Fred F. French Building: Difference between revisions

	Fred F. French Building
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	New York City Landmark No. 1415, 1416
Location	551 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates	40°45′19″N 73°58′44″W / 40.7554°N 73.9789°W
Built	1927
Architect	H. Douglas Ives and Sloan & Robertson
Architectural style	Art Deco
NRHP reference No.	03001514
NYCL No.	1415, 1416
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	January 28, 2004
Designated NYCL	March 18, 1986

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The Fred F. French Building is a skyscraper at 551 Fifth Avenue on the northeast corner with 45th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Designed by H. Douglas Ives along with John Sloan and T. Markoe Robertson of the firm Sloan & Robertson, it was erected in 1927. The building is named for Fred F. French, owner of the Fred F. French Companies, for whom the structure was commissioned.

The 38-story building is designed in the Art Deco style, with Middle Eastern influences, and contains numerous setbacks as mandated by the 1916 Zoning Resolution. The facade is mostly designed with brick walls and limestone trim. The base of the facade is ornamented with two bronze entrances and multiple mythological figures, while the top contains a "tower" with Mesopotamian style bas-reliefs and faience tiles. Other multicolored details such as ornamental friezes ornament the facade. The Middle Eastern design motifs are also used in the lobby, which contains a polychrome vaulted ceiling.

The Fred F. French Building has approximately 430,000 square feet (40,000 m²) for rent and is owned by The Feil Organization. It was the tallest building on Fifth Avenue as well as one of the most desired addresses on the avenue upon its completion. By the 1990s, it underwent a complete restoration, subsequently earning the Building Owners and Managers Association 1994/1995 Historic Building of the Year Award. The Fred F. French Building and its interior became New York City designated landmarks in 1986, and the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

Site

The Fred F. French Building is at the northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 45th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.^[2]^[3] Its plot is largely rectangular but has a small cutout on the northwestern portion. The building adjoins a 20-story building at 553 Fifth Avenue, which is L-shaped and occupies the cutout, as well as a nine-story building at 9 East 45th Street.^[2]^[3] The building is assigned its own ZIP Code, 10176; it was one of 41 buildings in Manhattan that had their own ZIP Codes as of 2019^[update].^[4]

Architecture

The Fred F. French Building was designed by H. Douglas Ives with Sloan & Robertson in the Art Deco style and completed in 1927.^[5]^[6] The building is named for Fred F. French, the head of the French Companies, whose other projects in the city included Tudor City and Knickerbocker Village.^[7] The Fred F. French Building rises 38 stories, rising 426 feet (130 m) tall, and contains several setbacks on all sides as mandated under the 1916 Zoning Resolution.^[2]^[8] It was one of the first few skyscrapers to be built with a mostly rectangular plan; previous buildings had been erected with largely square plans.^[9]

The Fred F. French Building was described by architectural writer Carol Herselle Krinsky as the "only Mesopotamian skyscraper" in New York City.^[10] Ives wrote that the building's colorful design took after Middle Eastern architectural features such as ziggurats. The colors used in the Fred F. French Building's facade were intended to evoke that of the Tower of Babel.^[6]^[11]^[12] At the time of the building's development, there was large interest in Ancient Egypt and the Ancient Near East, and other contemporary structures such as the Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center, and 2 Park Avenue incorporated elements of ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern architecture.^[11]^[12] Furthermore, modern building codes prevented the inclusion of cornices and other decorative elements that projected more than 18 inches (460 mm) from the facade, as had been standard in older buildings.^[6] Because of the different influences, Ives said he felt "somewhat at a loss" when asked to describe the building's design.^[13]

Form and facade

Even though the Fred F. French Building's official address is 551 Fifth Avenue, its main entrance is on 45th Street.^[2] The building was designed with profit as the main consideration, so the shorter side along Fifth Avenue was intended for highly valuable retail space.^[14] The building consists of a base spanning the 1st to 3rd stories; a midsection from the 4th to the 19th floors, with multiple setbacks; and a rectangular "tower" that is capped by a three-story penthouse above the 35th floor.^[2]^[15] Each of the four primary elevations of the facade has a different massing. The northern and eastern elevations face other buildings, but the southern and western elevations face 45th Street and Fifth Avenue respectively.^[15]^[16]

The Fred F. French Building's Middle Eastern decoration was intended to be colorful and noticeable from afar, rather than historically accurate.^[11]^[17] The facade is accented with terracotta bands of various colors including hues of red and black.^[2]^[9]

Base

On Fifth Avenue and on 45th Street, the first story is topped by a bronze frieze that contains depictions of winged beasts and stylized glyphs.^[2]^[18] The second story contains steel-framed tripartite windows above the friezes.^[19] The entrances are set within bronze arches, which contain coffered piers; symbols of architecture and industry in their spandrels; and bronze letters reading the french building above each arch.^[20]^[21] Above the second story, on both Fifth Avenue and 45th Street, are limestone friezes reading the fred f. french building. Flagpoles project from the second story in the second and fifth bays from the north on Fifth Avenue. The third story, on both Fifth Avenue and 45th Street, contains two slightly recessed one-over-one sash windows in each bay. A cornice runs above the third floor.^[22]^[23]

The base of the facade on Fifth Avenue is divided into five bays by double-story limestone piers.^[16]^[20] The entrance on Fifth Avenue, in the second bay from north, contains an outer vestibule under the arch, outside the entrance doors. The vestibule's ceiling consists of a depressed barrel vault with a bronze and crystal chandelier, as well as painted stepped corners and bas-relief polychrome beasts. The vestibule has an Italian travertine floor with beige stone lozenges, black and white marble triangles, and brass strips. The sides of the vestibule have bronze display windows, and the vestibule has two bronze revolving doors, topped by inscribed panels with the building's name and address.^[24]^[25] Historically, the northernmost bay had a glass storefront and granite water table at ground level, which was later replaced.^[19]^[20] The other three bays on Fifth Avenue also have replacement glass storefronts and water tables.^[26]

The base of the facade on 45th Street is divided into twelve bays by double-story limestone piers. The main entrance is in the eighth bay from the west and contains an arched vestibule. The vestibule is enclosed behind double glass doors and a bronze-and-glass transom.^[20]^[27] Its design is the same as that of the outer vestibule of the Fifth Avenue entrance.^[20]^[27]^[28] The decorations include bearded genies and 25 panels depicting Mesopotamian women.^[28]^[29] The other eleven bays on 45th Street contain glass storefronts and water tables in various conditions.^[30]

Upper stories

The 4th through 19th stories comprise the midsection of the building and are clad with russet colored brick. The 4th through 11th floors rise directly from the lot lines before setting back at various depths.^[22]^[31]^[32] The setbacks are decorated with limestone-trimmed friezes containing black ornament.^[20]^[21]^[33] Limestone windowsills were used on the facades facing the street, and precast concrete was used above setbacks at places where these windows could not be seen from street level.^[9] The windows on these stories are all sash windows, two per bay on each floor. The capitals of the piers are clad in light green faience with small rosettes.^[22]^[31]

The 20th through 38th stories comprise the "tower" of the building. The setbacks atop the tower are more gradual from the northern and southern elevations, while the eastern and western elevations set back more abruptly to the penthouse.^[22]^[31] The tower section measures only two bays wide on its western and eastern elevations.^[8]^[33] An orange-and-green belt course of faience tiles runs above the 31st floor.^[22]^[31]

Near the top of the building, there are faience panels with sunburst designs on the north and south elevations, with red, orange, gold, and green tiles. The sunburst designs were used to symbolize progress, while winged griffons depicting integrity and watchfulness flank each sunburst.^[9]^[20]^[21]^[33] Two beehives, each surrounded by five bees, separate the sunbursts and griffins.^[6] The narrower west and east elevations contain mosaic depictions of Mercury, the Roman god of trade.^[32]^[33] Faience spandrels and an orange-and-green frieze depicting serpents are placed above the 38th floor. The windows of the penthouse are arranged in several configurations. A metal fire escape runs along the eastern elevation.^[22]^[31] Atop the penthouse is a flat roof with a water tower.^[2]^[15] The use of a flat roof deviated from previous Art Deco designs, which typically had stepped pinnacles.^[32]^[33] The rooftop water tower contains bas reliefs on green background surrounded by a frame of red faience.^[22]^[31] At night, the building's pinnacle was illuminated.^[6]

Features

A double-leaf elevator door in the lobby, with gilded carvings — Gilt double-leaf door of an elevator in the lobby

The Fred F. French Building contained the most up-to-date designs and machinery when it was completed. Its innovations included an electric plumbing system, automatic elevators, and lighting and ventilation systems that could be "conveniently controlled", as described in the French Companies' magazine The Voice.^[14]^[34] The building also contains bronze ornamental work created by Russian-American artist Vincent Glinsky.^[35]

The building has eleven elevators. Ten of these run from the lobby and are separated into two banks of five units each. One bank serves all stories from the 1st to 16th floors, while the other runs nonstop from the lobby to the 17th floor, serving all floors through the 35th. From the 35th floor, a single elevator rises to the 38th story. Additionally, two stairways connect each of the floors.^[36] From the building's completion, the elevators were semi-automatically operated Otis cabs, one of the first such installations in the city. Elevator operators were retained only to push buttons for certain floors upon passengers' request and to bypass floors when the cabs were full.^[37]

Lobby

The first-floor lobby is L-shaped and consists of a longer wing extending west from the elevator lobby to Fifth Avenue, as well as a shorter corridor to the 45th Street entrance vestibule. The lobby walls are clad with marble.^[38] The lobby contains decorative details such as chevrons, palmettes, volutes, merlons, and lotus flowers as well as representations of animals such as lions and winged bulls.^[6] The passageway from 45th Street is wider because the main entrance is on that side.^[38]^[39]

The passageway from Fifth Avenue is narrower and is divided by pilasters into several bays, each of which contains a multicolored vault with beasts and pattern. A gilded plaster frieze runs near the top of the wall.^[38]^[40] The revolving doors from Fifth Avenue are flanked by capitals with double bulls' heads, inspired by those that were originally in the Palace of Darius in Susa.^[6] The design of the Fifth Avenue corridor was intended to draw visitors from the entrance to the elevator hall, and it also concealed the slight downward slope that existed between the Fifth Avenue and 45th Street entrances.^[40]^[41]

The elevator lobby contains several decorative bronze elements. The walls have three tenant-directory boards with ornamental bronze frames. The gilt-bronze double-leaf elevator doors in the lobby each have eight panels (four on each leaf) depicting sectors in which Fred French had businesses, including industry, commerce, finance, and building.^[6]^[40]^[42] Eight bronze chandeliers are present in the lobby, which contain inscriptions indicating the floors served by the adjacent elevators. Also in the lobby are five gilt-bronze doors leading to offices, with similar designs to the elevator doors, as well as three gilt-bronze doors of simpler design.^[40]^[42] An Assyrian Revival mailbox is mounted on the wall between the two elevator banks; the mailbox contains a depiction of a bald eagle, the symbol of the United States Post Office, as well as two winged griffins.^[9]^[40]^[42]

Upper stories

The building has approximately 430,000 square feet (40,000 m²) for rent.^[43] The upper stories have different floor areas and shapes, and the higher floors had smaller areas because of the setbacks on the exterior. The 2nd through 11th stories had 16,000 square feet (1,500 m²) per floor; the 29th through 35th stories in the tower have 4,000 square feet (370 m²) per floor; and the penthouse has 2,400 square feet (220 m²) per floor. The stories of the base have a floor plan that is clustered around a largely L-shaped passageway. The upper floors have passageways in various layouts to reflect the different shapes and sizes of each story.^[42] Usually, on stories where a tenant rented an entire floor, the layout of that floor contained an open plan.^[36]

Unlike the lobby, the office stories were not decorated in the Mesopotamian style and were instead designed to tenants' specifications.^[44] Some floors still contain their original furnishings, including mail chutes made of glass and bronze, as well as room-number signs and elevator floor indicators made of bronze. The interiors were originally finished with a marble molding at the baseboard, as well as wooden doorways and doors. Tenants modified the interiors on some floors with a myriad of designs, although some modern finishes were placed on top of the original furnishings. The remodeled floors contain finishes made of carpet, stone tiles, plastic tiles, or wood floors. The remodeled walls are made of sheetrock or paper, and they have baseboards made of plastic, stone, or wood. Dropped ceilings are used in almost all locations where the interiors were remodeled.^[36]

On the 12th and 13th floors were the French Companies' offices, designed in the Tudor style,^[9] an allusion to the design of Tudor City.^[10]^[45]^[46] The 12th floor remains largely intact but some of these finishes were changed after the Fred F. French Company moved out during the 1980s.^[36] The 12th-floor elevator lobby contains green carpets, stone walls, a decorative plaster coffered ceiling, and marble baseboards and door surrounds. A circular stair west of the elevators leads to the 13th floor and contains green marble risers, black stone steps, and a handrail and balustrade made of bronze.^[47] From the elevator lobby, a doorway leads to a rectangular reception hall with predominantly green and white designs; the walls and ceiling are similar to the elevator lobby, but the tile floors and baseboards are made of black marble. An I-shaped reception area for the Fred F. French Company is to the east of the reception hall and contains wooden decorative elements and black marble floors. A conference room with wood decorations is south of the reception hall. A corridor with wood decorations and dropped ceiling leads east of the reception hall and south of the French Company reception area. At the eastern end of the French Company reception area is the rectangular executive secretary's office, with cast ornamental details on the ceiling.^[48] Fred French's office was "reputed" to be in the L-shaped room north of the executive secretary's office and had similar decoration.^[49]

History

Fifth Avenue was being developed with office and commercial buildings at the beginning of the 20th century.^[50] The completion of the underground Grand Central Terminal in 1913 resulted in the rapid development of Terminal City, the area around Grand Central, as well as a corresponding increase in real-estate prices.^[51]^[52] By the 1920s, Fifth Avenue was the most active area for development in Midtown, and developers were starting to build north of 45th Street, which had previously been considered the boundary for profitable developments.^[53]^[54]^[55] The most active year for construction in that decade was 1926, when thirty office buildings were constructed on Fifth Avenue.^[56]^[57]^[58] The two-block-wide area between Fifth and Park Avenues represented eight percent of Manhattan's land area, but it constituted twenty-five percent of developments that commenced in the borough between 1924 and 1926.^[55]

The French Companies was founded in 1910, and it built a 16-story headquarters at Madison Avenue and 41st Street in 1920. By the mid-1920s, the company was one of New York City's largest development firms, and it was looking for a new site for its headquarters.^[59]^[60] Among the French Companies' largest projects was the Tudor City apartment complex on the east side of Manhattan.^[52]

Construction

Fred French bought 19,000 square feet (1,800 m²) at the northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 45th Street in March 1925, with frontage of 200 feet (61 m) on 45th Street and 78.5 feet (23.9 m) on Fifth Avenue.^[61]^[62] He planned to build a 31-story office building for the French Companies' headquarters, with a banking hall on the lower stories.^[62] At the time, the site contained the Church of the Heavenly Rest, as well as four residential buildings and one office building. The land had cost an average of $285 per square foot ($3,070/m²)^[a] significantly higher than their mid-19th century cost of $2.85/sq ft ($30.7/m²),^[64]^[65]^[b] but lower than the average cost of $300 per square foot ($3,200/m²) for similar plots.^[61]^[64]^[65]^[c] The building at the corner, measuring 25 by 110 feet (7.6 by 33.5 m), alone had cost $300,000.^[62]

The French Companies obtained title to the site in May 1925.^[67] Sloan & Robertson filed preliminary plans for the Fred F. French Building that August.^[68]^[69]^[70] At the time, the building was expected to be completed in early 1927 at a cost of $10 million.^[70] The building would have risen 31 stories and 385 feet (117 m). A subsequent two-story addition was rejected because it did not fit zoning codes, which Sloan & Robertson appealed. Ultimately, the architects were granted a variance to construct a 38-story, 416.58-foot (127 m) building, the second tallest in the surrounding area, behind only H. Craig Severance's 432-foot (132 m) Harriman Building at 44th Street and Fifth Avenue.^[68]^[69] Final plans for the Fred F. French Building were filed in March 1926.^[71]

Construction on the Fred F. French Building commenced on May 22, 1926, and the steel frame was topped out within four months.^[68]^[69] In October 1926, a $4.5 million mortgage was placed on the building.^[72]^[73] For unknown reasons, the project was delayed by seven months, and it opened on October 24, 1927. Had the Fred F. French Building opened on time, it would have claimed the title of tallest building along Fifth Avenue, but ultimately it was the second-tallest behind the Harriman Building.^[69]^[74] The Fred F. French Building was the French Companies' first commercial building to be completed under the "French Plan", a company philosophy that prioritized small returns on large ventures, rather than large returns on small ventures.^[59]^[75] Furthermore, the Fred F. French Building was one of the first retail skyscrapers to be built on this section of Fifth Avenue.^[76]

Mid-20th century

Detail of a gilded mailbox in the lobby, with an eagle carving — Gilt mailbox in lobby

