Microsoft Store (New York City, New York)

 store / shop, commercial building

6-story commercial building originally completed in 1920 on the site of the home of Cornelius "Neily" Vanderbilt III, great grandson of the "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, grandson of William Henry Vanderbilt and son of Cornelius Vanderbilt II. Designed by Rouse & Goldstone, the building replaced the older mansion and was known as the Cammeyer Building.

The building's previous tenant was Fendi. In 2015, the lower five floors were renovated with a completely new facade for Microsoft, who intended to open their own flagship store to rival Apple's. The brown and tan metal and stone facade was replaced with an airy, glass expanse framed by white panels. Set behind the glass at the 3rd-4th floors is a large array of geometric cubes in white, red, and amber, recessed to different levels. The 5th floor is obscured behind opaque pale-green glass.

The top floors remain unchanged. The 6th floor is clad in limestone, with three bays of windows alternating with black iron ornament below short cornice sections that are broken by rounded pediments atop each window, each of which has a spike final at its apex. The top floor has a sloped copper mansard roof with four skylight-style windows set into it, between the pediments extending up from the 6th floor.

The Microsoft store occupies five levels of the building and spans 22,269 square feet. The first two focus on Microsoft Windows devices (plus laptops from other OEMs), along with plenty of Xbox gear. On the second floor is the Answer Desk, Microsoft's answer for Apple's Genius Bar, where customers can get technical help and general troubleshooting assistance. Not far from the Answer Desk is the theater, with two giant-sized screens on each side that can be used for workshops, product training, and community events. The 3rd floor is exclusively dedicated to showcasing devices from Dell and its Alienware gaming business.

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