P.C. Richard & Son - Upper West Side (New York City, New York)

 store / shop, commercial building

2-story commercial building completed in 1906. Designed by John H. Duncan, it was built as the Spreter Department Store. Despite its 10-year lease, the Spreter Department Store was gone by 1913 when the Oliver A. Olson Co. department store took both floors. After being a 79th Street fixture for 13 years, the department store was replaced by an F. W. Woolworth store.

The facade is clad in beige-painted stone on the 2nd floor; the ground floor originally had cast-iron and terra-cotta storefronts, but has been re-clad in light-grey granite, with large bays of show-windows in aluminum framing. There are four such bays along Broadway, with two sets of glass double-doors in the 2nd bay from the south. The south facade on 79th Street has two more matching bays at the west end; the east half is clad in beige brick and has three small service entrances at the east end. Next to one of them is a small mural by the artist Banksy called "Hammer Boy", depicting a silhouette of a child swinging a sledgehammer.

The 2nd floor has stone piers, now painted beige, and the large window bays have modern windows, also with aluminum framing. The 2nd bay from the south is filled in with a beige-painted signboard instead. The piers are decorated with handing bell flower pendants descending from the wreath-wrapped brackets at the roof cornice. There are dentils in between each bracket. The south facade has another signboard bay at the west end, and a window bay next to it. At the east half are three narrower bays, each lined by a column of white brick at the sides. The outer two have triple-windows, and the middle is filled in with white brick. The cornice, brackets, and pendants continue on this facade.

Following the expiration of the 63-year Woolworth lease, No. 2220-26 Broadway became home to a Filene’s Basement discount clothing store. It held a going out of business sale in 2011. Since 2012 the building had been occupied by Designer Shoe Warehouse. Including the basement level, there are three floors of selling space totaling 26,000 square feet. It is now home to P.C. Richard & Son.

www.pcrichard.com/stores/new-york/manhattan/upper-west-...