Fuller Building (New York City, New York)

 office building, skyscraper, Art Deco (architecture), commercial building

492-foot. 40-story Art-Deco/Moderne office building completed in 1929. Designed by Walker & Gillette for the Fuller Construction Company, the exterior features architectural sculpture by Elie Nadelman, and the interior has richly decorated vestibules and lobbies featuring marble walls, bronze detailing, and mosaic floors. The lower floors were designed to be used by art galleries, several of whom (like Pierre Matisse Gallery) were located here before the art scene moved to Soho before moving to Chelsea. (The Cohen Amador and Howard Greenberg photography galleries are still located here.) Other tenants include many Antique stores, art galleries and several smaller and specialised Auction houses.

The main entrance is on 57th Street, with another entrance on Madison Avenue. The first six floors are set apart from the rest of the building by a facing of black Swedish granite. Above, the building is clad in light limestone with geometric patterns of black slate. 15 stories with various setbacks rise above the lowest section while a 19-story tower finishes the scheme.

On the 57th Street facade the black granite section is eight bays wide. The main entrance is located in the 4th bay from the west and rises through four floors. At the first level, the main entrance is recessed from the street and consists of four doors of glass framed with polished brass. A wide bronze lintel that runs across all the doors is decorated with four large bronze diamonds filled with 3-dimensional star designs. These diamonds are linked by horizontal moldings. The area above the doors is filled with glass that is subdivided by bronze mullions into four large sections with three narrow ones between them. A small, bronze, stepped panel is inset in the center of this glass overdoor. In front of these is a large light fixture of white glass and brass topped by an elongated eagle.

In the area above the doors a large, 2-story opening contains small, squared windows framed by black metal mullions. The deep reveals to each side of these windows are adorned with thin black vertical lines topped by narrow triangles. Above this is a large lintel at the 4th floor; here the name "FULLER BUILDING" is boldly set in limestone letters against black granite, and is crowned by a limestone sculpture by Elie Nadelman. It depicts two bare-chested figures of construction workers with a collection of skyscrapers forming a city skyline behind them. Between the two figures is a large, hexagonally-framed clock. Piers of limestone inset with vertical lines of black granite rise on each side of the entrance opening, stopping just below the lintel where each is topped by a group of intersecting black and white triangles.

To each side of the entrance on the ground floor there are storefronts framed in bronze. The next four floors above are unified by continuous black granite piers with limestone reveals that rise up and over the top of the 5th-floor windows. The spandrels of these floors are slightly recessed and faced with dark bronze panels that are adorned with incised designs of a continuous wave pattern broken by inverted ziggurats. A limestone frieze in a modified Greek key motif is inset into the black stone between the 5th & 6th floors, while four large flagpoles also emerge at an angle at this level. The granite continues around and above the 6th floor with light limestone reveals around the windows and groups of horizontal lines incised into the piers between the windows. Throughout these six floors each bay contains a large central display window, surrounded on three sides by smaller, square panes of glass.

Above the 6th floor there is a dramatic shift from base to shaft. The light stone cladding is accented by black stone highlights and a complicated series of setbacks begins, which leads to the slender tower emerging at the 21st floor. On the 7th-16th floors five wide bays, each containing four windows, are centered above the main entrance. A slightly projecting sill and lintel line is carried across this entire section giving it a horizontal emphasis. To each side, set back slightly from the main plane of the building, is a narrow section with single-windows and continuous vertical piers. These side sections are set back at the 11th, 13th, & 15th floors; each setback is capped by geometric patterns of tan and black stone, set flush with the facade.

An additional section containing two narrow bays is located on the eastern side of this facade. This portion has setbacks at the 10th, 13th, & 15th floors and has little decorative treatment at the top. It blends with the setbacks at the 16th & 17th floors, but rises no further.