The French Companies heavily marketed its new building in its magazine The Voice, and the building was quickly occupied.^[77] Among the earliest large tenants in the building were clothier Browning, King & Co.;^[78] real estate auctioneers William Kennelly Inc;^[79] luggage manufacturer Crouch & Fitzgerald;^[80] pulp and paper firm Perkins-Goodwin Company;^[81] a ticket office for the St. Paul Railroad;^[82] and the American Broadcasting Company.^[83] The ground-level space at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 45th Street used as a restaurant operated by Acker, Merral & Condit.^[84] Three years after the building's completion, H. Douglas Ives filed plans to turn the 36th and 37th floors of the penthouse into offices.^[14]^[69] The Fred F. French Building also saw several deaths in its early years, including the suicides of workers in the building,^[85]^[86] as well as the accidental crushing of an elevator repairman.^[87]

By 1934, the ground-floor corner space in the Fred F. French Building had become a French restaurant.^[88] During the mid-20th century, the Fred F. French Building gained other tenants such as diamond dealer Louis Roselaar,^[89] the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation,^[90] and the Brazilian government's trade bureau,^[91] as well as several advertising firms^[92] and three insurance companies.^[93] The ground-floor corner space became home to The Cattleman restaurant by 1967.^[94]

Late 20th and early 21st centuries

The building was purchased by financial services company MetLife in 1985, and the French Companies subsequently moved out.^[9]^[22] During the 1990s, the Fred F. French Building underwent a complete restoration. Although the faience panels were largely undamaged, the terracotta was replaced because of rust.^[9] The lobby was re-gilt and the ceiling was repainted; in addition, the elevators from the lobby were totally replaced. The renovation earned the Building Owners and Managers Association 1994/1995 Historic Building of the Year Award.^[8] Pace University rented some space in the building for use as classrooms in 1997.^[95]

A group of investors led by The Feil Organization bought the Fred F. French Building for $128 million as part of a move by MetLife to sell off its real estate portfolio. The partnership included Lloyd Goldman and his family, as well as Stanley Chera.^[96]^[97]^[98] At the time, Morton's The Steakhouse was among the tenants in the Fred F. French Building, as was the British Tourist Authority.^[97] In 2012, retailer Tommy Bahama opened a three-story flagship store and restaurant in the Fred F. French Building.^[99]^[100] By the middle of that decade, the building had tenants such as Denihan Hospitality Group, ABM Industries, and law firm Kleinberg, Kaplan, Wolff & Cohen.^[101]

Reception and landmark designations

There was mixed commentary on the Fred F. French Building's design. George S. Chappell lamented the "rows of dreary factory windows" in The New Yorker, rhetorically commenting: "Can't the Fifth Avenue Association do something about this?"^[9] The WPA Guide to New York City described the faience panels as being "of questionable taste."^[102] Other criticism of the building was more positive. Paul Goldberger of The New York Times called the building one of the "best slab-shaped buildings of the 1920's".^[103] Upon its opening, the building was characterized as being "one of the most popular business palaces in the entire midtown section" because of its technologically advanced systems, central location, and elaborate decoration.^[14]^[34] The writer Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis said in 2021 that the Fred F. French Building "embodies the eclectic nature of many Neo-Antique buildings".^[44]

The building's shape was also praised. According to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), the Fred F. French Building so exactly conformed to the 1916 Zoning Resolution that it was illustrated in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language to accompany the definition of the word "setback".^[45]^[46]^[104] The AIA Guide to New York City characterized the building as being "from the days when even the greediest developer owed serious and intricate architectural detail and materials to the tenant and public".^[5] Robert A. M. Stern said that the Fred F. French Building "demonstrated that a slab could retain the iconic clarity of the skyscraper type and provide more rentable space per square foot of ground area".^[15] The Fred F. French Building's name also received notice; as the British broadcaster Alistair Cooke said, "It was marvelous that here a man should not only get his name on a building, but get his name with his middle initial on a building."^[105]

In the 1980s, a group of preservationists began surveying the city's buildings for possible sites that could be designated as interior landmarks by the LPC, with the Fred F. French Building's lobby being considered as one such landmark.^[106] The LPC designated the building and its lobby as city landmarks on March 18, 1986.^[1] In its report about the building's interior, the LPC described the building as having a "proto-Art Deco" design.^[44]^[107] The building was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 28, 2004.^[108]

References

Notes

^ Equivalent to $3,946/sq ft ($42,470/m²) in 2023^[63]
^ Equivalent to $77/sq ft ($830/m²) in 2023.^[63]
^ When the project was announced, another source initially gave the land cost as being $250/sq ft ($2,700/m²),^[65]^[66] equivalent to $3,462/sq ft ($37,260/m²) in 2023.^[63] French later confirmed the higher figure of $285 per square foot.^[65]^[66]

Citations

^ ^a ^b Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 1; Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior 1986, p. 1.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h National Park Service 2003, p. 3.
^ ^a ^b "547 5 Avenue, 10176". New York City Department of City Planning. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
^ Brown, Nicole (March 18, 2019). "Why do some buildings have their own ZIP codes? NYCurious". amNewYork. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
^ ^a ^b White, Norval; Willensky, Elliot; Leadon, Fran (2010). AIA Guide to New York City (5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 328. ISBN 978-0-19538-386-7.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Macaulay-Lewis 2021, p. 79.
^ Pollak, Michael (February 27, 2005). "Still Hailing That Taxi". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Fred F. French Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Gray, Christopher (May 24, 1992). "Streetscapes: The Fred R. French Building; Refurbishing 'Mesopatamia'". The New York Times. p. 7. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Krinsky, Carol Herselle (January 1982). "The Fred F. French Building; Mesopotamia in Manhattan". Antiques. Vol. 121. pp. 289–291.
^ ^a ^b ^c Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 12.
^ ^a ^b National Park Service 2003, p. 22.
^ "Architect at a Loss to Explain New Style; H. D. Ives Says French Building Arouses Many Difficult Questions Concerning Design". The New York Times. February 6, 1927. p. RE1. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 104240644. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 10.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Stern, Robert A. M.; Gilmartin, Patrick; Mellins, Thomas (1987). New York 1930: Architecture and Urbanism Between the Two World Wars. New York: Rizzoli. p. 597. ISBN 978-0-8478-3096-1. OCLC 13860977.
^ ^a ^b Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 14.
^ National Park Service 2003, p. 23.
^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, pp. 12–13.
^ ^a ^b Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, pp. 14–15.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g National Park Service 2003, p. 4.
^ ^a ^b ^c Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 13.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h National Park Service 2003, p. 6.
^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 15.
^ National Park Service 2003, p. 5.
^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, pp. 15–16.
^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 16.
^ ^a ^b Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 17.
^ ^a ^b Macaulay-Lewis 2021, pp. 79–80.
^ Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior 1986, p. 1.
^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, pp. 17–19.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 19.
^ ^a ^b ^c Stichweh, Dirk (2016). New York Skyscrapers. Prestel Publishing. p. 161. ISBN 978-3-7913-8226-5. OCLC 923852487.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Nash, Eric (2005). Manhattan Skyscrapers. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-56898-652-4. OCLC 407907000.
^ ^a ^b National Park Service 2003, p. 20.
^ The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. 58. James T. White & Company. 1979. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-88371-026-5.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d National Park Service 2003, p. 9.
^ "Push Button Now Master of Speedy Building "Lift": "Elevator" in French Building Must Obey Little Contrivance Either in the Car or on Each Floor". New York Herald Tribune. February 13, 1927. p. C2. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.
^ ^a ^b ^c National Park Service 2003, p. 7.
^ Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior 1986, p. 10.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior 1986, p. 11.
^ National Park Service 2003, pp. 7–8.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d National Park Service 2003, p. 8.
^ "MetLife Lends $130Mln Against Manhattan's Fred F. French Building". Commercial Real Estate Direct. October 16, 2012. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c Macaulay-Lewis 2021, p. 80.
^ ^a ^b Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 11.
^ ^a ^b National Park Service 2003, p. 21.
^ National Park Service 2003, pp. 9–10.
^ National Park Service 2003, p. 10.
^ National Park Service 2003, pp. 10–11.
^ Klose, Olivia (December 14, 2010). "500 Fifth Avenue" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 24, 2012.
^ Fitch, James Marston; Waite, Diana S. (1974). Grand Central Terminal and Rockefeller Center: A Historic-critical Estimate of Their Significance. Albany, New York: The Division. p. 6.
^ ^a ^b Macaulay-Lewis 2021, p. 77.
^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, pp. 2–3.
^ National Park Service 2003, pp. 14–15.
^ ^a ^b "Millions of Dollars for New Buildings Invested in the Fifth Avenue Area: Steady Increase Shown in Real Estate Values". The New York Times. July 25, 1926. p. RE1. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2020 – via ProQuest.
^ National Park Service 2003, p. 14.
^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 2.
^ Robinson, Cervin; Haag Bletter, Rosemarie (1975). Skyscraper style : art deco, New York. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-19-502112-7. OCLC 1266717.
^ ^a ^b Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 4.
^ National Park Service 2003, p. 16.
^ ^a ^b "Fred F. French Companies Buy Big Plot on Fifth Avenue and Forty-fifth Street". The New York Times. March 20, 1925. p. 34. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 103498243. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2020 – via ProQuest.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Echo of French Deal Will Long Be Heard on Fifth Avenue: Purchase of 45th Street Corner and Development of Half-Acre Site With 31-Story Building Will Shake Loose From Old Owners Many Properties in Neighborhood; New Building Era for Section". The New York Herald, New York Tribune. March 22, 1925. p. B1. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020 – via ProQuest.
^ ^a ^b ^c Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
^ ^a ^b Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 3.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d National Park Service 2003, p. 15.
^ ^a ^b Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 21.
^ "Title to Fifth Avenue Corner Passes to Fred F. French Co". The New York Times. May 1, 1925. p. 35. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 103601335. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2020 – via ProQuest.
^ ^a ^b ^c Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 9.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e National Park Service 2003, p. 19.
^ ^a ^b "Plans Filed for Commercial Skyscraper at Fifth Avenue and Forty-fifth St". The New York Times. August 26, 1925. p. 31. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 103634912. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020 – via ProQuest.
^ "Final Fifth Avenue Plans.: 35-story Skyscraper at 45th Street to Be Completed Jan 1, 1927". The New York Times. March 21, 1926. p. RE2. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2020 – via ProQuest.
^ "$4,500,000 Lent On French Building". New York Herald Tribune. October 8, 1926. p. 41. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.
^ "Loan $4,500,000 on New Fred F. French Building For 5th Ave, Manhattan". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. October 10, 1926. p. D1. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, pp. 9–10.
^ National Park Service 2003, p. 17.
^ Goldberger, Paul (December 15, 1984). "5th Ave., at Its Brightest, Sees Shadows of Change". The New York Times. p. 25. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
^ Macaulay-Lewis 2021, p. 78.
^ "Real Estate Transactions in City and Suburbs: Fifth Avenue Space Leased For $1,250,000 Browning, King & Co. Locate in 38 Story French Building Going Up at 45th St. Corner; Other Rentals". New York Herald Tribune. November 12, 1926. p. 37. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2020 – via ProQuest.
^ "Kennelly Firm Joins Uptown Movement; Auctioneers to Move From Lower Broadway to the French Building on Fifth Avenue". The New York Times. January 20, 1929. p. RE1. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
^ "Real Estate in City and Suburbs: Luggage Concern To Pay $1,000,000 Rental on Fifth Ave. Leases Store in New French Building; New Tenants for Loft and Office Structures in Mid-Town Section". New York Herald Tribune. January 31, 1927. p. 26. ProQuest 1113623428. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.
^ "Pulp, Paper Concern Takes Large Space On Fifth Avenue: Perkins-Good win Co. Takes Lease on 27th Floor in New French Building; Other Rentals in Midtown Section". New York Herald Tribune. March 15, 1927. p. 26. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.
^ "St. Paul Railroad Will Pay $1,500,000 For 5th Ave. Store: Ticket Office in French Building Will Cost Western Road $130 Square Ft.; Rent Shows Bin Advance". New York Herald Tribune. March 24, 1927. p. 32. ProQuest 1130493406. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.
^ "Coast Chain Office Here.; American Broadcasting Company Opens Quarters at 551 Fifth Av". The New York Times. October 15, 1928. p. R28. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
^ "Fifth Avenue Space Leased For Restaurant: 9,000 Square Feet Acquired by Acker, Merrall & Condit Co. in New French Building, 45th St. Corner". New York Herald Tribune. February 8, 1927. p. 36. ProQuest 1113516270. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.
^ "Man, Once Wealthy, Ends Life by Shot; Former Corset Manufacturer, Facing Forgery Charge, Left Note, Saying Friends Quit Him". The New York Times. January 5, 1932. p. 5. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
^ "Woman Falls 23 Stories After Notifying Friends: Had Planned Suicide 2 Months Before Fifth Avenue Leap". New York Herald Tribune. November 15, 1938. p. 25. ProQuest 1255842173. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.
^ "Elevator Kills Worker; Repairman Crushed to Death in a Fifth Avenue Building". The New York Times. March 31, 1945. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
^ "Real Estate News: Large Midtown Quarters Taken By Restaurant Max Fisher, Wm. Frieber Rent in French Building; Paint, Paper Firms Lease". New York Herald Tribune. January 27, 1934. p. 25. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.
^ "Big Space Leased by Diamond Dealer; Louis Roselaar, With Branches in Europe, Takes Offices in 551 Fifth Avenue". The New York Times. July 31, 1941. p. 31. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
^ "47 Fellowships Are Awarded by Guggenheim: Memorial Foundation Gives Annual Aid to Artists and Scholars of America". New York Herald Tribune. April 1, 1935. p. 9. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.
^ "Trade Bureau a Bit of Brazil in Fifth Avenue: It Received 8 Queries a Month in 1935, and Now 141 Questions Are Asked Daily; Brazilian Products Are on Exhibition There". New York Herald Tribune. March 31, 1952. p. 58. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.
^ "Advertising Firms Stay in 551 5th Ave.; Four Renew Leases in the Fred F. French Building". The New York Times. March 15, 1944. p. 30. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
^ "Buildings Fill Up in Midtown Area; Late Rentals Complete the Leasing of Three Business Structures in Section". The New York Times. March 20, 1942. p. 36. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
^ "Ellman Will Head Longchamps Chain". The New York Times. October 18, 1967. p. 71. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
^ Chen, David W. (April 17, 1997). "New Center for Pace". The New York Times. p. B12. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 29, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
^ Bagli, Charles V. (December 24, 2002). "Metro Briefing | New York: Manhattan: Landmark Changes Hands". The New York Times. p. B6. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Herman, Eric (November 20, 2002). "French lessons". New York Daily News. p. 54. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
^ Bagli, Charles V. (2014). Other People's Money: Inside the Housing Crisis and the Demise of the Greatest Real Estate Deal Ever Made. Plume. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-14-218071-6. LCCN 2013045940. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
^ Levere, Jane L. (September 4, 2012). "The Heart of Fifth Avenue Shopping Is Edging to the South". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
^ Palmieri, Jean E. (November 15, 2012). "Tommy Bahama Throws Anchor On Fifth Avenue". Women's Wear Daily. Vol. 204, no. 103. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
^ "551 Fifth Avenue - TRD Research". The Real Deal. March 13, 2019. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
^ Federal Writers' Project (1939). New York City Guide. New York: Random House. p. 218. ISBN 978-1-60354-055-1. (Reprinted by Scholarly Press, 1976; often referred to as WPA Guide to New York City.)
^ Goldberger, Paul (April 30, 1986). "Carnegie Hall Details Plans for Office Tower". The New York Times. p. C19. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
^ Tauranac, John (1979). Essential New York : a guide to the history and architecture of Manhattan's important buildings, parks, and bridges. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-03-042626-1. OCLC 4494970.
^ Kakutani, Michiko (November 8, 1979). "TV dinners vs. high tea". Democrat and Chronicle. pp. 23, 24.
^ Miller, Bryan (February 18, 1982). "Volunteers Tracking Down New York's Significant Interiors". The New York Times. p. C6. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
^ Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior 1986, p. 21.
^ "National Register of Historic Places 2004 Weekly Lists" (PDF). National Park Service. 2004. p. 21. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.

Sources

Fred F. French Building (PDF) (Report). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. March 18, 1986.
Fred F. French Building Interior (PDF) (Report). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. March 18, 1986.
Fred F. French Building (PDF) (Report). National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service. December 19, 2003.
Macaulay-Lewis, Elizabeth (2021). Antiquity in Gotham: The Ancient Architecture of New York City. Fordham University Press. ISBN 978-0-8232-9384-1. OCLC 1176326519.

External links

Official website

[64] Equivalent to $3,946/sq ft ($42,470/m²) in 2023^[63]

[67] Equivalent to $77/sq ft ($830/m²) in 2023.^[63]

[69] When the project was announced, another source initially gave the land cost as being $250/sq ft ($2,700/m²),^[65]^[66] equivalent to $3,462/sq ft ($37,260/m²) in 2023.^[63] French later confirmed the higher figure of $285 per square foot.^[65]^[66]

[NYCL_and_Interior_p._1-1] Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 1; Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior 1986, p. 1.

