123 Fifth Avenue

 office building  Add category

5-story office building originally completed in 1850 as a rowhouse. In 1883, it was converted to house retail tenants, and in 1886 the upper floors were converted to offices, and a 2-story cast-iron storefront was installed, designed by Henry J. Hardenbergh who was most noted for designing the Plaza Hotel and the Dakota Apartments. His design makes use of a Beaux-Arts motif, a giant cast-iron arch with openwork spandrels. The form is united with Northern Renaissance ornament. Especially noteworthy are the grotesque masks and griffins.

In 1926, when the building was acquired by a new owner, it underwent a series of major alterations: the first two stories were raised, the front stoop and basement stairs were removed, and the upper stories were converted to lofts and given a new limestone front. At the north end of the ground floor there is a wood-and-glass door topped by a square transom; the rest of the story is given over to a 1950s metal-and-glass shopfront. On the 2nd floor there is a fixed central window flanked by pivoting lights. Above are five transoms with small leaded panes. The limestone on the upper floors has been painted a light cream color. The large horizontal window openings are divided into a wood-framed central light, pivoting sidelights, and transoms similar in arrangement to those used on the 2nd floor. The building is crowned by a shaped parapet decorated with a vermiculated rondel.

Subsequent tenants included chinaware dealers and clothing manufacturers, and in the late 20th century, wholesalers, a photocopy service and photography lab. The ground floor is currently occupied by Falconeri clothing store, with WONA Bridal on the upper floors.