The Crown Building

 The Crown Building, at Fifth Avenue and 57th St.

It was built between 1920-22 by developer and philanthropist August Heckscher. The architecture firm was Warren & Wetmore, who designed several prominent New York buildings, including Grand Central Station.

Its French Renaissance facade is made of limestone, brick, and terracotta. In the 19802, 1,363 ounces of 23-karat gold leaf were added. It was one of the first buildings to meet the mandates of the 1916 zoning code, which required setbacks in tall buildings to allow light and air to reach the street.

In 1922, it towered over the wealthy mansions of 57th Street. Originally named the Heckscher Building, it was marketed as "The Tower of Trade." The gound floor featured shops and retail showrooms, with offices in the tower. Tenants included the publisher Alfred A. Knopf and Universal Pictures. The Museum of Modern Art held its first exhibition there.

Over the years, ownership changed hands. In 1981, Imelda Marcos, wife of the Phillipine Dictator, purchased the building behind a series of frontmen, including a Saudi Arabian arms dealer. It was renamed the Crown Building in 1983. Its ownership status was murky for many years after the Marcos regime collapsed. Today it continues to house luxury retailers on the ground floor, including Bulgari and Chanel, while the upper floors are the Aman New York hotel and luxury apartments.

The Knabe Building

 

This 11-story Beaux Arts building on the corner of 39th St. and Fifth Ave. was built in 1905-06 by Horace A. Hutchins, a businessman from Cleveland, Ohio. It was designed by the prominent architect C.P.H. Gilbert, who was primarily known for his mansions and townhouses for the wealthy class of Manhattan. I've drawn some of his Brooklyn townhouses, like this one and this one.

The ground floor and basement were leased to Knabe & Co., a piano manufacturer, for their showcase, and the building became known as the Knabe building. Other tenants included a book publisher, a real estate firm, the American Automobile Association, Mrs. Adeline Stanhop-Wheatcroft's "new Dramatic Studio," and the studio of photographer Edward S. Curtis, known for his documentation of the American West and Native Americans.

In 1928, Knabe & Co. moved to a new building further up Fifth Ave. The space was taken over by Ovington's, a retailer of high-end imported China. Ovington's hired architect Frank H. Hutton to modernize the building. Much of the ornament, decoration, and cast iron balcony railings were stripped away. In 2016, it was restored by Scott Henson Architecture.

History source: Daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com

No 35 West 54th St. - Walter Tower Rosen House

 

In the 1880s, the north side of West 54th St. was dominated by the large campus of St. Luke's Hospital. The rest of the area consisted of respectable, but not particularly extravagant, brownstone rowhouses built after the Civil War. That began to change as John D. Rockefeller and other wealthy elites began building mansions along Fifth Ave. In 1896, the hospital was demolished, making many lots available and leading to the rapid development of mansions for the wealthy.

No. 35 was built in the Italianate style, and was originally owned by businessman Edward Scheitlin, an importer of hosiery and gloves. Dr. Allan M. Thomas, who had developed a proto-incubator for infants, purchased it shortly after 1900 and gave it a makeover, replacing the facade with an up-to-date Beaux Arts facade of brick and limestone.

In 1916, it was purchased by Walter Tower Rosen. Rosen was a lawyer and a banker, and also a pianist and art collector. His wife, Lucie Bigelow Dodge, was also a musician and a patron of the arts. Among the artists they supported was the Russian inventor Leon Theremin, inventor of the eponymous instrument. Now known primarily for 1950s retro Sci Fi soundtracks, the theremin was originally intended as a concert instrument for avant-garde music. Lucie performed as a part of a 10-person ensemble of theminists at Carnegie Hall in 1930.

Walter Rosen died in 1951; Lucie in 1968. In 1977, the mansion was converted to apartments.

Star Wars Day 2026

 May the Fourth Be With You.