Spero Building (New York City, New York)

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150-foot, 12-story Art-Noveau office building completed in 1908. Designed by Robert D. Kohn as a store-and-loft building, the facade is of limestone and buff-colored brick. The ground floor contains entrances at each end with modern metal and glass doors supporting incised stone panels reading "SPERO BUILDING" resting on consoles. The three center bays, articulated by stone piers on grey marble bases, contain boldly projecting display windows. The 2nd floor contains narrow window openings at each end, flanking three bays each containing projecting display windows supported by stone blocks and capped by metal roofs. These windows support the tripartite steel sash windows of the 3rd floor, which are flanked by stylized leaf forms capping stone piers. Each
3rd-floor bay is crowned by a stone segmental-arch.

Floors 4-10 are faced in buff-colored brick. Each window in the recessed end bays is crowned by a segmental-arch; all are set under a relieving arch at the 9th floor. Each of the three center bays contains three openings separated by brick mullions. The 10th-floor windows are topped by marble lintels recessed within segmental-arches. These are flanked by painted metal brackets supporting the narrow piers of the 11th & 12th floors. Each bay is flanked by stylized stone leaf forms like those on the 3rd floor.

The 11th & 12th floors are articulated by double-height buff-colored brick piers. The double-height window openings terminate in segmental-arches. The windows are separated by metal spandrel panels with raised lozenges. Six piers rising above the roof line terminate in pointed arches with stone detail; those on each end rise to form gables containing circular openings. The piers are flanked by a dentiled stone cornice punctuated by stone brackets.

The building was named after David Spero, the original owner, who was a millinery goods wholesaler. This building housed embroiderers, shirtwaist merchants, and cloak and suit merchants during the early part of the 20th century. The ground floor is occupied by Abracadabra magic shop, and Exhale Core Fusion fitness studio.