144 Fifth Avenue | commercial building

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5-story Italianate mercantile building originally completed in 1851 as a 4-story townhouse. In 1872 it was altered for commercial use, and a 5th floor erected. It is constructed of brick faced in brownstone, now painted over in a cream color. A 3-story storefront, a typical alteration within the district, has been added for commercial use at the1st, 2nd & 3rd floors. The ground-floor shopfront is of recent date, but that at the 2nd and 3rd floors appears to retain many of its early 20th-century metal elements: paneled pilasters, spandrels and cornices.The panels between the 3rd-floor windows read "ONE HUNDRED FORTY FOUR' and "FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK" in sinuous Art-Nouveau style lettering, and there are brown egg-and-dart moldings around the windows. The original bracketed metal roof cornice remains. A silver metal fire escape covering the two southern bays has been added from the 2nd-4th floors. The ground floor is occupied by Mejuri jewelry, with the 2nd floor occupied by a psychic.