[NPS_p._3-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h National Park Service 2003, p. 3.

[ZoLa-3] "547 5 Avenue, 10176". New York City Department of City Planning. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2020.

[Brown_2019-4] Brown, Nicole (March 18, 2019). "Why do some buildings have their own ZIP codes? NYCurious". amNewYork. Retrieved July 8, 2022.

[aia5-5] White, Norval; Willensky, Elliot; Leadon, Fran (2010). AIA Guide to New York City (5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 328. ISBN 978-0-19538-386-7.

[ML_p._79-6] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Macaulay-Lewis 2021, p. 79.

[7] Pollak, Michael (February 27, 2005). "Still Hailing That Taxi". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2020.

[Emporos-8] "Fred F. French Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.

[nyt19920524-9] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Gray, Christopher (May 24, 1992). "Streetscapes: The Fred R. French Building; Refurbishing 'Mesopatamia'". The New York Times. p. 7. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.

[Krinsky1982-10] Krinsky, Carol Herselle (January 1982). "The Fred F. French Building; Mesopotamia in Manhattan". Antiques. Vol. 121. pp. 289–291.

[NYCL_p._12-11] Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 12.

[:1-12] National Park Service 2003, p. 22.

[13] "Architect at a Loss to Explain New Style; H. D. Ives Says French Building Arouses Many Difficult Questions Concerning Design". The New York Times. February 6, 1927. p. RE1. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 104240644. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.

[NYCL_p._10-14] Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 10.

[:0-15] Stern, Robert A. M.; Gilmartin, Patrick; Mellins, Thomas (1987). New York 1930: Architecture and Urbanism Between the Two World Wars. New York: Rizzoli. p. 597. ISBN 978-0-8478-3096-1. OCLC 13860977.

[NYCL_p._14-16] Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 14.

[17] National Park Service 2003, p. 23.

[18] Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, pp. 12–13.

[NYCL_pp._14-15-19] Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, pp. 14–15.

[NPS_p._4-20] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g National Park Service 2003, p. 4.

[NYCL_p._13-21] Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 13.

[NPS_p._6-22] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h National Park Service 2003, p. 6.

[23] Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 15.

[24] National Park Service 2003, p. 5.

[25] Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, pp. 15–16.

[26] Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 16.

[NYCL_p._17-27] Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 17.

[ML_pp._79-80-28] Macaulay-Lewis 2021, pp. 79–80.

[NYCL_(Interior)_p._1-29] Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior 1986, p. 1.

[30] Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, pp. 17–19.

[NYCL_p._19-31] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 19.

[Stichweh2009-32] Stichweh, Dirk (2016). New York Skyscrapers. Prestel Publishing. p. 161. ISBN 978-3-7913-8226-5. OCLC 923852487.

[Nash_2005-33] Nash, Eric (2005). Manhattan Skyscrapers. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-56898-652-4. OCLC 407907000.

[NPS_p._20-34] National Park Service 2003, p. 20.

[35] The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. 58. James T. White & Company. 1979. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-88371-026-5.

[NPS_p._9-36] National Park Service 2003, p. 9.

[37] "Push Button Now Master of Speedy Building "Lift": "Elevator" in French Building Must Obey Little Contrivance Either in the Car or on Each Floor". New York Herald Tribune. February 13, 1927. p. C2. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.

[NPS_p._7-38] National Park Service 2003, p. 7.

[39] Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior 1986, p. 10.

[NYCL_(Interior)_p._11-40] Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior 1986, p. 11.

[41] National Park Service 2003, pp. 7–8.

[NPS_p._8-42] National Park Service 2003, p. 8.

[43] "MetLife Lends $130Mln Against Manhattan's Fred F. French Building". Commercial Real Estate Direct. October 16, 2012. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.

[ML_p._80-44] Macaulay-Lewis 2021, p. 80.

[NYCL_p._11-45] Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 11.

[NPS_p._21-46] National Park Service 2003, p. 21.

[47] National Park Service 2003, pp. 9–10.

[48] National Park Service 2003, p. 10.

[49] National Park Service 2003, pp. 10–11.

[50] Klose, Olivia (December 14, 2010). "500 Fifth Avenue" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 24, 2012.

[51] Fitch, James Marston; Waite, Diana S. (1974). Grand Central Terminal and Rockefeller Center: A Historic-critical Estimate of Their Significance. Albany, New York: The Division. p. 6.

[ML_p._77-52] Macaulay-Lewis 2021, p. 77.

[53] Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, pp. 2–3.

[54] National Park Service 2003, pp. 14–15.

[nyt19260725-55] "Millions of Dollars for New Buildings Invested in the Fifth Avenue Area: Steady Increase Shown in Real Estate Values". The New York Times. July 25, 1926. p. RE1. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2020 – via ProQuest.

[56] National Park Service 2003, p. 14.

[57] Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 2.

[58] Robinson, Cervin; Haag Bletter, Rosemarie (1975). Skyscraper style : art deco, New York. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-19-502112-7. OCLC 1266717.

[NYCL_p._4-59] Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 4.

[60] National Park Service 2003, p. 16.

[nyt19250320-61] "Fred F. French Companies Buy Big Plot on Fifth Avenue and Forty-fifth Street". The New York Times. March 20, 1925. p. 34. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 103498243. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2020 – via ProQuest.

[nyht19250322-62] "Echo of French Deal Will Long Be Heard on Fifth Avenue: Purchase of 45th Street Corner and Development of Half-Acre Site With 31-Story Building Will Shake Loose From Old Owners Many Properties in Neighborhood; New Building Era for Section". The New York Herald, New York Tribune. March 22, 1925. p. B1. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020 – via ProQuest.

[inflation-USGDP-63] Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.

[NYCL_p._3-65] Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 3.

[NPS_p._15-66] National Park Service 2003, p. 15.

[NYCL_p._21-68] Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 21.

[70] "Title to Fifth Avenue Corner Passes to Fred F. French Co". The New York Times. May 1, 1925. p. 35. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 103601335. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2020 – via ProQuest.

[NYCL_p._9-71] Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, p. 9.

[NPS_p._19-72] National Park Service 2003, p. 19.

[nyt19350826-73] "Plans Filed for Commercial Skyscraper at Fifth Avenue and Forty-fifth St". The New York Times. August 26, 1925. p. 31. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 103634912. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020 – via ProQuest.

[74] "Final Fifth Avenue Plans.: 35-story Skyscraper at 45th Street to Be Completed Jan 1, 1927". The New York Times. March 21, 1926. p. RE2. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2020 – via ProQuest.

[75] "$4,500,000 Lent On French Building". New York Herald Tribune. October 8, 1926. p. 41. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.

[76] "Loan $4,500,000 on New Fred F. French Building For 5th Ave, Manhattan". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. October 10, 1926. p. D1. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via newspapers.com .

[77] Landmarks Preservation Commission 1986, pp. 9–10.

[78] National Park Service 2003, p. 17.

[79] Goldberger, Paul (December 15, 1984). "5th Ave., at Its Brightest, Sees Shadows of Change". The New York Times. p. 25. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2020.

[ML_p._78-80] Macaulay-Lewis 2021, p. 78.

[81] "Real Estate Transactions in City and Suburbs: Fifth Avenue Space Leased For $1,250,000 Browning, King & Co. Locate in 38 Story French Building Going Up at 45th St. Corner; Other Rentals". New York Herald Tribune. November 12, 1926. p. 37. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2020 – via ProQuest.

[82] "Kennelly Firm Joins Uptown Movement; Auctioneers to Move From Lower Broadway to the French Building on Fifth Avenue". The New York Times. January 20, 1929. p. RE1. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.

[83] "Real Estate in City and Suburbs: Luggage Concern To Pay $1,000,000 Rental on Fifth Ave. Leases Store in New French Building; New Tenants for Loft and Office Structures in Mid-Town Section". New York Herald Tribune. January 31, 1927. p. 26. ProQuest 1113623428. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.

[84] "Pulp, Paper Concern Takes Large Space On Fifth Avenue: Perkins-Good win Co. Takes Lease on 27th Floor in New French Building; Other Rentals in Midtown Section". New York Herald Tribune. March 15, 1927. p. 26. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.

[85] "St. Paul Railroad Will Pay $1,500,000 For 5th Ave. Store: Ticket Office in French Building Will Cost Western Road $130 Square Ft.; Rent Shows Bin Advance". New York Herald Tribune. March 24, 1927. p. 32. ProQuest 1130493406. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.

[86] "Coast Chain Office Here.; American Broadcasting Company Opens Quarters at 551 Fifth Av". The New York Times. October 15, 1928. p. R28. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.

[87] "Fifth Avenue Space Leased For Restaurant: 9,000 Square Feet Acquired by Acker, Merrall & Condit Co. in New French Building, 45th St. Corner". New York Herald Tribune. February 8, 1927. p. 36. ProQuest 1113516270. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.

[88] "Man, Once Wealthy, Ends Life by Shot; Former Corset Manufacturer, Facing Forgery Charge, Left Note, Saying Friends Quit Him". The New York Times. January 5, 1932. p. 5. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.

[89] "Woman Falls 23 Stories After Notifying Friends: Had Planned Suicide 2 Months Before Fifth Avenue Leap". New York Herald Tribune. November 15, 1938. p. 25. ProQuest 1255842173. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.

[90] "Elevator Kills Worker; Repairman Crushed to Death in a Fifth Avenue Building". The New York Times. March 31, 1945. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.

[91] "Real Estate News: Large Midtown Quarters Taken By Restaurant Max Fisher, Wm. Frieber Rent in French Building; Paint, Paper Firms Lease". New York Herald Tribune. January 27, 1934. p. 25. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.

[92] "Big Space Leased by Diamond Dealer; Louis Roselaar, With Branches in Europe, Takes Offices in 551 Fifth Avenue". The New York Times. July 31, 1941. p. 31. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.

[93] "47 Fellowships Are Awarded by Guggenheim: Memorial Foundation Gives Annual Aid to Artists and Scholars of America". New York Herald Tribune. April 1, 1935. p. 9. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.

[94] "Trade Bureau a Bit of Brazil in Fifth Avenue: It Received 8 Queries a Month in 1935, and Now 141 Questions Are Asked Daily; Brazilian Products Are on Exhibition There". New York Herald Tribune. March 31, 1952. p. 58. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via ProQuest.

[95] "Advertising Firms Stay in 551 5th Ave.; Four Renew Leases in the Fred F. French Building". The New York Times. March 15, 1944. p. 30. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.

[96] "Buildings Fill Up in Midtown Area; Late Rentals Complete the Leasing of Three Business Structures in Section". The New York Times. March 20, 1942. p. 36. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.

[97] "Ellman Will Head Longchamps Chain". The New York Times. October 18, 1967. p. 71. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.

[98] Chen, David W. (April 17, 1997). "New Center for Pace". The New York Times. p. B12. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 29, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2020.

[99] Bagli, Charles V. (December 24, 2002). "Metro Briefing | New York: Manhattan: Landmark Changes Hands". The New York Times. p. B6. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.

[nydn20021120-100] Herman, Eric (November 20, 2002). "French lessons". New York Daily News. p. 54. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via newspapers.com .

[101] Bagli, Charles V. (2014). Other People's Money: Inside the Housing Crisis and the Demise of the Greatest Real Estate Deal Ever Made. Plume. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-14-218071-6. LCCN 2013045940. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2020.

[102] Levere, Jane L. (September 4, 2012). "The Heart of Fifth Avenue Shopping Is Edging to the South". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.

[103] Palmieri, Jean E. (November 15, 2012). "Tommy Bahama Throws Anchor On Fifth Avenue". Women's Wear Daily. Vol. 204, no. 103. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.

[104] "551 Fifth Avenue - TRD Research". The Real Deal. March 13, 2019. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.

[105] Federal Writers' Project (1939). New York City Guide. New York: Random House. p. 218. ISBN 978-1-60354-055-1. (Reprinted by Scholarly Press, 1976; often referred to as WPA Guide to New York City.)

[106] Goldberger, Paul (April 30, 1986). "Carnegie Hall Details Plans for Office Tower". The New York Times. p. C19. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved October 7, 2020.

[107] Tauranac, John (1979). Essential New York : a guide to the history and architecture of Manhattan's important buildings, parks, and bridges. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-03-042626-1. OCLC 4494970.

[108] Kakutani, Michiko (November 8, 1979). "TV dinners vs. high tea". Democrat and Chronicle. pp. 23, 24.

[109] Miller, Bryan (February 18, 1982). "Volunteers Tracking Down New York's Significant Interiors". The New York Times. p. C6. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved October 12, 2020.

[NYCL_(Interior)_p._21-110] Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior 1986, p. 21.

[111] "National Register of Historic Places 2004 Weekly Lists" (PDF). National Park Service. 2004. p. 21. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.

