Monday, November 13, 2023 – A WONDERFUL RENOVATION OF A FIFTH AVENUE BUILDING

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FROM THE ARCHIVES

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13,  2023

604 Fifth Avenue
Wraps Up Renovation Work
In Midtown, Manhattan
ISSUE  #1123

YIMBY

604 Fifth Avenue. Photo by Michael Young

BY: MICHAEL YOUNG AND MATT PRUZNICK 7:30 AM ON MARCH 6, 2023

Renovation work is complete on 604 Fifth Avenue, a six-story commercial building in Midtown, Manhattan. Designed by William Van Alen, architect of the Chrysler Building, the 65-foot-tall structure opened as the Childs Building in 1924 and most recently housed an 18,000-square-foot TGI Fridays. Japanese confectioner Minamoto Kitchoan purchased the property from The Riese Organization for $45 million in April 2021 for its new flagship store. Andrew Pettit Architect was the designer and Cross Management Corp. was the general contractor for the interior and exterior renovation project, which is located between East 48th and 49th Streets.

Recent photos show the new façade composed of light-hued stone with a symmetrical grid of windows replete with red awnings and decorative black metal railings. The exterior features numerous ornamental flourishes, including thick banding between the floors and a half-moon motif below the trapezoidal cornice. Three flag poles extend from the third story, and two pairs of up-firing spotlights will illuminate the edges of the exterior at night. Some plastic barriers remain in front of the property as interior work wraps up on the ground-floor frontage, but should be removed in the coming weeks.

The Most Ugly Building on Fifth Avenue was an appropriate title for this building, luckily now reborn

604 Fifth Avenue. Photo via Google Maps

604 Fifth Avenue has remained standing for nearly a century as many surrounding properties were torn down to make way for taller developments, including the Rockefeller Center complex to the north, and skyscrapers like 520, 570, and 665 Fifth Avenue. 604 Fifth Avenue was never designated as a historical landmark, allowing for the redesign to proceed without intervention from the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Nevertheless, the outcome features a classic aesthetic evocative of prewar New York architecture.

The original design of 604 Fifth Avenue

For years the Friday’s facade was an eyesore on Fifth Avenue and we are glad that the appropriate renovation of the building will be a vast improvement.

MONDAY  PHOTO OF THE DAY

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WEEKEND  PHOTO

When the actors strike was settled, the Silvercup sign
has been lit up nightly
Silvercup Studios building in Long Island City, Queens, adjacent to the Queensboro Bridge.  Was formerly the bakery for Silvercup bread, which I remember from the 1950s and 1960s, Andy Sparberg
David Jacoby also got it right

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