Express (New York City, New York)

 historic landmark, commercial building

4-story commercial building completed in 1926. Designed by Louis H. Friedland for Israel Miller, it housed the shoe merchants Times Square store. The design incorporates rich materials - limestone, marble and mosaic - and motifs from several different classically-inspired styles. Miller's shoe business was established in 1895, at first making shoes almost exclusively for the theatrical professions. His first retail store on Broadway opened in 1911, in an existing building. In 1920 he negotiated a long-term lease to take over the entirely of 1554 Broadway and the adjoining 1552 Broadway, and filed plans in 1926 (when he took over control of the properties) to join and completely renovate the structures, creating new facades on both Broadway and 46th Street.

Both facades have a 2-story base and 2-story upper section topped by a simple molded cornice and parapet. The Broadway facade has bronze framing around show-windows at the base, including rounded windows at the southwest corner. There are retail entrances at the center of the ground floor, and the piers and areas above and below the windows are clad in dark-grey/brown, richly-veined marble. The upper floors are faced in limestone, and hidden behind a 2-story, curving video board.

On 46th Street, the 2-story base is sheathed in limestone, with granite bases at the foot of the piers. The baseis divided into five bays by double-height segmental-arched window openings trimmed with grey marble moldings. The 2nd-floor windows retain their original tripartite metal surrounds, and the ground floor has large plate-glass show-windows. Circular decorations on the spandrels between the 2nd-floor arches draw attention to the inscriptions naming the actresses depicted by the four figures in the 3rd-floor niches.

The two upper floors are faced with stucco that has been scored and colored to match the limestone base. The 2-story arches that frame the 3rd- and 4th-floor windows have terra-cotta surrounds decorated with an anthemion motif. The windows retain their original tripartite metal frames and marble spandrel panels. There are slightly-rounded wrought-iron railings at the 3rd floor. The four niches between the windows at the 3rd floor have pedimented terra-cotta statues lined with gold mosaic. The statues, carved by Alexander S. Calder, rest on rounded stone bases. Reading east to west, they depict Ethel Barrymore as Ophelia, Marilyn Miller as Sunny, Mary Pickford as Little Lord Fauntleroy, and Rosa Ponselle as Norma. The actresses honored were chosen by a public vote in 1927, in the four categories of drama, comedy, opera and screen.

Capping the facade is an entablature and parapet. The architrave molding and cornice are terra-cotta; the frieze is scored stucco with applied bronze lettering reading "THE SHOW FOLKS SHOE SHOP DEDICATED TO BEAUTY IN FOOTWEAR". Similar lettering on the parapet reads "I. MILLER BUILDING". The parapet is coped with a terra-cotta molding and terra-cotta scrolls frame the corners of the center plaque.

The flat roof supports a 150-foot high LED video board installation that actually consists of seven screens with a total of 8,500 square feet. Previous billboards on the roof have existed since 1940.

Miller, who began his career as a designer and maker of shoes for theatrical productions, became a leading importer and manufacturer of shoes with a national chain of over 200 retail stores. The store on Broadway closed in the 1970s, and the building was later sold and reopened as a TGI Friday's restaurant in 1978. By the 2000s, the facade had fallen into disrepair, covered with soot and grime, and with cracks in the marble and statues.

The building was fully restored in 2013, when the modern video boards were installed, and the mosaics were conserved by EverGreene Architectural Arts. The ground floor is now occupied by Express apparel.

www.tpgarchitecture.com/portfolio/SL-Green-1552-1560-Br...
evergreene.com/projects/i-miller-building-mosaic/
s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2023.pdf