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+{{Short description|Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York}}
 {{good article}}
+{{Use American English|date=June 2023}}
 {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2020}}
-{{Short description|Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York}}
 {{Infobox NRHP
-| name                     = Fred F. French Building
+| name                   = Fred F. French Building
-| nrhp_type                = nrhp
+| nrhp_type              = nrhp
-| image                    = Fred-f-french.jpg
+| image                  = Fred-f-french.jpg
-| caption                  =
+| caption                =
-| location                 = 551 [[Fifth Avenue]], [[Manhattan]], New York City
+| location               = 551 [[Fifth Avenue]], [[Manhattan]], New York City
-| area                     =
+| area                   =
-| built                    = 1927
+| built                  = 1927
-| coordinates              = {{coord|40.755456|-73.979222|format=dms|region:US_type:landmark|display=it}}
+| coordinates            = {{coord|40.7554|-73.9789|format=dms|region:US_type:landmark|display=it}}
-| architect                = [[H. Douglas Ives]] and [[Sloan & Robertson]]
+| architect              = [[H. Douglas Ives]] and [[Sloan & Robertson]]
-| architecture             = [[Art Deco]]
+| architecture           = [[Art Deco]]
-| district_map             = {{Maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=250|frame-height=250|zoom=14|type=point|marker=|title=Fred F. French Building}}
+| district_map           = {{Maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=250|frame-height=250|zoom=14|type=point|marker=|title=Fred F. French Building}}
-| added                    = January 28, 2004
+| added                  = January 28, 2004
-| visitation_num           =
+| visitation_num         =
-| visitation_year          =
+| visitation_year        =
-| refnum                   = 03001514
+| refnum                 = 03001514
-| mpsub                    =
+| mpsub                  =
-| designated_other2_name   = NYC Landmark
+| designated_other2_name = New York City Landmark
-| designated_other2_date   = March 18, 1986<ref name="NYCL and Interior p. 1" />
+| designated_other2_date = March 18, 1986<ref name="NYCL and Interior p. 1" />
-| designated_other2_abbr   = NYCL
+| designated_other2_abbr = NYCL
-| designated_other2_link   = New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
+| designated_other2_link = New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
-| designated_other2_color  = #FFE978
+| designated_other2_color = #FFE978
 | designated_other2_number = 1415, 1416
 }}
@@ Line 30: / Line 31: @@
 The 38-story building is designed in the [[Art Deco]] style, with Middle Eastern influences, and contains numerous [[setback (architecture)|setback]]s as mandated by the [[1916 Zoning Resolution]]. The [[facade]] is mostly designed with brick walls and limestone trim. The base of the facade is ornamented with two bronze entrances and multiple mythological figures, while the top contains a "tower" with [[Architecture of Mesopotamia|Mesopotamian]] style [[bas-relief]]s and [[faience]] tiles. Other multicolored details such as ornamental friezes ornament the facade. The Middle Eastern design motifs are also used in the lobby, which contains a polychrome [[vaulted ceiling]].
-The Fred F. French Building has approximately {{convert|430,000|ft2}} for rent and is owned by [[The Feil Organization]]. It was the tallest building on Fifth Avenue as well as one of the most desired addresses on the avenue upon its completion. By the 1990s, it underwent a complete restoration, subsequently earning the [[Building Owners and Managers Association]] 1994/1995 Historic Building of the Year Award. The Fred F. French Building and its interior became [[New York City designated landmark]]s in 1986, and the building was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 2004.
+The Fred F. French Building has approximately {{convert|430,000|ft2}} for rent and is owned by [[The Feil Organization]]. It was the tallest building on Fifth Avenue as well as one of the most desired addresses on the avenue upon its completion. By the 1990s, it underwent a complete restoration, subsequently earning the Building Owners and Managers Association 1994/1995 Historic Building of the Year Award. The Fred F. French Building and its interior became [[New York City designated landmark]]s in 1986, and the building was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 2004.
-== Design ==
+==Site==
-The Fred F. French Building is at the northeast corner of [[Fifth Avenue]] and [[45th Street (Manhattan)|45th Street]] in [[Midtown Manhattan]], New York City.<ref name="NPS p. 3">{{harvnb|ps=.|National Park Service|2003|p=3}}</ref><ref name="ZoLa">{{Cite web|title=547 5 Avenue, 10176|url=https://zola.planning.nyc.gov/l/lot/1/1281/1#17.08/40.755374/-73.977584|access-date=March 20, 2020|publisher=[[New York City Department of City Planning]]}}</ref> Its plot is largely rectangular but has a small cutout on the northwestern portion. The building adjoins a 20-story building at 553 Fifth Avenue, which is "L"-shaped and occupies the cutout, as well as a nine-story building at 9 East 45th Street.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref name="ZoLa" />
+The Fred F. French Building is at the northeast corner of [[Fifth Avenue]] and [[45th Street (Manhattan)|45th Street]] in [[Midtown Manhattan]], New York City.<ref name="NPS p. 3">{{harvnb|ps=.|National Park Service|2003|p=3}}</ref><ref name="ZoLa">{{Cite web|title=547 5 Avenue, 10176|url=https://zola.planning.nyc.gov/l/lot/1/1281/1#17.08/40.755374/-73.977584|access-date=March 20, 2020|publisher=[[New York City Department of City Planning]]|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164446/https://zola.planning.nyc.gov/l/lot/1/1281/1#17.08/40.755374/-73.977584|url-status=live}}</ref> Its plot is largely rectangular but has a small cutout on the northwestern portion. The building adjoins a 20-story building at 553 Fifth Avenue, which is L-shaped and occupies the cutout, as well as a nine-story building at 9 East 45th Street.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref name="ZoLa" /> The building is assigned its own [[ZIP Code]], 10176; it was one of 41 buildings in Manhattan that had their own ZIP Codes {{as of|2019|lc=y}}.<ref name="Brown 2019">{{cite web | last=Brown | first=Nicole | title=Why do some buildings have their own ZIP codes? NYCurious | website=amNewYork | date=March 18, 2019 | url=https://www.amny.com/news/nyc-zip-codes-1-28558957/ | access-date=July 8, 2022}}</ref>
+==Architecture==
-The Fred F. French Building was designed by [[H. Douglas Ives]] with [[Sloan & Robertson]] in the [[Art Deco]] style and completed in 1927.<ref name="aia5" /> The building is named for [[Fred F. French]], the head of the French Companies, whose other projects in the city included [[Tudor City]] and [[Knickerbocker Village]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Pollak|first=Michael|date=February 27, 2005|title=Still Hailing That Taxi|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/27/nyregion/thecity/still-hailing-that-taxi.html|url-status=live|access-date=October 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726072107/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/27/nyregion/thecity/still-hailing-that-taxi.html|archive-date=July 26, 2018|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The Fred F. French Building rises 38 stories, rising {{Convert|426|ft||abbr=}} tall, and contains several [[Setback (architecture)|setbacks]] on all sides as mandated under the [[1916 Zoning Resolution]].<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref name="Emporos">{{cite web|title=Fred F. French Building|url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/115506/fred-f-french-building-new-york-city-ny-usa|access-date=October 12, 2020|publisher=Emporis}}</ref> It was one of the first few skyscrapers to be built with a mostly rectangular plan; previous buildings had been erected with largely square plans.<ref name="nyt19920524">{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|author-link=Christopher Gray|date=May 24, 1992|title=Streetscapes: The Fred R. French Building; Refurbishing 'Mesopatamia'|page=7|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/24/realestate/streetscapes-the-fred-r-french-building-refurbishing-mesopatamia.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited|access-date=October 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013080837/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/24/realestate/streetscapes-the-fred-r-french-building-refurbishing-mesopatamia.html|archive-date=October 13, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
+The Fred F. French Building was designed by [[H. Douglas Ives]] with [[Sloan & Robertson]] in the [[Art Deco]] style and completed in 1927.<ref name="aia5" /><ref name="ML p. 79">{{harvnb|Macaulay-Lewis|2021|ps=.|p=79}}</ref> The building is named for [[Fred F. French]], the head of the French Companies, whose other projects in the city included [[Tudor City]] and [[Knickerbocker Village]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Pollak|first=Michael|date=February 27, 2005|title=Still Hailing That Taxi|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/27/nyregion/thecity/still-hailing-that-taxi.html|url-status=live|access-date=October 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726072107/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/27/nyregion/thecity/still-hailing-that-taxi.html|archive-date=July 26, 2018|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The Fred F. French Building rises 38 stories, rising {{Convert|426|ft||abbr=}} tall, and contains several [[Setback (architecture)|setbacks]] on all sides as mandated under the [[1916 Zoning Resolution]].<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref name="Emporos">{{cite web|title=Fred F. French Building|url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/115506/fred-f-french-building-new-york-city-ny-usa|access-date=October 12, 2020|publisher=Emporis|archive-date=October 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013063317/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/115506/fred-f-french-building-new-york-city-ny-usa|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was one of the first few skyscrapers to be built with a mostly rectangular plan; previous buildings had been erected with largely square plans.<ref name="nyt19920524">{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|author-link=Christopher Gray (architectural historian)|date=May 24, 1992|title=Streetscapes: The Fred R. French Building; Refurbishing 'Mesopatamia'|page=7|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/24/realestate/streetscapes-the-fred-r-french-building-refurbishing-mesopatamia.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited|access-date=October 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013080837/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/24/realestate/streetscapes-the-fred-r-french-building-refurbishing-mesopatamia.html|archive-date=October 13, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
-The Fred F. French Building was described by architectural writer [[Carol Herselle Krinsky]] as the "only [[Architecture of Mesopotamia|Mesopotamian]] skyscraper" in New York City.<ref name="Krinsky1982">{{Cite journal|last=Krinsky|first=Carol Herselle|date=January 1982|title=The Fred F. French Building; Mesopotamia in Manhattan|journal=Antiques|volume=121|pages=289-291}}</ref> Ives wrote that the building's colorful design took after Middle Eastern architectural features, such as [[ziggurat]]s. The colors used in the Fred F. French Building's [[facade]] were intended to evoke that of the [[Tower of Babel]]. At the time of the building's development, there was large interest in [[Ancient Egypt]] and the [[Ancient Near East]], and other contemporary structures such as the [[Chrysler Building]], [[Rockefeller Center]], and [[2 Park Avenue]] incorporated elements of ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern architecture.<ref name="NYCL p. 12">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=12}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=22}}</ref> However, the Fred F. French Building's design was intended to be colorful and noticeable from afar, rather than historically accurate.<ref name="NYCL p. 12" /><ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=23}}</ref> The [[facade]] was accented with terracotta bands of various colors including hues of red and black.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref name="nyt19920524" /> Because of the different influences on the design, Ives said that he felt "somewhat at a loss" when asked to describe the building's design.<ref>{{cite news|date=February 6, 1927|title=Architect at a Loss to Explain New Style; H. D. Ives Says French Building Arouses Many Difficult Questions Concerning Design|page=RE1|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/104240644/ED923162B84243B5PQ/12|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331|via=ProQuest}}</ref>
+The Fred F. French Building was described by architectural writer [[Carol Herselle Krinsky]] as the "only [[Architecture of Mesopotamia|Mesopotamian]] skyscraper" in New York City.<ref name="Krinsky1982">{{cite magazine|last=Krinsky|first=Carol Herselle|date=January 1982|title=The Fred F. French Building; Mesopotamia in Manhattan|journal=Antiques|volume=121|pages=289–291}}</ref> Ives wrote that the building's colorful design took after Middle Eastern architectural features such as [[ziggurat]]s. The colors used in the Fred F. French Building's [[facade]] were intended to evoke that of the [[Tower of Babel]].<ref name="ML p. 79" /><ref name="NYCL p. 12" /><ref name=":1" /> At the time of the building's development, there was large interest in [[Ancient Egypt]] and the [[Ancient Near East]], and other contemporary structures such as the [[Chrysler Building]], [[Rockefeller Center]], and [[2 Park Avenue]] incorporated elements of ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern architecture.<ref name="NYCL p. 12">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=12}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=22}}</ref> Furthermore, modern building codes prevented the inclusion of cornices and other decorative elements that projected more than {{convert|18|in}} from the facade, as had been standard in older buildings.<ref name="ML p. 79" /> Because of the different influences, Ives said he felt "somewhat at a loss" when asked to describe the building's design.<ref>{{cite news |date=February 6, 1927 |title=Architect at a Loss to Explain New Style; H. D. Ives Says French Building Arouses Many Difficult Questions Concerning Design |page=RE1 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/104240644 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013004740/https://search.proquest.com/docview/104240644/ED923162B84243B5PQ/12 |archive-date=October 13, 2020 |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|104240644}} |via=ProQuest}}</ref>
-=== Form ===
+=== Form and facade ===
 [[File:The French Building - from the Top of the Rock (4693142334).jpg|thumb|Setback detail|alt=Aerial view of detailing on an upper-story setback, with mosaic tile and tan brick]]
-Even though the Fred F. French Building's official address is 551 Fifth Avenue, its main entrance is on 45th Street.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /> The building was designed with profit as the main consideration, and so the shorter side along Fifth Avenue was intended for retail space that was considered highly valuable.<ref name="NYCL p. 10">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=10}}</ref>
+Even though the Fred F. French Building's official address is 551 Fifth Avenue, its main entrance is on 45th Street.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /> The building was designed with profit as the main consideration, so the shorter side along Fifth Avenue was intended for highly valuable retail space.<ref name="NYCL p. 10">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=10}}</ref> The building consists of a base spanning the 1st to 3rd stories; a midsection from the 4th to the 19th floors, with multiple setbacks; and a rectangular "tower" that is capped by a three-story [[Penthouse apartment|penthouse]] above the 35th floor.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite New York 1930|page=597}}</ref> Each of the four primary [[Elevation (architecture)|elevations]] of the facade has a different [[massing]]. The northern and eastern elevations face other buildings, but the southern and western elevations face 45th Street and Fifth Avenue respectively.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="NYCL p. 14">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=14}}</ref>
+The Fred F. French Building's Middle Eastern decoration was intended to be colorful and noticeable from afar, rather than historically accurate.<ref name="NYCL p. 12" /><ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=23}}</ref> The facade is accented with terracotta bands of various colors including hues of red and black.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref name="nyt19920524" />
-The building consists of a base spanning the 1st to 3rd stories; a midsection from the 4th to the 19th floors, with multiple setbacks; and a rectangular "tower" that is capped by a three-story [[Penthouse apartment|penthouse]] above the 35th floor. Atop the penthouse is a flat roof with a water tower.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite New York 1930|page=597}}</ref> Each of the four primary [[Elevation (architecture)|elevations]] or sides has a different [[massing]]; the northern and eastern elevations face other buildings, but the southern and western elevations face 45th Street and Fifth Avenue respectively.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="NYCL p. 14">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=14}}</ref> The setbacks atop the tower are more gradual from the northern and southern elevations, while the eastern and western elevations set back more abruptly to the penthouse.<ref name="NPS p. 6">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=6}}</ref><ref name="NYCL p. 19">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=19}}</ref> The top section measures only two bays wide on its western and eastern elevations.<ref name="Emporos" />
-===Facade===
+==== Base ====
-<!-- ====Base==== -->On Fifth Avenue and on 45th Street, the first story is topped by a bronze [[frieze]] that contains depictions of winged beasts and stylized glyphs.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|pp=12–13}}</ref> The second story contains steel-framed tripartite windows above the friezes.<ref name="NYCL pp. 14-15">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|pp=14–15}}</ref> The entrances are set within bronze arches, which contain coffered [[Pier (architecture)|piers]]; symbols of architecture and industry in their [[spandrel]]s; and bronze letters reading {{Smallcaps|the french building}} above each arch.<ref name="NPS p. 4">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=4}}</ref><ref name="NYCL p. 13">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=13}}</ref> Above the second story, on both Fifth Avenue and 45th Street, are limestone friezes reading {{Smallcaps|the fred f. french building}}. Flagpoles project from the second story in the second and fifth bays from the north on Fifth Avenue. The third story, on both Fifth Avenue and 45th Street, contains two slightly recessed one-over-one sash windows in each bay. A cornice runs above the third floor.<ref name="NPS p. 6" /><ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=15}}</ref>
+On Fifth Avenue and on 45th Street, the first story is topped by a bronze [[frieze]] that contains depictions of winged beasts and stylized glyphs.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|pp=12–13}}</ref> The second story contains steel-framed tripartite windows above the friezes.<ref name="NYCL pp. 14-15">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|pp=14–15}}</ref> The entrances are set within bronze arches, which contain coffered [[Pier (architecture)|piers]]; symbols of architecture and industry in their [[spandrel]]s; and bronze letters reading {{Smallcaps|the french building}} above each arch.<ref name="NPS p. 4">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=4}}</ref><ref name="NYCL p. 13">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=13}}</ref> Above the second story, on both Fifth Avenue and 45th Street, are limestone friezes reading {{Smallcaps|the fred f. french building}}. Flagpoles project from the second story in the second and fifth bays from the north on Fifth Avenue. The third story, on both Fifth Avenue and 45th Street, contains two slightly recessed one-over-one sash windows in each bay. A cornice runs above the third floor.<ref name="NPS p. 6">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=6}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=15}}</ref>
-The base of the facade on Fifth Avenue is divided into five bays by double-story limestone piers.<ref name="NYCL p. 14" /><ref name="NPS p. 4" /> The entrance on Fifth Avenue, in the second bay from north, contains an outer vestibule under the arch, outside the entrance doors. The vestibule's ceiling consists of a depressed barrel vault with a bronze and crystal chandelier, as well as painted stepped corners and bas-relief polychrome beasts. The vestibule has an Italian travertine floor with beige stone [[lozenge]]s, black and white marble triangles, and brass strips. The sides of the vestibule have bronze display windows, and the vestibule has two bronze revolving doors, topped by inscribed panels with the building's name and address.<ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=5}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|pp=15–16}}</ref> Historically, the northernmost bay had a glass storefront and granite [[Water table (architecture)|water table]] at ground level, which was later replaced.<ref name="NYCL pp. 14-15" /><ref name="NPS p. 4" /> The other three bays on Fifth Avenue also have replacement glass storefronts and water tables.<ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=16}}</ref>
