347 Fifth Avenue (New York City, New York)

 office building  Add category

204-foot, 16-story Beaux-Arts office building completed in 1908. Designed by Maynicke & Franke, its main facade is tripartite in design, with a 4-story limestone base, 8-story brown brick midsection, and 4-story limestone crown. There were originally twin entrances at the ends, but the southern one has been remodeled into additional storefront space. The main entrance in the north bay has glass doors slightly recessed in a stone frame; at the top are two scrolled keystones and a cornice that sets back at the ends. Above the cornice, the 2nd floor has an elaborate swagged cartouche within a rounded pediment atop a pair of windows. They are separated by a carved pilaster, and flanked by fruit garlands. A matching grouping is located at the southern bay. At the 3rd floor are plain paired windows in both end bays, which are rusticated. The middle section has dark-green cast-iron infill, with a wide center section projecting forward, with angled side panes, and recessed end windows. Between each floor are dentiled and patterned iron spandrels. The transitional 4th floor is framed by band courses, and clad in stone, with five bays of paired windows.

The brick shaft also has five bays of paired windows, with stone sills and flat stone lintels. At the end bays there are carved foliate panels below the windows. The 12th floor has a projecting stone balcony carried on a pair of scrolled brackets at the center bay, and there are two more such balconies on the flanking bays on the 10th floor.

Stone cornices set off the top and bottom of the 13th floor, which has elaborate stone ornament on the brick piers that grows wider at the top of the floor. The pier between each paired window is topped by a large scrolled bracket, supporting the upper cornice. The top three floors have five bays of cast-iron framed windows, recessed at the ends where they angle forward to projecting center panes. Each bay is separated by a 3-story fluted column with ornate capitals. There are also molded iron spandrels between floors. An intricate stone frieze underscores the black iron roof cornice that has large brackets and modillions.

The south elevation is clad in reddish-brown brick, and has a light court near the center. There are two bays of single-windows on either side of the light court, which is spanned by iron joists every few floors. Windows also line the interior walls of the light court. The 13th & 15th floors each have an additional window at the front of the building, and the 16th floor has an extra window at the rear. The north elevation is clad in the same brick, with two bays of single-windows. The is a metal fire escape on the brick rear facade. The ground floor is occupied by a ETC Eatery.