18 East 50th Street

18 East 50th Street is in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, on the south side of 50th Street between Fifth Avenue to the west and Madison Avenue to the east. The land lot covers with a frontage of along 50th Street and a depth of . Nearby buildings include 623 Fifth Avenue (containing Saks Fifth Avenue's flagship store) to the west; St. Patrick's Cathedral to the north; 444 Madison Avenue to the east; and Tower 49 to the south. In addition, the Lotte New York Palace Hotel and Villard Houses are less than a block east, while Rockefeller Center is less than a block west. In 1893, Garvey leased the site for twenty years to Arthur H. Cutler of the Cutler School, at a rate of $8,500 per year, with options to renew the property indefinitely. The Cutlers conveyed the lease to residential developer W. W. and T. M. Hall in 1906. == Architecture ==

18 East 50th Street was designed by William Lawrence Rouse and Lafayette Anthony Goldstone of the firm Rouse & Goldstone, along with Joseph L. Steinam. Completed in 1916, the building was designed in what was characterized by the Real Estate Record as the "Perpendicular Gothic" style. The building is 11 stories tall, or 12 including a mezzanine at the base, and contains a roof tall. The design was intended to "harmonize well with the surroundings", Writing for The New York Times in 1920, Helen Bullitt Lowry said the building "out-Goths the very Goths in its efforts to exploit 'the period' quality in its business". Facade The facade is made of terracotta interspersed with random ashlar in varying colors. At the ground story, the facade was also designed with a cathedral window on the southern side. A flagpole hangs from the top of the arcade and two more from the top of the second story (the floor directly above the arcade). The intermediate stories on 50th Street are treated as subdivided vertically into three bays, each with a pair of windows. The windows on each different story are separated by spandrels with Gothic tracery. The top story has round pointed arches as well as finials. Small portions of the western and eastern facades remain visible at the top. Features Inside the first story was a foyer with administrative office and elevators. The hall was tall and lit by suspended chandeliers, surrounded by a mezzanine gallery on three sides. The other stories contained eleven galleries. The seventh story was particularly ornate with decorated dining and living rooms for what the New-York Tribune described as "the suggestive exhibition of period furniture". , the lowest four stories are used by the New York Health & Racquet Club while the other stories are used as office space. == History ==

The Grand Rapids Furniture Company was established in 1861. Its founder Henry Mannes named the company for Grand Rapids, Michigan, a furniture manufacturing hub at the time. Grand Rapids Furniture had a store at 34–36 West 32nd Street in Manhattan, where it used both the Hampton Shops and Grand Rapids names during the early 20th century. Initially, the Real Estate Record and Guide reported the existing houses would be converted into showrooms. The following week, the Real Estate Record reported that the company would construct a new structure for its own use. and Bing and Bing Construction was hired as the general contractor. During the Hampton Shops Building's usage as a showroom, it was used for events such as a 16th-century Spanish art exhibition, as well as home-furnishing seminars. The building was resold to Eben C. Gould in 1927. After the building was remodeled in 1937, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle characterized the building as selling "furniture at all prices", with entire floors dedicated to selling furniture from France, England, and the U.S. Hampton Shops reorganized in mid-1938 after filing for bankruptcy. Later tenancy at right After Hampton Shops' bankruptcy, 18 East 50th Street was remodeled in 1940 and leased to art and design businesses. while the upper floors contained tenants such as a dress company and a photography studio. The building was owned by 18 East 50th Street Inc. until 1945, when it was sold to air conditioning manufacturer Carrier Corporation, which opened a New York City branch office there. The Costume Museum rented space at 18 East 50th Street in 1943, though it was subsequently combined with the Metropolitan Museum of Art and moved to the Met's building in early 1946. The Carrier Company sold the building in November 1947 to Webb & Knapp, and the building was resold a month later to the Drake America Corporation, which initially intended to use the space as offices. Drake America ultimately resold the building to British firm A. M. Corporation for investment the following year. The building continued to be used as showrooms and galleries. John Gerald opened a home-furniture showroom in 1949, and an Italian decor showroom opened in 1954. Some restrictions were placed on the operation of 18 East 50th Street, likely because the building was close to St. Patrick's Cathedral. A certificate of occupancy, issued by the Department of Buildings in September 1951, said that the windows could only display "paintings, statuary, and tapestries"; signs could not be projected from the facade; loading was forbidden from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and the building could not open on Sundays. During the 1960s, the building contained the Savoy Art and Auctions Galleries. 18 East 50th Street also contained industrial and office tenants, including the National Advertising Service, the executive offices of television studio Filmways, and George Nelson & Company Industrial Design. At one point, the building also served as headquarters of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York's school system, as well as a sales office for a property on Roosevelt Island. 18 East 50th Street was sold in 1977 to Pamela Equities, subsequently known as Pan-Am Equities, which operated the New York Health & Racquet Club. The building became known alternately as the New York Health & Racquet Club Building. and Sports Orthopedic and Athletic Rehabilitation. In mid-2016, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) proposed protecting twelve buildings in East Midtown, including 18 East 50th Street, in advance of proposed changes to the area's zoning. On November 22, 2016, the LPC designated 18 East 50th Street and ten other nearby buildings as city landmarks. == See also ==