+The base of the facade on Fifth Avenue is divided into five bays by double-story limestone piers.<ref name="NYCL p. 14" /><ref name="NPS p. 4" /> The entrance on Fifth Avenue, in the second bay from north, contains an outer vestibule under the arch, outside the entrance doors. The vestibule's ceiling consists of a depressed barrel vault with a bronze and crystal chandelier, as well as painted stepped corners and bas-relief polychrome beasts. The vestibule has an Italian travertine floor with beige stone [[Lozenge (shape)|lozenge]]s, black and white marble triangles, and brass strips. The sides of the vestibule have bronze display windows, and the vestibule has two bronze revolving doors, topped by inscribed panels with the building's name and address.<ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=5}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|pp=15–16}}</ref> Historically, the northernmost bay had a glass storefront and granite [[Water table (architecture)|water table]] at ground level, which was later replaced.<ref name="NYCL pp. 14-15" /><ref name="NPS p. 4" /> The other three bays on Fifth Avenue also have replacement glass storefronts and water tables.<ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=16}}</ref>
-The base of the facade on 45th Street is divided into twelve bays by double-story limestone piers. The main entrance is in the eighth bay from west, and contains an arched vestibule. The vestibule is exactly the same as the Fifth Avenue facade, except that it is enclosed behind double glass doors and a bronze-and-glass [[Transom (architecture)|transom]].<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="NYCL p. 17">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=17}}</ref> The other eleven bays on 45th Street contain glass storefronts and water tables in various conditions.<ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|pp=17–19}}</ref>
+The base of the facade on 45th Street is divided into twelve bays by double-story limestone piers. The main entrance is in the eighth bay from the west and contains an arched vestibule. The vestibule is enclosed behind double glass doors and a bronze-and-glass [[Transom (architecture)|transom]].<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="NYCL p. 17">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=17}}</ref> Its design is the same as that of the outer vestibule of the Fifth Avenue entrance.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="NYCL p. 17" /><ref name="ML pp. 79-80">{{harvnb|Macaulay-Lewis|2021|ps=.|pp=79–80}}</ref> The decorations include bearded genies and 25 panels depicting Mesopotamian women.<ref name="ML pp. 79-80" /><ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 1">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1986|ps=.|p=1}}</ref> The other eleven bays on 45th Street contain glass storefronts and water tables in various conditions.<ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|pp=17–19}}</ref>
+==== Upper stories ====
-<!-- ====Upper stories==== -->The 4th through 19th stories comprise the midsection of the building and are clad with [[Russet (color)|russet]] colored brick. The 4th through 11th floors rise directly from the lot lines before setting back at various depths.<ref name="NPS p. 6" /><ref name="NYCL p. 19" /> The setbacks are decorated with limestone-trimmed [[frieze]]s containing black ornament.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="NYCL p. 13" /> Limestone windowsills were used on the facades facing the street, and precast concrete was used above setbacks at places where these windows could not be seen from street level.<ref name="nyt19920524" /> The windows on these stories are all sash windows, two per bay on each floor. The capitals of the vertical piers are clad in light green [[faience]] with small rosettes.<ref name="NPS p. 6" /><ref name="NYCL p. 19" />
+The 4th through 19th stories comprise the midsection of the building and are clad with [[Russet (color)|russet]] colored brick. The 4th through 11th floors rise directly from the lot lines before setting back at various depths.<ref name="NPS p. 6" /><ref name="NYCL p. 19">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=19}}</ref><ref name="Stichweh2009">{{cite book |last=Stichweh |first=Dirk |title=New York Skyscrapers |publisher=[[Prestel Publishing]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-3-7913-8226-5 |page=161 |oclc=923852487}}</ref> The setbacks are decorated with limestone-trimmed [[frieze]]s containing black ornament.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="NYCL p. 13" /><ref name="Nash 2005">{{cite book |last=Nash |first=Eric |title=Manhattan Skyscrapers |publisher=Princeton Architectural Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-56898-652-4 |publication-place=New York |page=39 |oclc=407907000}}</ref> Limestone windowsills were used on the facades facing the street, and precast concrete was used above setbacks at places where these windows could not be seen from street level.<ref name="nyt19920524" /> The windows on these stories are all sash windows, two per bay on each floor. The capitals of the piers are clad in light green [[faience]] with small rosettes.<ref name="NPS p. 6" /><ref name="NYCL p. 19" />
+The 20th through 38th stories comprise the "tower" of the building. The setbacks atop the tower are more gradual from the northern and southern elevations, while the eastern and western elevations set back more abruptly to the penthouse.<ref name="NPS p. 6" /><ref name="NYCL p. 19" /> The tower section measures only two bays wide on its western and eastern elevations.<ref name="Emporos" /><ref name="Nash 2005" /> An orange-and-green belt course of faience tiles runs above the 31st floor.<ref name="NPS p. 6" /><ref name="NYCL p. 19" />
-The 20th through 38th stories comprise the "tower" of the building. On the upper stories, there are faience panels with sunburst designs on the north and south facades, with red, orange, gold, and green tiles. The sunburst designs were used to symbolize progress, while winged griffons depicting integrity and watchfulness flank each sunburst.<ref name="nyt19920524" /><ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="NYCL p. 13" /> An orange-and-green belt course of faience tiles runs above the 31st floor, while faience spandrels and an orange-and-green frieze depicting serpents are above the 38th floor. The rooftop water tower contains bas reliefs on green background surrounded by a frame of red faience. The windows of the penthouse are arranged in several configurations. A metal fire escape runs along the eastern facade.<ref name="NPS p. 6" /><ref name="NYCL p. 19" />
+Near the top of the building, there are faience panels with sunburst designs on the north and south elevations, with red, orange, gold, and green tiles. The sunburst designs were used to symbolize progress, while winged griffons depicting integrity and watchfulness flank each sunburst.<ref name="nyt19920524" /><ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="NYCL p. 13" /><ref name="Nash 2005" /> Two beehives, each surrounded by five bees, separate the sunbursts and griffins.<ref name="ML p. 79" /> The narrower west and east elevations contain mosaic depictions of [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]], the Roman god of trade.<ref name="Stichweh2009" /><ref name="Nash 2005" /> Faience spandrels and an orange-and-green frieze depicting serpents are placed above the 38th floor. The windows of the penthouse are arranged in several configurations. A metal fire escape runs along the eastern elevation.<ref name="NPS p. 6" /><ref name="NYCL p. 19" /> Atop the penthouse is a flat roof with a water tower.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref name=":0" /> The use of a flat roof deviated from previous Art Deco designs, which typically had stepped pinnacles.<ref name="Stichweh2009" /><ref name="Nash 2005" /> The rooftop water tower contains bas reliefs on green background surrounded by a frame of red faience.<ref name="NPS p. 6" /><ref name="NYCL p. 19" /> At night, the building's pinnacle was illuminated.<ref name="ML p. 79" />
 ===Features===
@@ Line 61: / Line 66: @@
 The Fred F. French Building contained the most up-to-date designs and machinery when it was completed. Its innovations included an electric plumbing system, automatic elevators, and lighting and ventilation systems that could be "conveniently controlled", as described in the French Companies' magazine ''The Voice''.<ref name="NYCL p. 10" /><ref name="NPS p. 20">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=20}}</ref> The building also contains bronze ornamental work created by Russian-American artist [[Vincent Glinsky]].<ref>{{cite book|title=[[The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography]]|publisher=James T. White & Company|year=1979|isbn=978-0-88371-026-5|volume=58|page=36}}</ref>
-The building has eleven elevators. Ten of these run from the lobby and are separated into two banks of five units each. One bank serves all stories from the 1st to 16th floors, while the other runs nonstop from the lobby to the 17th floor, serving all floors through the 35th. From the 35th floor, a single elevator rises to the 38th story. Additionally, two stairways connect each of the floors.<ref name="NPS p. 9">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=9}}</ref> From the building's completion, the elevators were semi-automatically operated [[Otis Worldwide|Otis]] cabs, one of the first such installations in the city. [[Elevator operator]]s were retained only to push buttons for certain floors as requested by passengers, and to bypass floors when the cabs were full.<ref>{{cite news|date=February 13, 1927|title=Push Button Now Master of Speedy Building "Lift": "Elevator" in French Building Must Obey Little Contrivance Either in the Car or on Each Floor|page=C2|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1113521968/774D7528F23D4117PQ|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=ProQuest}}</ref>
+The building has eleven elevators. Ten of these run from the lobby and are separated into two banks of five units each. One bank serves all stories from the 1st to 16th floors, while the other runs nonstop from the lobby to the 17th floor, serving all floors through the 35th. From the 35th floor, a single elevator rises to the 38th story. Additionally, two stairways connect each of the floors.<ref name="NPS p. 9">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=9}}</ref> From the building's completion, the elevators were semi-automatically operated [[Otis Worldwide|Otis]] cabs, one of the first such installations in the city. [[Elevator operator]]s were retained only to push buttons for certain floors upon passengers' request and to bypass floors when the cabs were full.<ref>{{cite news|date=February 13, 1927|title=Push Button Now Master of Speedy Building "Lift": "Elevator" in French Building Must Obey Little Contrivance Either in the Car or on Each Floor|page=C2|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1113521968/774D7528F23D4117PQ|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=ProQuest|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164456/https://www.proquest.com/docview/1113521968/774D7528F23D4117PQ|url-status=live}}</ref>
 ==== Lobby ====
-The first-floor lobby is L-shaped and consists of a longer wing extending west from the elevator lobby to Fifth Avenue, as well as a shorter corridor to the 45th Street entrance vestibule. The lobby walls are clad with marble.<ref name="NPS p. 7">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=7}}</ref> The passageway from 45th Street is wider because the main entrance is on that side.<ref name="NPS p. 7" /><ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1986|ps=.|p=10}}</ref> The 45th Street entrance vestibule is of exactly the same design as the outer vestibule of the entrance on Fifth Avenue.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="NYCL p. 17" /> The passageway from Fifth Avenue is narrower and is divided by [[pilaster]]s into several bays, each of which contains a multicolored vault with beasts and pattern. A gilded plaster frieze runs near the top of the wall.<ref name="NPS p. 7" /><ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 11">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1986|ps=.|p=11}}</ref> The design of the Fifth Avenue corridor was intended to draw visitors from the entrance to the elevator hall, and also concealed the slight downward slope that existed between the Fifth Avenue and 45th Street entrances.<ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 11" /><ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|pp=7–8}}</ref>
+The first-floor lobby is L-shaped and consists of a longer wing extending west from the elevator lobby to Fifth Avenue, as well as a shorter corridor to the 45th Street entrance vestibule. The lobby walls are clad with marble.<ref name="NPS p. 7">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=7}}</ref> The lobby contains decorative details such as [[Chevron (insignia)|chevrons]], [[palmette]]s, [[volute]]s, [[merlon]]s, and [[lotus flowers]] as well as representations of animals such as lions and winged bulls.<ref name="ML p. 79" /> The passageway from 45th Street is wider because the main entrance is on that side.<ref name="NPS p. 7" /><ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1986|ps=.|p=10}}</ref>
+The passageway from Fifth Avenue is narrower and is divided by [[pilaster]]s into several bays, each of which contains a multicolored vault with beasts and pattern. A gilded plaster frieze runs near the top of the wall.<ref name="NPS p. 7" /><ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 11">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1986|ps=.|p=11}}</ref> The revolving doors from Fifth Avenue are flanked by [[Capital (architecture)|capitals]] with double bulls' heads, inspired by those that were originally in the [[Palace of Darius in Susa]].<ref name="ML p. 79" /> The design of the Fifth Avenue corridor was intended to draw visitors from the entrance to the elevator hall, and it also concealed the slight downward slope that existed between the Fifth Avenue and 45th Street entrances.<ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 11" /><ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|pp=7–8}}</ref>
-The elevator lobby contains several decorative bronze elements. The walls have three tenant-directory boards with ornamental bronze frames. The gilt-bronze double-leaf elevator doors in the lobby each have eight panels (four on each leaf) depicting sectors in which Fred French had businesses, including industry, commerce, finance, and building. Eight bronze chandeliers are present in the lobby, which contain inscriptions indicating the floors served by the adjacent elevators. Also in the lobby are five gilt-bronze doors leading to offices, with similar designs to the elevator doors, as well as three gilt-bronze doors of simpler design.<ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 11" /><ref name="NPS p. 8">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=8}}</ref> An Assyrian Revival mailbox is mounted on the wall between the two elevator banks; the mailbox contains a depiction of a bald eagle, [[Bald eagle#National bird of the United States|the symbol of the United States Post Office]], as well as two winged [[griffin]]s.<ref name="nyt19920524" /><ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 11" /><ref name="NPS p. 8" />
+The elevator lobby contains several decorative bronze elements. The walls have three tenant-directory boards with ornamental bronze frames. The gilt-bronze double-leaf elevator doors in the lobby each have eight panels (four on each leaf) depicting sectors in which Fred French had businesses, including industry, commerce, finance, and building.<ref name="ML p. 79" /><ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 11" /><ref name="NPS p. 8" />  Eight bronze chandeliers are present in the lobby, which contain inscriptions indicating the floors served by the adjacent elevators. Also in the lobby are five gilt-bronze doors leading to offices, with similar designs to the elevator doors, as well as three gilt-bronze doors of simpler design.<ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 11" /><ref name="NPS p. 8">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=8}}</ref> An Assyrian Revival mailbox is mounted on the wall between the two elevator banks; the mailbox contains a depiction of a bald eagle, [[Bald eagle#National bird of the United States|the symbol of the United States Post Office]], as well as two winged [[griffin]]s.<ref name="nyt19920524" /><ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 11" /><ref name="NPS p. 8" />
 ==== Upper stories ====
-The building has approximately {{convert|430,000|ft2}} for rent.<ref>{{cite web|date=October 16, 2012|title=MetLife Lends $130Mln Against Manhattan's Fred F. French Building|url=https://crenews.com/2012/10/16/metlife-lends-130mln-against-manhattans-fred-french-building/|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 11, 2020|website=Commercial Real Estate Direct}}</ref> The upper stories have different floor areas and shapes, and the higher floors had less floor area because of the gradual setbacks on the exterior. The 2nd through 11th stories had {{Convert|16000|ft2||abbr=}} per floor; the 29th through 35th stories in the tower have {{Convert|4000|ft2||abbr=}} per floor; and the penthouse has {{Convert|2400|ft2||abbr=}} per floor. The stories of the base have a floor plan that is clustered around a largely "L"-shaped passageway. The upper floors have passageways in various layouts to reflect the different shapes and sizes of each story.<ref name="NPS p. 8" /> Usually, on stories where a tenant rented an entire floor, the layout of that floor contained an [[open plan]].<ref name="NPS p. 9" />
+The building has approximately {{convert|430,000|ft2}} for rent.<ref>{{cite web|date=October 16, 2012|title=MetLife Lends $130Mln Against Manhattan's Fred F. French Building|url=https://crenews.com/2012/10/16/metlife-lends-130mln-against-manhattans-fred-french-building/|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 11, 2020|website=Commercial Real Estate Direct|archive-date=December 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215155856/https://crenews.com/2012/10/16/metlife-lends-130mln-against-manhattans-fred-french-building/|url-status=live}}</ref> The upper stories have different floor areas and shapes, and the higher floors had smaller areas because of the setbacks on the exterior. The 2nd through 11th stories had {{Convert|16000|ft2||abbr=}} per floor; the 29th through 35th stories in the tower have {{Convert|4000|ft2||abbr=}} per floor; and the penthouse has {{Convert|2400|ft2||abbr=}} per floor. The stories of the base have a floor plan that is clustered around a largely L-shaped passageway. The upper floors have passageways in various layouts to reflect the different shapes and sizes of each story.<ref name="NPS p. 8" /> Usually, on stories where a tenant rented an entire floor, the layout of that floor contained an [[open plan]].<ref name="NPS p. 9" />
-Some floors still contain their original furnishings, including mail chutes made of glass and bronze, as well as room-number signs and elevator floor indicators made of bronze. The interiors were originally finished with a marble [[Molding (decorative)|molding]] at the [[baseboard]], as well as wooden doorways and doors. Tenants modified the interiors on some floors with a myriad of designs, although some modern finishes were placed on top of the original furnishings. The remodeled floors contain finishes made of carpet, stone tiles, plastic tiles, or wood floors. The remodeled walls are made of sheetrock or paper, and have baseboards made of plastic, stone, or wood. [[Dropped ceiling]]s are used in almost all locations where the interiors were remodeled.<ref name="NPS p. 9" />
+Unlike the lobby, the office stories were not decorated in the Mesopotamian style and were instead designed to tenants' specifications.<ref name="ML p. 80">{{harvnb|Macaulay-Lewis|2021|ps=.|p=80}}</ref> Some floors still contain their original furnishings, including mail chutes made of glass and bronze, as well as room-number signs and elevator floor indicators made of bronze. The interiors were originally finished with a marble [[Molding (decorative)|molding]] at the [[baseboard]], as well as wooden doorways and doors. Tenants modified the interiors on some floors with a myriad of designs, although some modern finishes were placed on top of the original furnishings. The remodeled floors contain finishes made of carpet, stone tiles, plastic tiles, or wood floors. The remodeled walls are made of sheetrock or paper, and they have baseboards made of plastic, stone, or wood. [[Dropped ceiling]]s are used in almost all locations where the interiors were remodeled.<ref name="NPS p. 9" />