Above the 15th floor, setbacks occur at the 16th, 17th, 19th, 20th, & 21st floors. The center section with its wide bays continues with three bays at the 16th floor. Above this all windows are set in single bays. A narrow section, two bays wide, projects from the center of the facade on the 17th-20th floors. This section has a vertical emphasis with continuous vertical piers and recessed spandrels. A geometric design in black stone is inlaid above the lintels of the 20th floor and black slabs finish the piers. The rest of the facade at these floors continues the horizontal patterns of the lower floors with continuous sill and lintel courses.

The upper tower is six bays wide on 57th Street. The two central bays are accentuated by wide projecting piers at either side; the two window bays themselves are separated by a slender pier. The spandrels between the piers are slightly recessed. There are two bays on either side of this central section and they have continuous sill and lintel courses that wrap around the corners to join those on the other sides of the tower. The decorative emphasis of black stone starts again near the top of the tower. Between the 36th & 39th floors the central piers are enhanced by horizontal bands of various widths, inlaid in the stone. The spandrels of this central section are decorated with black vertical lines at the 36th- & 37th-floor level. At the 38th floor, a balcony two bays wide projects from the central area. Above this, at the 39th floor, a large, black and white sunburst motif surrounds a circular window and fills the two central bays. Setbacks capped by wide black bands occur at the 38th & 40th levels. Above the 40th floor the roof line contains several more setbacks to accommodate the mechanical equipment. Large friezes of black and white triangles and zigzags occur on the 40th floor and on the smaller areas above this.

The Madison Avenue facade is similar to that on 57th Street. The dark base if four bays wide with the entrance in the northernmost bay. It consists of a glass double-door and transom framed in brass with the words "FULLER BUILDING" carved in limestone above it. Next to the doorway is a service elevator, with a brass door adorned with plain hexagonal panels. The storefronts on this facade match those on the south facade. The lowest six floors have the same arrangement and decorative treatment as those on 57th Street as well.

Above this base, setbacks occur only at the southern corner, blending with those on the south facade. The two bays closest to the south corner are recessed slightly with continuous vertical piers. Setbacks in this section occur at the 11th, 13th, & 15th floors, after which these bays terminate. The northern side of the facade rises without setbacks from the 7th-15th floors. The main section of these floors has the same horizontal treatment as on 57th Street, with wide window bays and continuous sill and lintel courses. At the 16th floor this horizontal section is only three bays wide with recessed areas to each side. From the 17th-19th floors a narrow section emerges from the center of the facade, treated just like the one on 57th Street. Above this however, two more levels of setbacks (at the 20th & 21st floors) emerge, each capped by wide stone bands. A shallow section, two bays wide, is also located to each side of this central area. Above the setbacks, the tower on the avenue side is identical to that on 57th Street.

The eastern, mid-block facade is faced in 2-tone brick for the first 17 floors. The base abuts the hotel to the east; although some of the floors above are visible, only the upper tower of this elevation is treated as a main facade. The windows of the central section are unadorned and the facing consists of horizontal and vertical bands of yellow brick set against a darker brick background. Above the 17th floor, the tower facade is faced in limestone. The setbacks, projections, and dark stone ornament of the tower are identical to those on the Madison Avenue facade.

The north facade is not visible for the first five floors. Above, it is faced with 2-tone brick with few windows until the tower starts at the 21st floor. Limestone facing begins in an irregular pattern between the 17th & 21st floors. Setbacks on the lower section accord with those on its adjoining sides. The tower is similar, but not identical to the other facades. Three projecting vertical piers are centered on this facade and rise through its height; however, the areas between the piers are faced with brick and have no windows. To each side of these piers are two bays with continuous sills and lintels. At the top of the tower there is no balcony as on the other facades. Instead, at the 39th & 40th floors the areas between the piers are inset with dark, geometric patterns. A sunburst motif similar to those on the other sides is located above this, but there is no window at the center.

The 18th floor is occupied by the corporate offices of Tom Ford International, the luxury clothing brand. The ground floor on the west side is occupied by Fendi fashion & accessories, with additional space on the 2nd & 3rd floors. The ground floor on the east side is occupied by Christofle cutlery store, Berluti boots, and Stefano Ricci boutique, with David Benrimon Fine Art on the 2nd floor.