Townsend Building (New York City, New York) | office building

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165-foot, 12-story Neo-Classical office building completed in 1897. Designed by Cyrus L.W. Eidlitz for the estate of Isaac Townsend, it is clad in limestone. Isaac Townsend, who inherited the building from his father of the same name, was part owner of The New York Herald, and a founder of the Racquet and Tennis Club of New York and the New York Athletic Club. The Townsend Building was constructed to attract members of the building trade. Numerous architects had offices here, including the building's designer.

The building has a chamfered corner at Broadway and West 25th, with a 2-story base of rusticated stone topped by a projecting molding containing dentils and scrolled brackets. It is five bays wide on Broadway, where there is a central entryway and elaborate surround, non-historic glass doors, bracketed hood, and lintel with incised lettering "Townsend Building". The southern storefronts retain their original cast-iron-framed transoms with leaded glass above them. At the top of the 2nd floor the piers have egg-and-dart moldings, and there is a dentiled and modillioned cornice over the base on both facades. The 25th Street side spans eight bays, with similar detail to that on Broadway. The westernmost bay has a recessed service entry in a hooded portico, with a small window above it, instead of the larger double-windows found in the other bays.

The 3rd floor is also rusticated, but more lightly, and has a band course on top. The upper floors feature projecting window sills and molded hoods, projecting moldings, carved panels, and pilasters. From the 3rd floor up, the end bays (and the chamfered corner bay) have single-windows while all the rest have paired windows. Another band course crosses the base of the 11th floor. The building is crowned by a bracketed green copper roof cornice with dentils. The ground floor is occupied by All'Antico Vinaio restaurant, Lupetto restaurant, and Rick Bayless Tortazo restaurant.