-On the 12th and 13th floors were the French Companies' offices, designed in the Tudor style,<ref name="nyt19920524" /> an allusion to the design of Tudor City.<ref name="Krinsky1982" /><ref name="NYCL p. 11">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=11}}</ref><ref name="NPS p. 21">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=21}}</ref> The 12th floor remains largely intact but some of these finishes were changed after the Fred F. French Company moved out during the 1980s.<ref name="NPS p. 9" /> The 12th-floor elevator lobby contains green carpets, stone walls, a decorative plaster coffered ceiling, and marble baseboards and door surrounds. A circular stair west of the elevators leads to the 13th floor and contains green marble risers, black stone steps, and a handrail and balustrade made of bronze.<ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|pp=9–10}}</ref> From the elevator lobby, a doorway leads to a rectangular reception hall with predominantly green and white designs; the walls and ceiling are similar to the elevator lobby, but the tile floors and baseboards are made of black marble. An "I"-shaped reception area for the Fred F. French Company is to the east of the reception hall and contains wooden decorative elements and black marble floors. A conference room with wood decorations is south of the reception hall. A corridor with wood decorations and dropped ceiling leads east of the reception hall and south of the French Company reception area. At the eastern end of the French Company reception area is the rectangular executive secretary's office, with cast ornamental details on the ceiling.<ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=10}}</ref> Fred French's office was "reputed" to be in the L-shaped room north of the executive secretary's office and had similar decoration.<ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|pp=10–11}}</ref>
+On the 12th and 13th floors were the French Companies' offices, designed in the Tudor style,<ref name="nyt19920524" /> an allusion to the design of Tudor City.<ref name="Krinsky1982" /><ref name="NYCL p. 11">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=11}}</ref><ref name="NPS p. 21">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=21}}</ref> The 12th floor remains largely intact but some of these finishes were changed after the Fred F. French Company moved out during the 1980s.<ref name="NPS p. 9" /> The 12th-floor elevator lobby contains green carpets, stone walls, a decorative plaster coffered ceiling, and marble baseboards and door surrounds. A circular stair west of the elevators leads to the 13th floor and contains green marble risers, black stone steps, and a handrail and balustrade made of bronze.<ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|pp=9–10}}</ref> From the elevator lobby, a doorway leads to a rectangular reception hall with predominantly green and white designs; the walls and ceiling are similar to the elevator lobby, but the tile floors and baseboards are made of black marble. An I-shaped reception area for the Fred F. French Company is to the east of the reception hall and contains wooden decorative elements and black marble floors. A conference room with wood decorations is south of the reception hall. A corridor with wood decorations and dropped ceiling leads east of the reception hall and south of the French Company reception area. At the eastern end of the French Company reception area is the rectangular executive secretary's office, with cast ornamental details on the ceiling.<ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=10}}</ref> Fred French's office was "reputed" to be in the L-shaped room north of the executive secretary's office and had similar decoration.<ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|pp=10–11}}</ref>
 ==History==
 [[File:Fred F French Building (48155644417).jpg|thumb|Base of the facade as seen from across the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 45th Street|alt=Base of the facade as seen from the southwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 45th Street. The first three stories are clad in stone with metal storefronts, while the upper stories are clad in brick.]]
-Fifth Avenue was being developed with office and commercial buildings at the beginning of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|last=Klose|first=Olivia|date=December 14, 2010|title=500 Fifth Avenue|url=https://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2427.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121224100554/http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/2427.pdf|archive-date=December 24, 2012|publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]]|page=2|ref={{harvid|Klose|2010}}}}</ref> By the 1920s, Fifth Avenue was the most active area for development in Midtown, and developers were starting to build north of 45th Street, which had previously been considered the boundary for profitable developments.<ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|pp=2–3}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|pp=14–15}}</ref><ref name="nyt19260725">{{cite news|date=July 25, 1926|title=Millions of Dollars for New Buildings Invested in the Fifth Avenue Area: Steady Increase Shown in Real Estate Values|page=RE1|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/103796193/9335A1A67FEB4160PQ/|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 7, 2020|issn=0362-4331|via=ProQuest}}</ref> The most active year for construction in that decade was 1926, when thirty office buildings were constructed on Fifth Avenue.<ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=14}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Robinson|first=Cervin|url=https://archive.org/stream/skyscraperstylea0000robi|title=Skyscraper style : art deco, New York|last2=Haag Bletter|first2=Rosemarie|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1975|isbn=978-0-19-502112-7|publication-place=New York|page=12|oclc=1266717|author-link=Cervin Robinson|author-link2=Rosemarie Haag Bletter|url-access=registration}}</ref> The two-block-wide area between Fifth and [[Park Avenue]]s, which represented eight percent of Manhattan's land area, contained 25% of developments that commenced between 1924 and 1926.<ref name="nyt19260725" />
+Fifth Avenue was being developed with office and commercial buildings at the beginning of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|last=Klose|first=Olivia|date=December 14, 2010|title=500 Fifth Avenue|url=https://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2427.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121224100554/http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/2427.pdf|archive-date=December 24, 2012|publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]]|page=2}}</ref> The [[Construction of Grand Central|completion of the underground Grand Central Terminal]] in 1913 resulted in the rapid development of [[Terminal City (Manhattan)|Terminal City]], the area around Grand Central, as well as a corresponding increase in real-estate prices.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Fitch |first1=James Marston |url=https://archive.org/stream/grandcentralterm00fitc |title=Grand Central Terminal and Rockefeller Center: A Historic-critical Estimate of Their Significance |last2=Waite |first2=Diana S. |date=1974 |publisher=The Division |location=Albany, New York |pages=6 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="ML p. 77">{{harvnb|Macaulay-Lewis|2021|ps=.|p=77}}</ref> By the 1920s, Fifth Avenue was the most active area for development in Midtown, and developers were starting to build north of 45th Street, which had previously been considered the boundary for profitable developments.<ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|pp=2–3}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|pp=14–15}}</ref><ref name="nyt19260725">{{cite news|date=July 25, 1926|title=Millions of Dollars for New Buildings Invested in the Fifth Avenue Area: Steady Increase Shown in Real Estate Values|page=RE1|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/103796193/9335A1A67FEB4160PQ/|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 7, 2020|issn=0362-4331|via=ProQuest|archive-date=January 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116150752/https://search.proquest.com/docview/103796193/9335A1A67FEB4160PQ|url-status=live}}</ref> The most active year for construction in that decade was 1926, when thirty office buildings were constructed on Fifth Avenue.<ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=14}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=Cervin|url=https://archive.org/stream/skyscraperstylea0000robi|title=Skyscraper style : art deco, New York|last2=Haag Bletter|first2=Rosemarie|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1975|isbn=978-0-19-502112-7|publication-place=New York|page=12|oclc=1266717|author-link=Cervin Robinson|author-link2=Rosemarie Haag Bletter|url-access=registration}}</ref> The two-block-wide area between Fifth and [[Park Avenue]]s represented eight percent of Manhattan's land area, but it constituted twenty-five percent of developments that commenced in the borough between 1924 and 1926.<ref name="nyt19260725" />
-The French Companies was founded in 1910, and built a 16-story headquarters at [[Madison Avenue]] and 41st Street in 1920. By the mid-1920s, the company was one of New York City's largest development firms, and it was looking for a new site for its headquarters.<ref name="NYCL p. 4">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=4}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=16}}</ref>
+The French Companies was founded in 1910, and it built a 16-story headquarters at [[Madison Avenue]] and 41st Street in 1920. By the mid-1920s, the company was one of New York City's largest development firms, and it was looking for a new site for its headquarters.<ref name="NYCL p. 4">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=4}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=16}}</ref> Among the French Companies' largest projects was the [[Tudor City]] apartment complex on the east side of Manhattan.<ref name="ML p. 77" />
 === Construction ===
-Fred French bought {{Convert|19000|ft2||abbr=}} at the northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 45th Street in March 1925, with frontage of {{Convert|200|ft||abbr=}} on 45th Street and {{Convert|78.5|ft||abbr=}} on Fifth Avenue.<ref name="nyt19250320">{{cite news|date=March 20, 1925|title=Fred F. French Companies Buy Big Plot on Fifth Avenue and Forty-fifth Street|page=34|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/103498243/8A1031DD6AA24125PQ/3|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 7, 2020|issn=0362-4331|via=ProQuest}}</ref><ref name="nyht19250322">{{cite news|date=March 22, 1925|title=Echo of French Deal Will Long Be Heard on Fifth Avenue: Purchase of 45th Street Corner and Development of Half-Acre Site With 31-Story Building Will Shake Loose From Old Owners Many Properties in Neighborhood; New Building Era for Section|page=B1|work=[[The New York Herald]], [[New York Tribune]]|url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1112915764/FB8C3A1292C9411BPQ|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 7, 2020|via=ProQuest}}</ref> He planned to build a 31-story office building for the French Companies' headquarters, with a banking hall on the lower stories.<ref name="nyht19250322" /> At the time, the site contained the Church of the Heavenly Rest, as well as four residential buildings and one office building. The land had cost an average of {{Convert|285|$/ft2||abbr=}}{{efn|Equivalent to {{cvt|{{inflation|fmt=c|value=285|index=US-GDP|start_year=1925}}|$/ft2}} in {{inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{inflation/fn|US-GDP}}}} significantly higher than their mid-19th century cost of {{cvt|2.85|$/ft2}},<ref name="NYCL p. 3" /><ref name="NPS p. 15" />{{efn|Equivalent to {{cvt|{{inflation|fmt=c|value=2.85|index=US-GDP|start_year=1859}}|$/ft2}} in {{inflation/year|US-GDP}}.{{inflation/fn|US-GDP}}}} but lower than the average cost of {{Convert|300|$/ft2||abbr=}} for similar plots.<ref name="nyt19250320" /><ref name="NYCL p. 3">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=3}}</ref><ref name="NPS p. 15">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=15}}</ref>{{efn|When the project was announced, another source initially gave the land cost as being {{cvt|250|$/ft2}},<ref name="NPS p. 15" /><ref name="NYCL p. 21" /> equivalent to {{cvt|{{inflation|fmt=c|value=250|index=US-GDP|start_year=1925}}|$/ft2}} in {{inflation/year|US-GDP}}.{{inflation/fn|US-GDP}} French later confirmed the higher figure of $285 per square foot.<ref name="NPS p. 15" /><ref name="NYCL p. 21">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=21}}</ref>}} The building at the corner, measuring {{Convert|25|by|110|ft|abbr=}}, alone had cost $300,000.<ref name="nyht19250322" />
+Fred French bought {{Convert|19000|ft2||abbr=}} at the northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 45th Street in March 1925, with frontage of {{Convert|200|ft||abbr=}} on 45th Street and {{Convert|78.5|ft||abbr=}} on Fifth Avenue.<ref name="nyt19250320">{{cite news|date=March 20, 1925|title=Fred F. French Companies Buy Big Plot on Fifth Avenue and Forty-fifth Street|page=34|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/103498243|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 7, 2020|issn=0362-4331|via=ProQuest|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164453/https://www.proquest.com/docview/103498243/8A1031DD6AA24125PQ/3|id={{ProQuest|103498243}} |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nyht19250322">{{cite news|date=March 22, 1925|title=Echo of French Deal Will Long Be Heard on Fifth Avenue: Purchase of 45th Street Corner and Development of Half-Acre Site With 31-Story Building Will Shake Loose From Old Owners Many Properties in Neighborhood; New Building Era for Section|page=B1|work=[[The New York Herald]], [[New York Tribune]]|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1112915764/FB8C3A1292C9411BPQ|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 7, 2020|via=ProQuest|archive-date=October 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009190414/https://search.proquest.com/docview/1112915764/FB8C3A1292C9411BPQ|url-status=live}}</ref> He planned to build a 31-story office building for the French Companies' headquarters, with a banking hall on the lower stories.<ref name="nyht19250322" /> At the time, the site contained the Church of the Heavenly Rest, as well as four residential buildings and one office building. The land had cost an average of {{Convert|285|$/ft2||abbr=}}{{efn|Equivalent to {{cvt|{{inflation|fmt=c|value=285|index=US-GDP|start_year=1925}}|$/ft2}} in {{inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{inflation/fn|US-GDP}}}} significantly higher than their mid-19th century cost of {{cvt|2.85|$/ft2}},<ref name="NYCL p. 3" /><ref name="NPS p. 15" />{{efn|Equivalent to {{cvt|{{inflation|fmt=c|value=2.85|index=US-GDP|start_year=1859}}|$/ft2}} in {{inflation/year|US-GDP}}.{{inflation/fn|US-GDP}}}} but lower than the average cost of {{Convert|300|$/ft2||abbr=}} for similar plots.<ref name="nyt19250320" /><ref name="NYCL p. 3">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=3}}</ref><ref name="NPS p. 15">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=15}}</ref>{{efn|When the project was announced, another source initially gave the land cost as being {{cvt|250|$/ft2}},<ref name="NPS p. 15" /><ref name="NYCL p. 21" /> equivalent to {{cvt|{{inflation|fmt=c|value=250|index=US-GDP|start_year=1925}}|$/ft2}} in {{inflation/year|US-GDP}}.{{inflation/fn|US-GDP}} French later confirmed the higher figure of $285 per square foot.<ref name="NPS p. 15" /><ref name="NYCL p. 21">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=21}}</ref>}} The building at the corner, measuring {{Convert|25|by|110|ft|abbr=}}, alone had cost $300,000.<ref name="nyht19250322" />
-The French Companies obtained title to the site in May 1925.<ref>{{cite news|date=May 1, 1925|title=Title to Fifth Avenue Corner Passes to Fred F. French Co.|page=35|work=The New York Times|url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/103601335/52BE367B626545DFPQ/3|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 7, 2020|issn=0362-4331|via=ProQuest}}</ref> Sloan & Robertson filed preliminary plans for the Fred F. French Building that August.<ref name="NYCL p. 9">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=9}}</ref><ref name="NPS p. 19">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=19}}</ref><ref name="nyt19350826" /> At the time, the building was expected to be completed in early 1927 at a cost of $10 million.<ref name="nyt19350826">{{cite news|date=August 26, 1925|title=Plans Filed for Commercial Skyscraper at Fifth Avenue and Forty-fifth St.|page=31|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/103634912/52BE367B626545DFPQ/7|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 7, 2020|issn=0362-4331|via=ProQuest}}</ref> The building would have risen 31 stories and {{Convert|385|ft||abbr=}}. A subsequent two-story addition was rejected because it did not fit zoning codes, which Sloan & Robertson appealed. Ultimately, the architects were granted a [[Variance (land use)|variance]] to construct a 38-story, {{Convert|416.58|ft|0|abbr=|adj=on}} building, the second tallest in the surrounding area, behind only [[H. Craig Severance]]'s {{Convert|432|ft|0|abbr=|adj=on}} Harriman Building at 44th Street and Fifth Avenue.<ref name="NYCL p. 9" /><ref name="NPS p. 19" /> Final plans for the Fred F. French Building were filed in March 1926.<ref>{{cite news|date=March 21, 1926|title=Final Fifth Avenue Plans.: 35-story Skyscraper at 45th Street to Be Completed Jan 1, 1927|page=RE2|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/103870052/D9A3A6C8E45B4B94PQ/|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 7, 2020|issn=0362-4331|via=ProQuest}}</ref>
-Construction on the Fred F. French Building commenced on May 22, 1926, and the steel frame was [[topped out]] within four months.<ref name="NYCL p. 9" /><ref name="NPS p. 19" /> In October 1926, a $4.5 million mortgage was placed on the building.<ref>{{cite news|date=October 8, 1926|title=$4,500,000 Lent On French Building|page=41|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1112977516/ED923162B84243B5PQ|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=ProQuest}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=October 10, 1926|title=Loan $4,500,000 on New Fred F. French Building For 5th Ave, Manhattan|page=D1|work=[[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60994236/|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref> For unknown reasons, the project was delayed by seven months, and it opened on October 24, 1927. Had the Fred F. French Building opened on time, it would have claimed the title of tallest building along Fifth Avenue, but ultimately it was the second-tallest behind the Harriman Building.<ref name="NPS p. 19" /><ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|pp=9–10}}</ref> The Fred F. French Building was the French Companies' first commercial building to be completed under the "French Plan", a company philosophy that prioritized small returns on large ventures, rather than large returns on small ventures.<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /><ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=17}}</ref> Furthermore, the Fred F. French Building was one of the first retail skyscrapers to be built on this section of Fifth Avenue.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Goldberger|first=Paul|author-link=Paul Goldberger|date=December 15, 1984|title=5th Ave., at Its Brightest, Sees Shadows of Change|page=25|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/15/nyregion/5th-ave-at-its-brightest-sees-shadows-of-change.html|url-status=live|access-date=October 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130162330/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/15/nyregion/5th-ave-at-its-brightest-sees-shadows-of-change.html|archive-date=January 30, 2018|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
+The French Companies obtained title to the site in May 1925.<ref>{{cite news|date=May 1, 1925|title=Title to Fifth Avenue Corner Passes to Fred F. French Co.|page=35|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/103601335|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 7, 2020|issn=0362-4331|via=ProQuest|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164455/https://www.proquest.com/docview/103601335/52BE367B626545DFPQ/3|id={{ProQuest|103601335}} |url-status=live}}</ref> Sloan & Robertson filed preliminary plans for the Fred F. French Building that August.<ref name="NYCL p. 9">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=9}}</ref><ref name="NPS p. 19">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=19}}</ref><ref name="nyt19350826" /> At the time, the building was expected to be completed in early 1927 at a cost of $10 million.<ref name="nyt19350826">{{cite news|date=August 26, 1925|title=Plans Filed for Commercial Skyscraper at Fifth Avenue and Forty-fifth St.|page=31|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/103634912|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 7, 2020|issn=0362-4331|via=ProQuest|archive-date=October 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012110704/https://search.proquest.com/docview/103634912/52BE367B626545DFPQ/7|id={{ProQuest|103634912}} |url-status=live}}</ref> The building would have risen 31 stories and {{Convert|385|ft||abbr=}}. A subsequent two-story addition was rejected because it did not fit zoning codes, which Sloan & Robertson appealed. Ultimately, the architects were granted a [[Variance (land use)|variance]] to construct a 38-story, {{Convert|416.58|ft|0|abbr=|adj=on}} building, the second tallest in the surrounding area, behind only [[H. Craig Severance]]'s {{Convert|432|ft|0|abbr=|adj=on}} Harriman Building at 44th Street and Fifth Avenue.<ref name="NYCL p. 9" /><ref name="NPS p. 19" /> Final plans for the Fred F. French Building were filed in March 1926.<ref>{{cite news|date=March 21, 1926|title=Final Fifth Avenue Plans.: 35-story Skyscraper at 45th Street to Be Completed Jan 1, 1927|page=RE2|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/103870052/D9A3A6C8E45B4B94PQ/|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 7, 2020|issn=0362-4331|via=ProQuest|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164504/https://www.proquest.com/docview/103870052/D9A3A6C8E45B4B94PQ|url-status=live}}</ref>
