Garment Center South Building (New York City, New York)

 office building, high-rise, Neoclassical (architecture), 1920_construction

312-foot, 25-story Neo-Classical office building completed in 1920. Designed by Walter M. Mason, it wraps around the corner building at 488 Seventh Avenue. On all three main facades, the building is clad in brown brick above a 3-story limestone base. The east facade on the avenue is five bays wide, with three windows in the middle bays, and paired windows in the end bays; the north facade on 37th Street has 11 bays, all with three windows; and the south facade on 36th Street spans eight bays, also with three windows each.

The main entrance is in the southern two bays on 7th Avenue, set within a wide segmental-arch (split by a pier in the middle) with modern glass doors and an interesting modern glass-and-metal canopy consisting of two panels angling up and out from the middle, and two more lower-set panels originating at the corners of the arch and angling up and inward, partially tucking under the two upper panels. The other bays have modernized storefronts, and the piers in between each bay rest on grey granite bases. The triple-windows at the 2nd floor are divided by black metal mullions, while the paired windows, and those above are physically separated and set in metal frames. The 3rd floor is framed at bottom and top by band courses.

The ground floor along 37th Street is also lined with storefronts; those at the western half have recessed entries with small sets of steps leading up to them. There is a metal service entrance and entrance to the underground parking garage at the westernmost bay. The ground floor along 36th Street has an entrance at the easternmost bay, with a stone surround and long scrolled brackets supporting an entablature with a dentiled cornice. A panel below the cornice is inscribed "GARMENT CENTER CAPITOL". The two bays to the left have paired windows and a paired doorway and window for a restaurant, all separated by grey-painted columns, and topped by grey-painted double-arches, with metal louvers above them. The five western bays have modernized storefronts. The 2nd & 3rd floors match the other facades, except for the 2nd floor above the entrance, which has three smaller, square windows to fit above the cornice.

The brick upper floors have a regular grid of windows corresponding to those below. Alternating floors either have individual stone sills or continuous sill courses, and centered on each bay between the floors is a small projecting stone block. Band courses run beneath the 14th floor and above the 15th, which also has dentils. The 16th floor is capped by a corbelled cornice and sets back to the top floors. At the four western bays of the north facade, the cornice and setback occur above the 9th floor, with another setback above the 16th floor. On the south facade, the five western bays also set back above the 9th and 16th floors, and the east bay set back above the 16th floor, but all without cornices.

The various west-facing facades are also clad in brown brick, with bays of three windows. The east and south-facing walls at the interior of the block, overlooking the lower building at the southeast corner, are clad in a redder brick, with just a few windows in singles and pairs above the initial setbacks. The lower sections maintain the three windows-per-bay pattern of the main facades. Various mechanical penthouses top the roof. The ground floor is occupied by The William Esper Studio drama school, Ben Chaim dresses, Alphagraphics, a Chase Bank branch, and Cosi restaurant, with Delmonico's Kitchen restaurant on 36th street.