7 Penn Plaza (New York City, New York)

 office building, high-rise, Neoclassical (architecture), 1920_construction

243-foot, 17-story Neo-Classical office building completed in 1920. Designed by Sommerfeld & Steckler, it was originally known as the Holmes Building, then later as simply 370 Seventh Avenue, and now officially uses the pseudo-address 7 Penn Plaza. It is clad in tan brick above a 3-story limestone base. The east facade has nine bays, while the north and south sides span five bays.

The stone piers have simple stylized capitals; each bay has three windows above the ground floor. The main entrance is in the center bay on 7th Avenue, covered by a suspended iron marquee. The rest of the bays have storefronts with large plate-glass show windows, except for freight entrance with roll-down metal gates at the western bays on 30th & 31st Streets. Art-Deco style light fixtures are attached to the piers between storefronts. The 2nd & 3rd floors have dark-brown cast-iron infill, with paneled pilasters and spandrels. There are gold swags below each spandrel. Above each pier is a simple circle decoration, and the base is capped by a dentiled cornice.

The 4th floor has stone panels on the piers and a cornice on top. The upper floors have individual stone sills on the three windows in each bay, and another cornice caps the 14th floor. The 15th & 16th floors have limestone piers, projected forward at the centers, with stylized capitals. The spandrels between these two floors are paneled stone, and there are stone panels above the 16th floor, just below the main roof line. The 17th floor is recessed above.

The west facade is mostly clad in red brick; there are tan brick areas around the edges, above and below the 4th floor, above the 14th floor, and at the roof line, where there are modern replacement windows. A small light court splits the facade into two halves. The interior walls of the light court are tan brick, with single-windows, and a fire escape.

The ground floor is occupied by Smashburger, Starbucks coffee, Oakberry Acai, Sweetgreen restaurant, Naya Middle Eastern Grill, and Sticky's Finger Joint.

hdc.org/buildings/penn-terminal-building/