+Construction on the Fred F. French Building commenced on May 22, 1926, and the steel frame was [[topped out]] within four months.<ref name="NYCL p. 9" /><ref name="NPS p. 19" /> In October 1926, a $4.5 million mortgage was placed on the building.<ref>{{cite news|date=October 8, 1926|title=$4,500,000 Lent On French Building|page=41|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1112977516/ED923162B84243B5PQ|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=ProQuest|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164504/https://www.proquest.com/docview/1112977516/ED923162B84243B5PQ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=October 10, 1926|title=Loan $4,500,000 on New Fred F. French Building For 5th Ave, Manhattan|page=D1|work=[[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60994236/|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=newspapers.com {{open access}}|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164455/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60994236/loan-4500000-on-new-fred-f-french/|url-status=live}}</ref> For unknown reasons, the project was delayed by seven months, and it opened on October 24, 1927. Had the Fred F. French Building opened on time, it would have claimed the title of tallest building along Fifth Avenue, but ultimately it was the second-tallest behind the Harriman Building.<ref name="NPS p. 19" /><ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|pp=9–10}}</ref> The Fred F. French Building was the French Companies' first commercial building to be completed under the "French Plan", a company philosophy that prioritized small returns on large ventures, rather than large returns on small ventures.<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /><ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|2003|ps=.|p=17}}</ref> Furthermore, the Fred F. French Building was one of the first retail skyscrapers to be built on this section of Fifth Avenue.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Goldberger|first=Paul|author-link=Paul Goldberger|date=December 15, 1984|title=5th Ave., at Its Brightest, Sees Shadows of Change|page=25|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/15/nyregion/5th-ave-at-its-brightest-sees-shadows-of-change.html|url-status=live|access-date=October 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130162330/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/15/nyregion/5th-ave-at-its-brightest-sees-shadows-of-change.html|archive-date=January 30, 2018|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
-=== Use ===
-==== Mid-20th century ====
+=== Mid-20th century ===
-[[File:FredFrenchBuildingMailbox.jpg|thumb|Gilt mailbox in lobby|alt=Detail of a gilded mailbox in the lobby, with an eagle carving]]Among the earliest large tenants in the building were clothier Browning, King & Co.;<ref>{{cite news|date=November 12, 1926|title=Real Estate Transactions in City and Suburbs: Fifth Avenue Space Leased For $1,250,000 Browning, King & Co. Locate in 38 Story French Building Going Up at 45th St. Corner; Other Rentals|page=37|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1112722644/381434898B54A96PQ|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 7, 2020|via=ProQuest}}</ref> real estate auctioneers William Kennelly Inc;<ref>{{Cite news|date=January 20, 1929|title=Kennelly Firm Joins Uptown Movement; Auctioneers to Move From Lower Broadway to the French Building on Fifth Avenue|page=RE1|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/01/20/archives/kennelly-firm-joins-uptown-movement-auctioneers-to-move-from-lower.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> luggage manufacturer [[Crouch & Fitzgerald]];<ref>{{cite news|date=January 31, 1927|title=Real Estate in City and Suburbs: Luggage Concern To Pay $1,000,000 Rental on Fifth Ave. Leases Store in New French Building; New Tenants for Loft and Office Structures in Mid-Town Section|page=26|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1113623428/774D7528F23D4117PQ/8|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=ProQuest}}</ref> pulp and paper firm Perkins-Goodwin Company;<ref>{{cite news|date=March 15, 1927|title=Pulp, Paper Concern Takes Large Space On Fifth Avenue: Perkins-Good win Co. Takes Lease on 27th FIoor in New French Building; Other Rentals in Midtown Section|page=26|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1130474513/774D7528F23D4117PQ|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=ProQuest}}</ref> a ticket office for the [[St. Paul Railroad]];<ref>{{cite news|date=March 24, 1927|title=St. Paul Railroad Will Pay $1,500,000 For 5th Ave. Store: Ticket Office in French Building Will Cost Western Road $130 Square Ft.; Rent Shows Bin Advance|page=32|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1130493406/774D7528F23D4117PQ/12|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=ProQuest}}</ref> and the [[American Broadcasting Company]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=October 15, 1928|title=Coast Chain Office Here.; American Broadcasting Company Opens Quarters at 551 Fifth Av.|page=R28|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1928/10/15/archives/coast-chain-office-here-american-broadcasting-company-opens.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 8, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The ground-level space at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 45th Street used as a restaurant operated by [[Acker, Merral & Condit]].<ref>{{cite news|date=February 8, 1927|title=Fifth Avenue Space Leased For Restaurant: 9,000 Square Feet Acquired by Acker, Merrall & Condit Co. in New French Building, 45th St. Corner|page=36|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1113516270/774D7528F23D4117PQ/5|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=ProQuest}}</ref> Three years after the building's completion, H. Douglas Ives filed plans to turn the 36th and 37th floors of the penthouse into offices.<ref name="NYCL p. 10" /><ref name="NPS p. 19" /> The Fred F. French Building also saw several deaths in its early years, including the suicides of workers in the building,<ref>{{Cite news|date=January 5, 1932|title=Man, Once Wealthy, Ends Life by Shot; Former Corset Manufacturer, Facing Forgery Charge, Left Note, Saying Friends Quit Him|page=5|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/01/05/archives/man-once-wealthy-ends-life-by-shot-former-corset-manufacturer.html|access-date=October 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=November 15, 1938|title=Woman Falls 23 Stories After Notifying Friends: Had Planned Suicide 2 Months Before Fifth Avenue Leap|page=25|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1255842173/881788A209514DB5PQ/10|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=ProQuest}}</ref> as well as the accidental crushing of an elevator repairman.<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 31, 1945|title=Elevator Kills Worker; Repairman Crushed to Death in a Fifth Avenue Building|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1945/03/31/archives/elevator-kills-worker-repairman-crushed-to-death-in-a-fifth-avenue.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
+[[File:FredFrenchBuildingMailbox.jpg|thumb|Gilt mailbox in lobby|alt=Detail of a gilded mailbox in the lobby, with an eagle carving]]The French Companies heavily marketed its new building in its magazine ''The Voice'', and the building was quickly occupied''.''<ref name="ML p. 78">{{harvnb|Macaulay-Lewis|2021|ps=.|p=78}}</ref> Among the earliest large tenants in the building were clothier Browning, King & Co.;<ref>{{cite news|date=November 12, 1926|title=Real Estate Transactions in City and Suburbs: Fifth Avenue Space Leased For $1,250,000 Browning, King & Co. Locate in 38 Story French Building Going Up at 45th St. Corner; Other Rentals|page=37|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1112722644/381434898B54A96PQ|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 7, 2020|via=ProQuest|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164507/https://www.proquest.com/docview/1112722644/381434898B54A96PQ|url-status=live}}</ref> real estate auctioneers William Kennelly Inc;<ref>{{Cite news|date=January 20, 1929|title=Kennelly Firm Joins Uptown Movement; Auctioneers to Move From Lower Broadway to the French Building on Fifth Avenue|page=RE1|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/01/20/archives/kennelly-firm-joins-uptown-movement-auctioneers-to-move-from-lower.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013000934/https://www.nytimes.com/1929/01/20/archives/kennelly-firm-joins-uptown-movement-auctioneers-to-move-from-lower.html|url-status=live}}</ref> luggage manufacturer [[Crouch & Fitzgerald]];<ref>{{cite news|date=January 31, 1927|title=Real Estate in City and Suburbs: Luggage Concern To Pay $1,000,000 Rental on Fifth Ave. Leases Store in New French Building; New Tenants for Loft and Office Structures in Mid-Town Section|page=26|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1113623428|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=ProQuest|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164514/https://www.proquest.com/docview/1113623428/774D7528F23D4117PQ/8|id={{ProQuest|1113623428}} |url-status=live}}</ref> pulp and paper firm Perkins-Goodwin Company;<ref>{{cite news|date=March 15, 1927|title=Pulp, Paper Concern Takes Large Space On Fifth Avenue: Perkins-Good win Co. Takes Lease on 27th Floor in New French Building; Other Rentals in Midtown Section|page=26|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1130474513/774D7528F23D4117PQ|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=ProQuest|archive-date=October 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013004741/https://search.proquest.com/docview/1130474513/774D7528F23D4117PQ|url-status=live}}</ref> a ticket office for the [[St. Paul Railroad]];<ref>{{cite news|date=March 24, 1927|title=St. Paul Railroad Will Pay $1,500,000 For 5th Ave. Store: Ticket Office in French Building Will Cost Western Road $130 Square Ft.; Rent Shows Bin Advance|page=32|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1130493406|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=ProQuest|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164507/https://www.proquest.com/docview/1130493406/774D7528F23D4117PQ/12|id={{ProQuest|1130493406}} |url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[American Broadcasting Company]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=October 15, 1928|title=Coast Chain Office Here.; American Broadcasting Company Opens Quarters at 551 Fifth Av.|page=R28|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1928/10/15/archives/coast-chain-office-here-american-broadcasting-company-opens.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 8, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010014029/https://www.nytimes.com/1928/10/15/archives/coast-chain-office-here-american-broadcasting-company-opens.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The ground-level space at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 45th Street used as a restaurant operated by [[Acker, Merral & Condit]].<ref>{{cite news|date=February 8, 1927|title=Fifth Avenue Space Leased For Restaurant: 9,000 Square Feet Acquired by Acker, Merrall & Condit Co. in New French Building, 45th St. Corner|page=36|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1113516270|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=ProQuest|archive-date=October 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013161740/https://search.proquest.com/docview/1113516270/774D7528F23D4117PQ/5|id={{ProQuest|1113516270}} |url-status=live}}</ref> Three years after the building's completion, H. Douglas Ives filed plans to turn the 36th and 37th floors of the penthouse into offices.<ref name="NYCL p. 10" /><ref name="NPS p. 19" /> The Fred F. French Building also saw several deaths in its early years, including the suicides of workers in the building,<ref>{{Cite news|date=January 5, 1932|title=Man, Once Wealthy, Ends Life by Shot; Former Corset Manufacturer, Facing Forgery Charge, Left Note, Saying Friends Quit Him|page=5|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/01/05/archives/man-once-wealthy-ends-life-by-shot-former-corset-manufacturer.html|access-date=October 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=December 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215162037/https://www.nytimes.com/1932/01/05/archives/man-once-wealthy-ends-life-by-shot-former-corset-manufacturer.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=November 15, 1938|title=Woman Falls 23 Stories After Notifying Friends: Had Planned Suicide 2 Months Before Fifth Avenue Leap|page=25|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1255842173|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=ProQuest|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164445/https://www.proquest.com/docview/1255842173/881788A209514DB5PQ/10|id={{ProQuest|1255842173}} |url-status=live}}</ref> as well as the accidental crushing of an elevator repairman.<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 31, 1945|title=Elevator Kills Worker; Repairman Crushed to Death in a Fifth Avenue Building|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1945/03/31/archives/elevator-kills-worker-repairman-crushed-to-death-in-a-fifth-avenue.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=December 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215162151/https://www.nytimes.com/1945/03/31/archives/elevator-kills-worker-repairman-crushed-to-death-in-a-fifth-avenue.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
-By 1934, the ground-floor corner space in the Fred F. French Building had become a French restaurant.<ref>{{cite news|date=January 27, 1934|title=Real Estate News: Large Midtown Quarters Taken By Restaurant Max Fisher, Wm. Frieber Rent in French Building; Paint, Paper Firms Lease|page=25|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1240086757/774D7528F23D4117PQ|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=ProQuest}}</ref> During the mid-20th century, the Fred F. French Building gained other tenants such as diamond dealer [[Louis Roselaar]],<ref>{{Cite news|date=July 31, 1941|title=Big Space Leased by Diamond Dealer; Louis Roselaar, With Branches in Europe, Takes Offices in 551 Fifth Avenue|page=31|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1941/07/31/archives/big-space-leased-by-diamond-dealer-louis-roselaar-with-branches-in.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> the [[John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation]],<ref>{{cite news|date=April 1, 1935|title=47 Fellowships Are Awarded by Guggenheim: Memorial Foundation Gives Annual Aid to Artists and Scholars of America|page=9|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1246391182/493596AC39FF4E59PQ|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=ProQuest}}</ref> and the Brazilian government's trade bureau,<ref>{{cite news|date=March 31, 1952|title=Trade Bureau a Bit of Brazil in Fifth Avenue: It Received 8 Queries a Month in 1935, and Now 141 Questions Are Asked Daily; Brazilian Products Are on Exhibition There|page=58|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1322075412/ACB2354D84A4BA4PQ|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=ProQuest}}</ref> as well as several advertising firms<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 15, 1944|title=Advertising Firms Stay in 551 5th Ave.; Four Renew Leases in the Fred F. French Building|page=30|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1944/03/15/archives/advertising-firms-stay-in-551-5th-ave-four-renew-leases-in-the-fred.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and three insurance companies.<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 20, 1942|title=Buildings Fill Up in Midtown Area; Late Rentals Complete the Leasing of Three Business Structures in Section|page=36|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/03/20/archives/buildings-fill-up-in-midtown-area-late-rentals-complete-the-leasing.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The ground-floor corner space became home to [[The Cattleman]] restaurant by 1967.<ref>{{Cite news|date=October 18, 1967|title=Ellman Will Head Longchamps Chain|page=71|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/10/18/archives/ellman-will-head-longchamps-chain.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
+By 1934, the ground-floor corner space in the Fred F. French Building had become a French restaurant.<ref>{{cite news|date=January 27, 1934|title=Real Estate News: Large Midtown Quarters Taken By Restaurant Max Fisher, Wm. Frieber Rent in French Building; Paint, Paper Firms Lease|page=25|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1240086757/774D7528F23D4117PQ|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=ProQuest|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164505/https://www.proquest.com/docview/1240086757/774D7528F23D4117PQ|url-status=live}}</ref> During the mid-20th century, the Fred F. French Building gained other tenants such as diamond dealer [[Louis Roselaar]],<ref>{{Cite news|date=July 31, 1941|title=Big Space Leased by Diamond Dealer; Louis Roselaar, With Branches in Europe, Takes Offices in 551 Fifth Avenue|page=31|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1941/07/31/archives/big-space-leased-by-diamond-dealer-louis-roselaar-with-branches-in.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019221640/https://www.nytimes.com/1941/07/31/archives/big-space-leased-by-diamond-dealer-louis-roselaar-with-branches-in.html|url-status=live}}</ref> the [[John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation]],<ref>{{cite news|date=April 1, 1935|title=47 Fellowships Are Awarded by Guggenheim: Memorial Foundation Gives Annual Aid to Artists and Scholars of America|page=9|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1246391182/493596AC39FF4E59PQ|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=ProQuest|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164452/https://www.proquest.com/docview/1246391182/493596AC39FF4E59PQ|url-status=live}}</ref> and the Brazilian government's trade bureau,<ref>{{cite news|date=March 31, 1952|title=Trade Bureau a Bit of Brazil in Fifth Avenue: It Received 8 Queries a Month in 1935, and Now 141 Questions Are Asked Daily; Brazilian Products Are on Exhibition There|page=58|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1322075412/ACB2354D84A4BA4PQ|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=ProQuest|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164503/https://www.proquest.com/docview/1322075412/ACB2354D84A4BA4PQ|url-status=live}}</ref> as well as several advertising firms<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 15, 1944|title=Advertising Firms Stay in 551 5th Ave.; Four Renew Leases in the Fred F. French Building|page=30|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1944/03/15/archives/advertising-firms-stay-in-551-5th-ave-four-renew-leases-in-the-fred.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=December 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215162421/https://www.nytimes.com/1944/03/15/archives/advertising-firms-stay-in-551-5th-ave-four-renew-leases-in-the-fred.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and three insurance companies.<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 20, 1942|title=Buildings Fill Up in Midtown Area; Late Rentals Complete the Leasing of Three Business Structures in Section|page=36|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/03/20/archives/buildings-fill-up-in-midtown-area-late-rentals-complete-the-leasing.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013021849/https://www.nytimes.com/1942/03/20/archives/buildings-fill-up-in-midtown-area-late-rentals-complete-the-leasing.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The ground-floor corner space became home to [[The Cattleman]] restaurant by 1967.<ref>{{Cite news|date=October 18, 1967|title=Ellman Will Head Longchamps Chain|page=71|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/10/18/archives/ellman-will-head-longchamps-chain.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014152235/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/10/18/archives/ellman-will-head-longchamps-chain.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
-==== Late 20th and early 21st centuries ====
+=== Late 20th and early 21st centuries ===
-The building was purchased by financial services company [[MetLife]] in 1985, and the French Companies subsequently moved out.<ref name="nyt19920524" /><ref name="NPS p. 6" /> During the 1990s, the Fred F. French Building underwent a complete restoration. Although the faience panels were largely undamaged, the terracotta was replaced because of rust.<ref name="nyt19920524" /> The lobby was re-gilt and the ceiling was repainted; in addition, the elevators from the lobby were totally replaced. The renovation earned the [[Building Owners and Managers Association]] 1994/1995 Historic Building of the Year Award.<ref name="Emporos" /><!--When the neighboring building to the north was renovated in 1993, its facade was changed to harmonize with that of the Fred F. French Building's.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rothstein|first=Mervyn|date=December 26, 1993|title=Postings: New Facade on a 1955 Building; Making 'an Elegant Statement on Fifth Avenue'|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/26/realestate/postings-new-facade-1955-building-making-elegant-statement-fifth-avenue.html|access-date=October 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>--> [[Pace University]] rented some space in the building for use as classrooms in 1997.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Chen|first=David W.|date=April 17, 1997|title=New Center for Pace|page=B12|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/17/nyregion/new-center-for-pace.html|url-status=live|access-date=October 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229004152/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/17/nyregion/new-center-for-pace.html|archive-date=December 29, 2017|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
