97 Fifth Avenue

 apartment building, 1898_construction, Renaissance Revival (architecture)

104-foot, 8-story Renaissance-revival residential building completed in 1898. Designed by Robert Maynicke as a stores-and-loft building, the facades are clad in brick (painted grey) with terra-cotta trim. The Fifth Avenue facade is articulated by coursed brick piers rising to the 3rd floor capped by cartouches, and plain brick piers culminating in terra-cotta Corinthian capitals at the 7th floor. These piers flank one bay of four windows at each floor. The ground floor has a modern plate glass and stone veneer storefront. The 1st and 3rd floors are surmounted by terra-cotta entablatures with classical moldings; the 3rd-floor cornice is highlighted by dentils and a wave molding. An egg and dart string course surmounts the 7th floor. Terra-cotta spandrel panels ornamented with foliated sprays and cartouches separate the floors. Each bay contains four windows separated by spiraled mullions. The arcaded 8th floor has round-arched windows separated by short piers and topped by fluted keystones. The arches are intersected by a molded string course. The building is capped by a modillioned brown iron cornice.

The longer East 17th Street facade has the same overall design and articulation of detail as the Fifth Avenue facade, but it is five bays wide with tripartite windows in each bay. The ground floor has a 1-bay return of the Fifth Avenue storefront, and plate glass windows topped by modern stucco infill in the other bays, separated by coursed brick piers. The end bays project slightly. Two iron fire escapes are suspended from the facade. The eastern elevation above the short neighboring building is clad in red brick, without windows.

Early tenants of the building included cloak and suit merchants, upholsterers, and a piano dealer. It was converted to residential in 1977, with eight apartments per floor. The ground floor is occupied by Intimissimi/Calzedonia lingerie.