36 West 48th Street

 commercial building  Add category

5-story mercantile building completed sometime around 1880. The beige smooth-stuccoed facade is recessed from the building line, except for the small, modern, ground floor extension of metal and glass that contains a restaurant entrance. On either side, stairways lined by granite sidewalls lead to a 2nd-floor restaurant storefront of wood, metal and glass with a sloped tile roof awning (at the east), and a door to the upper floors (at the west).

The upper floors each have three bays of single-windows with black-painted full stone surrounds, including cornices. A black metal fire escape runs down the west two bays, and over the east bay is suspended on metal framing a vertical, projecting sign. The facade is crowned by a black metal roof cornice with brackets, panels, and modillions. The ground floor is occupied by Five Guys Burgers, and the 2nd floor by Wu Liang Ye Sichuan Restaurant.