Bergdorf Goodman (New York City, New York)

 store / shop, interesting place, department store

9-story Beaux-Arts/Modern Classical-style department store building completed in 1928. Designed by Buchman & Kahn, it is on the former site of the Cornelius Vanderbilt II mansion. Bergdorf Goodman was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son Andrew Goodman. Today, Bergdorf operates from two stores situated across the street from each other at Fifth Avenue between 57th and 58th Streets. The main store is located on the west side of Fifth Avenue. A separate men's store, established in 1990, is located on the lower three floors of 745 Fifth Avenue (aka the Old Squibb Building) on the east side of the Avenue, directly across the street. Today, Bergdorf's is considered one of the most prestigious and exclusive department stores in the world.

The building was designed as several separate but linked structures. Its original interiors were designed by Theo. Hofstatter & Co. Originally, Bergdorf Goodman occupied only the north tower, but then leased additional space, and later purchased the entire complex. As they grew they expanded across the other buildings in the complex and started combining them. If you look at the building today, you’ll realize it was actually 7 distinct buildings. Today Bergdorf Goodman occupies all but the southeast corner of the complex, which is leased to Van Cleef & Arpels. Alterations to the first two floors have sought to unify the facade, reflecting the success of Bergdorf Goodman. Buchman and Kahn’s original design remains largely intact above the 2nd floor, and continues to read as seven separate, but aesthetically unified, buildings. They are arranged facing 5th Avenue with the outer facades forming two large terminal pavilion, and the inner facades in a largely symmetrical A-B-C-B-A pattern. The buildings are clad in South Dover white marble and have slate mansard roofs.

Facing 5th Avenue the 9-story north pavilion was originally occupied by Bergdorf Goodman. It has a rusticated 2-story base above a dark-grey granite water table. There is a round-arched entrance with an ornamental panel featuring two winged putti; the doorway is flanked by light fixtures and set between two rectangular display windows. Above, the windows are grouped in a 1-3-1 pattern from the 2nd-8th floors, with a stone denticulated cornice between the 8th & 9th floors. The top floor has a dormer with arched pediment featuring an ornamental panel above coupled windows at the base of the mansard, and there are also projecting marble window sills at the 2nd and 4th-7th floors. The 9-story southern pavilion at 57th Street is occupied by Van Cleef & Arpels at the ground floor, and matches the northern pavilion above the ground floor. Historic features at the ground floor include stonework above the entry with an oval window set within carved drapery, and round-arched display-windows on either side. The light fixtures flanking the entry are set higher than at the north pavilion. Gold, metal silhouettes of animals parade across the ground floor, including a giraffe, and pairs of deer, butterflies, monkeys, lions, kangaroos, and a penguin (the animals continue around the southeast corner with another giraffe, a pair of foxes, birds, and two more butterflies. Both of the pavilions also have a projecting flagpole at the top of the 2nd floor.

The upper floors of the intervening buildings are arranged in a symmetrical A-B-C-B-A pattern. The bottom two floors were replaced by the architect Allan Greenberg from 1984-1985 with the intention of creating a unified façade. The "A" design is six stories and three bays wide, with two 3-story pilasters terminating in a stone entablature articulate the 3rd-5th floors, and recessed metal spandrels between the 3rd & 4th floors. There are two stone palmette reliefs on the spandrel between the 4th & 5th floors, and the 6th floor features three windows - the center one set within a round-arch that features an ornamental panel. A segmental-arched pediment above the 6th floor recalls the 9th-floor dormers on the southern and northern pavilions. The "B" design is also six stories and three bays wide, and again the 6th-floor center window is set within a round-arch that features an ornamental panel. There are band courses between the 2nd & 3rd floors, and the 5th & 6th, and projecting sills at the 4th- and 5th-floor windows. There is another segmental-arched pediment topping these sections. The "C" design projects very slightly above the 2nd floor, and its windows are grouped in a 1-3-1 pattern. There are projecting sills on the 4th & 5th floors, and a band course below the 6th-floor windows. The center windows at the 6th floor are set within blind round arches and share a shallow decorative stone balcony with wrought iron railing. There are decorative stone panels above the outer bays at this floor, and three decorative stone panels located directly below the cornice at the top of the 6th floor.

The south facade on 57th Street is an asymmetrical arrangement with the 2nd-8th-floor windows organized, from west to east, in three groups of three windows, followed by a bay of paired windows with an entrance below, followed by five evenly spaced, individual window bays (western windows have been filled). The stone denticulated cornice between the 8th & 9th floors continues from the east facade. There is a shallow, decorative stone balcony with wrought-iron railing at the westernmost three windows on the 7th floor, a stone parapet with urns and three recessed decorative panels above the three westernmost 8th-floor windows, and two decorative panels in bas-relief at the 2nd floor. The ground floor is heavily altered; the display windows do not match the original window openings in size or configuration; the entrance has been enlarged and redesigned to match the entrance on West 58th Street, and most of the stone is replacement marble.

The north facade on 58th Street has a central round-arch portal set off by green marble facings. There are concave metal-and-glass sidelights and transom with a bronze female bust in bas-relief framing a revolving door; the arch is capped by a slender, projecting marble balcony with ornamental wrought-iron railing supported by stylized brackets with floral pendants and a cartouche with carved foliage. The 2nd-floor balcony window features an elaborately carved stone enframement with a projecting flagpole. The openings of the original show-windows remain at the ground floor, with service entrances in the western two bays. Above the base the five center bays consist of windows arranged in groups of three and are framed by single windows in the outer bays. There are band courses below the 3rd- and 8th-floor windows, and a stone denticulated cornice above the 8th floor. At the 9th floor are seven masonry dormers - the outer dormers have triangular pediments and feature one window, and the five center dormers have arched pediments and feature ornamental panels above coupled windows.

The slate mansard roof has copper trim, with stone partitions on the roof separating each section of the Fifth Avenue facade. A brick rooftop addition visible from Fifth Avenue on the four southern buildings, fronted by a sloped glass enclosure over the southern three buildings, and connected to the northern pavilion by a metal-clad enclosure. It was originally a roof fabricated by the Ludowici-Celadon Company.

The top floor of the building was designated as an apartment for the Goodman family who owned the store. It was designed as a 17 room, 6 bathroom duplex which was accessible through two private elevators, one from the inside the store and one from a private entrance on 58th Street. In order for the family to be allowed to live there, they were registered officially as custodial staff with New York City. Additionally, the walls were faux bois to look like wood in order to comply with fire codes. Sadly, the family apartment on the building's ninth floor was gutted to became the John Barrett Salon and Susan Ciminelli Day Spa in 1997.

The lavish first floor interior was restored by Evergreene Architectural Arts in 2015. That project also added new ceiling medallions and intricate rocaille-style pieces for the ceiling center and corners. Additional glass and metal displays were fabricated by Unique Store Fixtures of Ontario. Lastly, a new Postmodern arched entrance on 57th Street was created to a design by MNA/Neumann & Rudy Architects for their jewelry salon which relocated from its previous location at the center of the store.

www.bergdorfgoodman.com/
blog.bergdorfgoodman.com/world-of-bg/lifestyle/living-o...
www.forbes.com/sites/michaellisicky/2020/05/16/as-a-cul...
archive.org/details/countrylife55gard/page/n102/mode/2u...
archive.org/details/architecturalfor1929unse/page/821/m...
usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1929-10-1.pdf
evergreene.com/projects/bergdorf-goodman/
www.uniquestorefixtures.com/project/bergdorf-goodman/
www.designretailonline.com/projects/stores/reimaging-an...


www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPxkCSovb9M&pp=ygUcYmVyZ2Rv...