+The building was purchased by financial services company [[MetLife]] in 1985, and the French Companies subsequently moved out.<ref name="nyt19920524" /><ref name="NPS p. 6" /> During the 1990s, the Fred F. French Building underwent a complete restoration. Although the faience panels were largely undamaged, the terracotta was replaced because of rust.<ref name="nyt19920524" /> The lobby was re-gilt and the ceiling was repainted; in addition, the elevators from the lobby were totally replaced. The renovation earned the Building Owners and Managers Association 1994/1995 Historic Building of the Year Award.<ref name="Emporos" /><!--When the neighboring building to the north was renovated in 1993, its facade was changed to harmonize with that of the Fred F. French Building's.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rothstein|first=Mervyn|date=December 26, 1993|title=Postings: New Facade on a 1955 Building; Making 'an Elegant Statement on Fifth Avenue'|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/26/realestate/postings-new-facade-1955-building-making-elegant-statement-fifth-avenue.html|access-date=October 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>--> [[Pace University]] rented some space in the building for use as classrooms in 1997.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Chen|first=David W.|date=April 17, 1997|title=New Center for Pace|page=B12|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/17/nyregion/new-center-for-pace.html|url-status=live|access-date=October 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229004152/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/17/nyregion/new-center-for-pace.html|archive-date=December 29, 2017|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
-A group of investors led by [[The Feil Organization]] bought the Fred F. French Building for $128 million as part of a move by MetLife to sell off its real estate portfolio. The partnership included [[Lloyd Goldman]] and his family, as well as [[Stanley Chera]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Bagli|first=Charles V.|date=December 24, 2002|title=Metro Briefing {{!}} New York: Manhattan: Landmark Changes Hands|page=B6|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/24/nyregion/metro-briefing-new-york-manhattan-landmark-changes-hands.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited|access-date=October 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010090620/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/24/nyregion/metro-briefing-new-york-manhattan-landmark-changes-hands.html|archive-date=October 10, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="nydn20021120">{{cite news|last=Herman|first=Eric|date=November 20, 2002|title=French lessons|page=54|work=[[New York Daily News]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60993668/|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Bagli|first=Charles V.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0uVvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA85|title=Other People's Money: Inside the Housing Crisis and the Demise of the Greatest Real Estate Deal Ever Made|publisher=Plume|year=2014|isbn=978-0-14-218071-6|page=85|lccn=2013045940}}</ref> At the time, [[Morton's The Steakhouse]] was among the tenants in the Fred F. French Building, as was the [[British Tourist Authority]].<ref name="nydn20021120" /> In 2012, retailer [[Tommy Bahama]] opened a three-story flagship store and restaurant in the Fred F. French Building.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Levere|first=Jane L.|date=September 4, 2012|title=The Heart of Fifth Avenue Shopping Is Edging to the South|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/05/realestate/commercial/the-heart-of-fifth-avenue-shopping-edges-to-the-south.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited|access-date=October 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011104218/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/05/realestate/commercial/the-heart-of-fifth-avenue-shopping-edges-to-the-south.html|archive-date=October 11, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Palmieri|first=Jean E.|date=November 15, 2012|title=Tommy Bahama Throws Anchor On Fifth Avenue|url=https://wwd.com/business-news/retail/tommy-bahama-throws-anchor-on-fifth-avenue-6488100/|url-status=live|magazine=[[Women's Wear Daily]]|volume=204|issue=103|archive-url=https://archive.is/YCfo9|archive-date=December 15, 2020|access-date=December 15, 2020}}</ref> By the middle of that decade, the building had tenants such as [[Denihan Hospitality Group]], [[ABM Industries]], and law firm Kleinberg, Kaplan, Wolff & Cohen.<ref>{{cite web|date=March 13, 2019|title=551 Fifth Avenue - TRD Research|url=https://therealdeal.com/new-research/topics/property/551-fifth-avenue/|access-date=October 8, 2020|website=[[The Real Deal (magazine)|The Real Deal]]}}</ref>
+A group of investors led by [[The Feil Organization]] bought the Fred F. French Building for $128 million as part of a move by MetLife to sell off its real estate portfolio. The partnership included [[Lloyd Goldman]] and his family, as well as [[Stanley Chera]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Bagli|first=Charles V.|date=December 24, 2002|title=Metro Briefing {{!}} New York: Manhattan: Landmark Changes Hands|page=B6|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/24/nyregion/metro-briefing-new-york-manhattan-landmark-changes-hands.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited|access-date=October 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010090620/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/24/nyregion/metro-briefing-new-york-manhattan-landmark-changes-hands.html|archive-date=October 10, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="nydn20021120">{{cite news|last=Herman|first=Eric|date=November 20, 2002|title=French lessons|page=54|work=[[New York Daily News]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60993668/|access-date=October 12, 2020|via=newspapers.com {{open access}}|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164456/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60993668/french-lessons/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Bagli|first=Charles V.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0uVvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA85|title=Other People's Money: Inside the Housing Crisis and the Demise of the Greatest Real Estate Deal Ever Made|publisher=Plume|year=2014|isbn=978-0-14-218071-6|page=85|lccn=2013045940|access-date=October 12, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120163805/https://books.google.com/books?id=0uVvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA85|url-status=live}}</ref> At the time, [[Morton's The Steakhouse]] was among the tenants in the Fred F. French Building, as was the [[British Tourist Authority]].<ref name="nydn20021120" /> In 2012, retailer [[Tommy Bahama]] opened a three-story flagship store and restaurant in the Fred F. French Building.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Levere|first=Jane L.|date=September 4, 2012|title=The Heart of Fifth Avenue Shopping Is Edging to the South|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/05/realestate/commercial/the-heart-of-fifth-avenue-shopping-edges-to-the-south.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited|access-date=October 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011104218/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/05/realestate/commercial/the-heart-of-fifth-avenue-shopping-edges-to-the-south.html|archive-date=October 11, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Palmieri|first=Jean E.|date=November 15, 2012|title=Tommy Bahama Throws Anchor On Fifth Avenue|url=https://wwd.com/business-news/retail/tommy-bahama-throws-anchor-on-fifth-avenue-6488100/|url-status=live|magazine=[[Women's Wear Daily]]|volume=204|issue=103|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201215163329/https://wwd.com/business-news/retail/tommy-bahama-throws-anchor-on-fifth-avenue-6488100/|archive-date=December 15, 2020|access-date=December 15, 2020}}</ref> By the middle of that decade, the building had tenants such as [[Denihan Hospitality Group]], [[ABM Industries]], and law firm Kleinberg, Kaplan, Wolff & Cohen.<ref>{{cite web|date=March 13, 2019|title=551 Fifth Avenue - TRD Research|url=https://therealdeal.com/new-research/topics/property/551-fifth-avenue/|access-date=October 8, 2020|website=[[The Real Deal (magazine)|The Real Deal]]|archive-date=October 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012212303/https://therealdeal.com/new-research/topics/property/551-fifth-avenue/|url-status=live}}</ref>
-== Critical reception and landmark designations ==
+== Reception and landmark designations ==
-There was mixed commentary on the Fred F. French Building's design. [[George Shepard Chappell|George S. Chappell]] lamented the "rows of dreary factory windows" in ''[[The New Yorker]]'', rhetorically commenting: "Can't the Fifth Avenue Association do something about this?"<ref name="nyt19920524" /> The [[American Guide Series|WPA Guide to New York City]] described the faience panels as being "of questionable taste."<ref>{{Cite fednyc|page=218}}</ref> Other criticism of the building was more positive. [[Paul Goldberger]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' called the building one of the "best slab-shaped buildings of the 1920's".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Goldberger|first=Paul|author-link=Paul Goldberger|date=April 30, 1986|title=Carnegie Hall Details Plans for Office Tower|page=C19|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/30/arts/carnegie-hall-details-plans-for-office-tower.html|url-status=live|access-date=October 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524194608/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/30/arts/carnegie-hall-details-plans-for-office-tower.html|archive-date=May 24, 2015|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Upon its opening, the building was characterized as being "one of the most popular business palaces in the entire midtown section" because of its technologically advanced systems, central location, and elaborate decoration.<ref name="NYCL p. 10" /><ref name="NPS p. 20" />
+There was mixed commentary on the Fred F. French Building's design. [[George Shepard Chappell|George S. Chappell]] lamented the "rows of dreary factory windows" in ''[[The New Yorker]]'', rhetorically commenting: "Can't the Fifth Avenue Association do something about this?"<ref name="nyt19920524" /> The [[American Guide Series|WPA Guide to New York City]] described the faience panels as being "of questionable taste."<ref>{{Cite fednyc|page=218}}</ref> Other criticism of the building was more positive. [[Paul Goldberger]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' called the building one of the "best slab-shaped buildings of the 1920's".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Goldberger|first=Paul|author-link=Paul Goldberger|date=April 30, 1986|title=Carnegie Hall Details Plans for Office Tower|page=C19|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/30/arts/carnegie-hall-details-plans-for-office-tower.html|url-status=live|access-date=October 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524194608/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/30/arts/carnegie-hall-details-plans-for-office-tower.html|archive-date=May 24, 2015|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Upon its opening, the building was characterized as being "one of the most popular business palaces in the entire midtown section" because of its technologically advanced systems, central location, and elaborate decoration.<ref name="NYCL p. 10" /><ref name="NPS p. 20" /> The writer Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis said in 2021 that the Fred F. French Building "embodies the eclectic nature of many Neo-Antique buildings".<ref name="ML p. 80" />
-The building's shape was also praised. According to the [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]], the Fred F. French Building so exactly conformed to the 1916 Zoning Resolution that it was illustrated in ''[[The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]'' to accompany the definition of the word "setback".<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /><ref name="NPS p. 21" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Tauranac|first=John|title=Essential New York : a guide to the history and architecture of Manhattan's important buildings, parks, and bridges|publisher=Holt, Rinehart, and Winston|year=1979|isbn=978-0-03-042626-1|publication-place=New York|page=155|oclc=4494970|author-link=John Tauranac}}</ref> The ''[[AIA Guide to New York City]]'' characterized the building as being "from the days when even the greediest developer owed serious and intricate architectural detail and materials to the tenant and public".<ref name="aia5">{{cite aia5|page=328}}</ref> [[Robert A. M. Stern]] said that the Fred F. French Building "demonstrated that a slab could retain the iconic clarity of the skyscraper type and provide more rentable space per square foot of ground area".<ref name=":0" /> The Fred F. French Building's name also received notice; as the British broadcaster [[Alistair Cooke]] said, "It was marvelous that here a man should not only get his name on a building, but get his name with his ''middle initial'' on a building."<ref>{{cite news|last=Kakutani|first=Michiko|author-link=Michiko Kakutani|date=November 8, 1979|title=TV dinners vs. high tea|pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60994039/ 23], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60993966/ 24]|work=[[Democrat and Chronicle]]|via=Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref>
+The building's shape was also praised. According to the [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] (LPC), the Fred F. French Building so exactly conformed to the 1916 Zoning Resolution that it was illustrated in ''[[The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]'' to accompany the definition of the word "setback".<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /><ref name="NPS p. 21" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Tauranac|first=John|title=Essential New York : a guide to the history and architecture of Manhattan's important buildings, parks, and bridges|publisher=Holt, Rinehart, and Winston|year=1979|isbn=978-0-03-042626-1|publication-place=New York|page=155|oclc=4494970|author-link=John Tauranac}}</ref> The ''[[AIA Guide to New York City]]'' characterized the building as being "from the days when even the greediest developer owed serious and intricate architectural detail and materials to the tenant and public".<ref name="aia5">{{cite aia5|page=328}}</ref> [[Robert A. M. Stern]] said that the Fred F. French Building "demonstrated that a slab could retain the iconic clarity of the skyscraper type and provide more rentable space per square foot of ground area".<ref name=":0" /> The Fred F. French Building's name also received notice; as the British broadcaster [[Alistair Cooke]] said, "It was marvelous that here a man should not only get his name on a building, but get his name with his ''middle initial'' on a building."<ref>{{cite news|last=Kakutani|first=Michiko|author-link=Michiko Kakutani|date=November 8, 1979|title=TV dinners vs. high tea|pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60994039/ 23], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60993966/ 24]|work=[[Democrat and Chronicle]]}}</ref>
-In the 1980s, a group of preservationists began surveying the city's buildings for possible sites that could be designated as interior landmarks by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, with the Fred F. French Building's lobby being considered as one such landmark.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Miller|first=Bryan|date=February 18, 1982|title=Volunteers Tracking Down New York's Significant Interiors|page=C6|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/18/garden/volunteers-tracking-down-new-york-s-significant-interiors.html|url-status=live|access-date=October 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524110954/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/18/garden/volunteers-tracking-down-new-york-s-significant-interiors.html|archive-date=May 24, 2015|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the building and its lobby as city landmarks on March 18, 1986.<ref name="NYCL and Interior p. 1">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|p=1}}; {{harvnb|ps=.|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1986|p=1}}</ref> The building was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on January 28, 2004.<ref>{{cite web|date=2004|title=National Register of Historic Places 2004 Weekly Lists|url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/weekly-list-2004-national-register-of-historic-places.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014005428/https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/weekly-list-2004-national-register-of-historic-places.pdf|archive-date=October 14, 2020|access-date=July 20, 2020|publisher=[[National Park Service]]|page=21}}</ref>
+In the 1980s, a group of preservationists began surveying the city's buildings for possible sites that could be designated as interior landmarks by the LPC, with the Fred F. French Building's lobby being considered as one such landmark.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Miller|first=Bryan|date=February 18, 1982|title=Volunteers Tracking Down New York's Significant Interiors|page=C6|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/18/garden/volunteers-tracking-down-new-york-s-significant-interiors.html|url-status=live|access-date=October 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524110954/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/18/garden/volunteers-tracking-down-new-york-s-significant-interiors.html|archive-date=May 24, 2015|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The LPC designated the building and its lobby as city landmarks on March 18, 1986.<ref name="NYCL and Interior p. 1">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|p=1}}; {{harvnb|ps=.|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1986|p=1}}</ref> In its report about the building's interior, the LPC described the building as having a "proto-Art Deco" design.<ref name="ML p. 80" /><ref name="NYCL (Interior) p. 21">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1986|ps=.|p=21}}</ref> The building was also listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on January 28, 2004.<ref>{{cite web|date=2004|title=National Register of Historic Places 2004 Weekly Lists|url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/weekly-list-2004-national-register-of-historic-places.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014005428/https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/weekly-list-2004-national-register-of-historic-places.pdf|archive-date=October 14, 2020|access-date=July 20, 2020|publisher=[[National Park Service]]|page=21}}</ref>
 ==See also==
@@ Line 123: / Line 128: @@
 === Sources ===
-* {{cite web|date=March 18, 1986|title=Fred F. French Building|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1415.pdf|publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]]|ref={{harvid|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986}}}}
+* {{cite report |date=March 18, 1986 |title=Fred F. French Building |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1415.pdf |publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] |ref={{harvid|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986}}}}
-* {{cite web|date=March 18, 1986|title=Fred F. French Building Interior|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1416.pdf|publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]]|ref={{harvid|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1986}}}}
+* {{cite report |date=March 18, 1986 |title=Fred F. French Building Interior |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1416.pdf |publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] |ref={{harvid|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1986}}}}
-* {{cite web|date=December 19, 2003|title=Fred F. French Building|url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/03001514.pdf|publisher=[[National Register of Historic Places]], [[National Park Service]]|ref={{harvid|National Park Service|2003}}}}
+* {{cite report |date=December 19, 2003 |title=Fred F. French Building |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/03001514.pdf |publisher=[[National Register of Historic Places]], [[National Park Service]] |ref={{harvid|National Park Service|2003}}}}
+* {{cite book |last=Macaulay-Lewis |first=Elizabeth |title=Antiquity in Gotham: The Ancient Architecture of New York City |publisher=Fordham University Press |date=2021 |isbn=978-0-8232-9384-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GwyjzQEACAAJ |oclc=1176326519}}
 ==External links==
 {{Commons category|Fred F. French Building}}
+* {{Official website|https://551fifthavenueny.com/}}
-* {{Official website|url=http://www.costar.com/costarconnect/MasterPage/Main.aspx?SiteID=23098&CheckSum=545297166&InvestmentProperty=False&propertyid=157159&IsCostar=Costar}}
-* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110723154839/http://www.in-arch.net/NYC/nyc2.html#140 in-Arch.net: The Fred F. French Building]
-* [http://www.nyc-architecture.com/MID/MID145.htm The Fred F. French Building] – images at nyc-architecture.com.
 {{Midtown North, Manhattan}}
@@ Line 137: / Line 141: @@
 {{National Register of Historic Places in New York}}
-[[Category:1927 establishments in New York (state)]]
+[[Category:1927 establishments in New York City]]
 [[Category:Art Deco architecture in Manhattan]]
+[[Category:Art Deco skyscrapers]]
-[[Category:Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan]]
+[[Category:Office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan]]
 [[Category:Fifth Avenue]]
 [[Category:Midtown Manhattan]]

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