Bryant Park Studios

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131-foot, 12-story Beaux-Arts office building completed in 1901. Designed by Charles A. Rich, was one of the earliest buildings in New York specifically designed to house artists’ studios. The building's location across from Bryant Park and its generous windows with northern exposures made it aptly suited for this purpose. It is clad in salmon-colored brick and rusticated terra-cotta.

Both main facades have a tripartite organization. The north facade on 40th Street is five bays wide, and the west facade on the avenue has three main bays. The 2-story base is faced with terra-cotta, grooved to simulate rusticated stone; each of the three center bays contains a double-height archway. The central one functions as the main entrance, fitted with a modern plate-glass door. An elaborate cartouche decorates the keystone, and there is a decorative molding around the central arch as well. The western one is partially covered by the ground-floor storefront. At the 2nd floor the top sections of all three arches can be seen, with decorative curving patterns of mullions. The two outermost bays at this level contain broad, segmental-arched windows with metal sash. A simple stone cornice surmounts the 2nd floor at the outermost bays while the center three bays are topped by an elaborate stone balcony on heavy brackets, with a stone railing of swags and foliate designs. Heavy volutes form the keystones.

Another narrow stone cornice separates this floor from those above. The next five floors comprise the main section of the building. Narrow balconies on ornate brackets adorn all but the center bay. The two outermost bays are defined by continuous brick piers. The large windows of this bay are unified by stone enframements, punctuated at the 4th & 7th floors by small balconies with ornate metal railings. At floors 4 & 5, the center bay is subdivided into two narrow windows, while the broader windows on each side are grouped under a 2-story, pedimented stone enframement. The three center bays at the 6th, 7th & 8th floors are slightly recessed. A continuous stone sill joins the windows of the 6th floor while those above have separate sills. Brick bands link these windows, which are crowned by terra-cotta splayed lintels and volute keystones.

Marking a transition to the top section of the building, the 8th-floor windows are segmental-arched, topped by a strongly projecting cornice on heavy brackets and modillions blocks. This cornice supports a small balcony with a metal railing. In this section, the two outermost bays have brick piers which continue from below and flank the plain, square-headed windows surmounting small doorways. The slightly-recessed central section includes two narrow windows in the center bay, separated from two large outside windows by broad pilasters with ornate capitals. Another floor, comprised of a bank of windows and recessed even further, tops this central section. Originally, a large angled skylight was placed above this, while elaborate antefixes crowned the areas to each side. The 1923 roof alteration added a mansard with a large inset window at the west and removed the antefixes. More recently a large central skylight has been taken off. Currently, a modern railing caps the building.

The ground floor on the avenue side was always used for retail purposes, but the original configuration has been altered for modern storefronts. The rest of this elevation is intact including the several blind windows at the north end. The 2nd floor is three bays wide and faced in grooved terra-cotta. The outer bays contain large, segmental-arched windows, while the central bay has three narrow windows, each topped by a large volute. Above a simple cornice, the banded 3rd floor has square-headed windows. The larger, outer windows and the three narrow central windows are each topped by splayed lintels and volutes.

The main section of this facade rises from the 4th-10th floors. At the 4th & 5th floors the two outside windows are joined by a double-height pedimented stone enframement. The three narrow windows of the central bay are topped by splayed lintels and volutes. The next three floors are identical, with a 1-5-1 arrangement of narrow windows with splayed lintels. The 9th & 10th floors continue the same window arrangement with smaller windows. The windows of the 10th floor are plain, flanked by elaborate brackets supporting the cornice above.

The top two floors continue the window rhythm. At the 11th floor the windows have splayed lintels and volutes while those of the 12th floor are unadorned. Two central windows have been joined in a modern treatment. Above the final cornice the mansard roof alteration appears, including a square fenestrated brick section to the south. An original brick chimney is located to the north.

Throughout its history the Bryant Park Studios Building has been home to many well-known artists. Many lesser known artists made their homes there as well as those employed in other pursuits, such as doctors, dentists, and photographers. More recently, the building has housed mostly women's apparel showrooms and designers. The ground floor is occupied by Ole & Steen restaurant, and Alice and Olivia by Stacy Bendet apparel.