.[16] Around 1921, Shoecraft Inc. leased some space in the building, where it remained for twenty years.[17] In 1926, Coty moved the company's offices to 423 West 55th Street, retaining only the company showroom at 714 Fifth Avenue. The sixth floor was then leased to photographer Jay T. E. Winburn,[18][19] while the fifth floor was leased to tailor Berkley R. Merwin Inc.[20][21]
The building was owned by Gould until his death in 1926. His estate auctioned off its properties in January 1927, during which the building was purchased by Robert E. Dowling for $710,000.[22][23] Coty's original lease extended until 1931 and was renewed until 1951. However, Coty Inc. remained at 714 Fifth Avenue only until 1941, when it moved the showroom to 423 West 55th Street.[1]: 5 Also in 1941, Fareco Inc. bought the building from Dowling's City Investing Company for $675,000.[24][25] The sale was made on behalf of the Coty interests.[25] Women's apparel firm Kargere Inc. took the ground-floor storefront and the basement space in 1942.[26]
Harry Winston then owned the building until 1964, when the Transportation Corporation of America acquired it.
Preservation
In 1983, developer David S. Solomon began planning a 44-story office skyscraper at the southwest corner of 56th Street and Fifth Avenue. Since neither the Coty Building nor the adjacent Rizzoli Building at 712 Fifth Avenue were designated as official landmarks, he intended to replace them.[4] The owners of Steadsol Fifth Associates, a consortium of which Solomon was part, bought both buildings in 1984 with the intent of demolishing them.[32] 714 Fifth Avenue's owner agreed to sell his structure in return for a stake in the new skyscraper.[31] The grimy windows caught the attention of architectural historian Andrew Dolkart, who found that the Coty Building's windows were the only documented architectural work by René Lalique in the United States.[33] The Municipal Art Society advocated for the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to give the building official-landmark status,[4] and both were designated in early 1985.[34][35]
Due to a lack of communication between the New York City Department of Buildings and the Landmarks Preservation Commission, alteration permits for the Coty and Rizzoli Buildings were initially approved in spite of the designations.[36] The Coty and Rizzoli Buildings were given 24-hour police protection because of fears they could be demolished.[37] Steadsol Fifth Associates later had its alteration permits for the Coty Building revoked.[38] The Landmarks Preservation Commission also approved a Certificate of Appropriateness that allowed the new skyscraper, 712 Fifth Avenue, to be erected behind the existing buildings. The skyscraper thus had to be built with the Coty Building at its base, incorporating the old facades in the design.[39] Steadsol Fifth Associates, which was developing the skyscraper, had its alteration permits for the Coty Building revoked following the landmark designations.[38]
Over the years, the building's Lalique windows had gradually become covered by grime.[4] In 1986, the Greenland Studio in Manhattan removed all 276 panels from the facade for renovation.[3] Of these, 46 panels were replaced with replicas made by Jon Smiley Glass Studios in Philadelphia. In 1990, Beyer Blinder Belle restored the facade for the opening of Henri Bendel's flagship store in New York City. Inside, the former Coty offices were removed and the atrium was added.[4] Further restoration occurred in 2000, after water erosion had caused some of the steel frames to expand, cracking ten panes.[40] One author wrote, "This type of hybrid preservation [...] with a balance between development and preservation is politically and economically essential in modern cities."[41] The Henri Bendel store behind the Coty Building's facade closed at the end of 2018,[42][43] and jeweler Harry Winston leased the space in 2020.[44][45]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "714 Fifth Avenue" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. January 29, 1985. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- ^ Stained Glass:A Journal Devoted to the Craft of Painted and Stained Glass. Vol. 86. Stained Glass Association of America. 1991.
- ^ from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- ^ from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- ISBN 978-1-4200-3701-2. Archivedfrom the original on July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
- ^ a b c Bussel, Abby (June 1991). "The New Henri Bendel: Paris in New York" (PDF). Progressive Architecture. Vol. 72. p. 30. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
- ^ Gaskie, Margaret (June 1992). "Double Play" (PDF). Architectural Record. Vol. 180. p. 91. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
- from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- OCLC 40023003.
- ^ "Mr. Edward Harriman..." (PDF). The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide. Vol. 79, no. 2038. April 6, 1907. p. 296. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2020 – via columbia.edu.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
- ^ a b "Donald M. Mitchell to Alter a Gould Residence". The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide. Vol. 80, no. 2068. November 2, 1907. p. 700. Archived from the original on July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021 – via columbia.edu.
- ^ "Individual Examples". The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide. Vol. 82, no. 2127. December 19, 1908. p. 1200. Archived from the original on July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021 – via columbia.edu.
- from the original on July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
- from the original on July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
- from the original on July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
- ProQuest 1112982705.
- ProQuest 103758833.
- ProQuest 1112681343.
- ProQuest 103701598.
- ProQuest 1113509137.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
- from the original on July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
- ^ ProQuest 1320041696.
- ProQuest 106361382.
- ^ from the original on July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
- ProQuest 132931111.
- ProQuest 148006714.
- ProQuest 123840871.
- ^ from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-470-28963-1.
- from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- ^ Shepard, Joan (March 15, 1985). "Landmark Designation for B. Altman". New York Daily News. p. 1272. Retrieved December 3, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
- ^ Shepard, Joan (February 13, 1985). "Developers' lust decried". New York Daily News. p. 119. Archived from the original on June 6, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2021 – via newspapers.com .
- ^ from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- ^ Marciano, Tracy A. (October 31, 2016). "René Lalique's windows saved this Fifth Avenue building from destruction in the 1980s". 6sqft. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- ISBN 9780471362579. Archivedfrom the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- ^ Rizzi, Nicholas (September 14, 2018). "Henri Bendel, Including Fifth Avenue Flagship, Closing". Commercial Observer. Archived from the original on December 30, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
- ^ "After 123 years, Henri Bendel is closing. And it's leaving a lot of retail space behind". The Real Deal New York. September 14, 2018. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- ^ Jones, Orion (October 29, 2020). "Paramount Group Third Quarter Earnings 2020". The Real Deal New York. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
- ^ Geiger, Daniel (February 25, 2021). "The world's priciest shopping street is in shambles, and one hint is Ralph Lauren's $27 million feud with its NYC landlord". Business Insider. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
Further reading
- Dolkart, Andrew Scott (1984). The Coty Building (714 Fifth Avenue) and the Windows of René Lalique. Municipal Art Society.
- Costonis, John J. (1989). Icons and Aliens: Law, Aesthetics, and Environmental Change. University of Illinois Press. p. 73. ISBN 9780252015533.
- The New Yorker (1991). Coty building. Vol. 67. F-R Publishing Corporation. p. 101.