Tiffany & Company Building (New York City, New York)

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7-story Italian-Renaissance style building completed in 1906. Designed by McKim, Mead & White as a commercial building for Tiffany & Company, built by Charles T. Wills, Inc. with impressive structural elements by Guastavino Fireproof Tile Co. It is modeled after the Palazzo Grimani in Venice. The building was the 5th (and 3rd major) home of the famed jewelry company, who remained here until 1940 when they moved to their present location at 5th Avenue and 57th Street.

Sheathed in white marble, the building was designed to appear as a 3-story structure but in reality consists of seven floors. Each of the three major horizontal divisions consists of two floors with a full 7th or attic story beneath the hipped roof. The building is five bays wide along 5th Avenue and extends seven bays along 37th Street.

On 5th Avenue, storefronts have been inserted into the original 5-bay width and the division between the stores is marked by white polished granite piers. The storefronts also create the effect of dividing the original double-height 1st floor into two stories. All the Corinthian capitals have been restored to the piers, and the stone spandrels separating the original 1st & 2nd floor have been replaced as well.

The imposing entablature carried by the piers is surmounted by a continuous balustrade. This entablature also emphasizes the shift from the angularity of the first level with its squared piers and square-headed windows to an arched order of engaged Corinthian columns enclosing round arches with ornamental keystones. The arches spring from engaged piers and the stone spandrels at impost level mark the change from the 3rd to the 4th floor. The windows within the bays are tripartite and multi-paned. The statue of Atlas by Metzler stood in the central bay atop the balustrade at this level while Tiffany occupied the building.

A simple classical entablature indicated the beginning of the 5th & 6th floors, which are treated in a similar manner to the two directly below. The differences within the arch order of this third and last level include the use of panels on the engaged piers, and spandrel panels over the arches. The engaged columns of this level carry the modillioned roof cornice which is enhanced by elegant and subtle details. The projection of this cornice and the pitch of the roof render the 7th or attic story invisible from the street.

On 37th Street, the central three bays have single engaged columns as opposed to the paired columns and piers on the rest of this facade and the Fifth Avenue one. The two ground-floor bays nearest Fifth Avenue have been given the same treatment as those on the avenue; the base of the marble piers have been cut away and refaced with white polished granite. The 7th or last bay has been changed to an entrance with three doors. The plinths and bases of the piers have been cut and refaced with granite. The windows of the original 2nd floor (now the 3rd) retain the original tripartite window frames. The upper levels of this facade are designed in the same manner as the Fifth Avenue facade.

hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c005893188?urlappend=%3Bseq=205...
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