B.F. Goodrich Company Building (New York City, New York)

 office building, historical layer / disappeared object

12-story Chicago School/Vienna-Secession office building completed in 1909. Designed by Howard Van Doren Shaw, the bulk of the building behind the facade was rebuilt and incorporated as part of the massive Central Park Tower behind it, with the Nordstrom store also occupying space. The landmarked facade was preserved, with the front of the building appearing much as it did when it was originally completed. The tripartite façade is faced primarily with red brick and limestone. The building has a double-height base, crowned by a simple projecting cornice that peaks slightly at center and supports globe-like forms, draped with garlands at either end. The ground floor has been refaced with light-colored granite, dating from earlier than 1979. The entrance to the upper stories, at right, features three non-historic glass doors, with aluminum address numerals attached above. The 2nd floor has a wide central bay with three glass panes, capped by pairs of smaller panels. At each end are deep-set rectangular windows, trimmed on four sides with rope-like bands of terra-cotta fruits and garlands.

The 3rd-11th floors consist of a central bay with four deep set windows, flanked by flat quoined surrounds, with a single window to either side. These side windows have simple, unornamented sills. The central bay is flanked by rusticated blocks on the 3rd floor, and above, from the 4th to the 11th floor, a continuous molding with a narrow recessed panel that suggests an abstracted pilaster. These moldings rise from a simple cornice that projects between the 3rd and 4th floors. The four central windows are separated by slender colonettes that are aligned with the triglyphs that alternate with spandrel panels between each floor.

At the 12th floor is a projecting balcony that extends the width of the central bay. It supports an historic metal balustrade with vertical rods that peaks slightly at center and features flat metal embellishment at the ends and center. This balcony is supported by limestone brackets that are located on top of the abstracted pilasters, at the 11th floor. Shallow, shelf-like features extend from the ends of the balcony, with a ram’s head draped with garlands below, and a round cartouche draped with cornucopia above. Crown-like features float above the cartouches. There are no side windows on the 12th floor and the central bay is trimmed by a slightly-raised limestone frame. The brick parapet is slightly peaked and trimmed with limestone coping, with paired dentils extending down from a raised feature at either end. The apex displays a blank horizontal limestone panel, flanked by eagles, posed in profile.

The building was built as offices and showrooms for the tire company B.F. Goodrich.