In 1846,
Charles Scribner I and
Isaac D. Baker formed publishing company Baker & Scribner, which Scribner renamed the "Charles Scribner Company" after Baker's death in 1857. The company was headquartered at several buildings in
Lower Manhattan through the mid-19th century. The name of the company was changed to Charles Scribner's Sons in 1878, and the firm moved to 155 Fifth Avenue, near 22nd Street, in 1894. Flagg was hired for the 155 Fifth Avenue project because he was the brother-in-law of
Charles Scribner II, the head of the Scribner's bookstore during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At the beginning of the 20th century, development was centered on Fifth Avenue north of
34th Street. Scribner's was among the companies that decided to relocate further north in Manhattan.
Scribner's usage By January 1911, Ernest Flagg had written in his diary that Charles Scribner II had discussed the possibility of constructing a new quarters along Fifth Avenue. Scribner hired Flagg to construct the new building, and a steel contract was awarded in May. The foundations and excavations were nearly completed by the following month, when Flagg submitted building plans to the
New York City Department of Buildings. The steelwork was being constructed by August 1912. In addition to the bookstore and offices at 597 Fifth Avenue, Scribner's had a building at 311–319 West 43rd Street for its printing press. The development of the 597 Fifth Avenue building was described by architectural writer
Robert A. M. Stern in 1983 as "sure testimony to the rapid march of commerce to upper Fifth Avenue".
New York Times journalist
David W. Dunlap, writing in 2012, said 597 Fifth Avenue was like "the
Apple store of its day". At opening, the bookstore contained shelves of books arranged along both the ground floor and the balconies. Some retail offices were also placed below the mezzanine. The editors working at the building included
Maxwell Perkins, whose fifth-floor office was the site of a fight between Hemingway and
Max Eastman over who had more chest hair. The Charles Scribner's Sons bookstore had a rare book vault, which was used to store items such as a manuscript of the
Haffner Symphony by
Mozart, one of two attested copies of
George Washington's proclamation of
Thanksgiving in 1789; and a collection of
Adolf Hitler's books and papers. The bookstore sometimes held exhibitions, such as a display illustrating the manufacturing process of books, as well as an event where a copy of the
Gutenberg Bible was displayed. Some of the upper stories were leased to tenants, such as a perfumer in 1960. The
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) was considering a landmark designation for the Charles Scribner's Sons Building in 1967, although a real estate expert testified that such a designation would reduce the building's value by up to $1 million. When the bookstore interior was renovated in 1974, the lighting was replaced and new shelves and counters were installed. The building was nominated for listing on the
National Register of Historic Places in 1981 and was deemed to have met the architectural and historical criteria for acceptance. However, it was not listed because of objections from its owners. At a public hearing for the city-landmark designation, six speakers had supported the designation and four had opposed it.
Rizzoli International Bookstores acquired Scribner's bookstores the same year and relocated to the two stories above the retail space. Scribner's executive vice president Charles Scribner III subsequently announced the same year that the building would be sold to the Cohen family, which ran the
Duane Reade chain of drugstores. Scribner's sought to relocate from 597 Fifth Avenue, where it was no longer economically feasible to operate, and Rizzoli was also planning to move from its location at
712 Fifth Avenue. When Scribner's preferred location was found to be unavailable, the Scribner's bookstore remained in place, and Rizzoli leased the retail space and two floors of offices. The Cohen family planned to rent out the remaining of office space in the building, although the office stories were small by modern standards. Ultimately, the
Benetton Group purchased the building in June 1988 from Duane Reade. By December 1988, Scribner's leadership announced the building's bookstore would close the next month because of the excessive costs of continuing to operate the store. The rent was projected to increase three hundred percent. At the time, the president of Rizzoli's American companies said the retail space, a "cathedral in honor of bookselling", was no longer efficient for commercial use. Nevertheless, the bookstore location closed as scheduled. Shortly after the Scribner's store closed, the LPC considered the store's interior for landmark status. Benetton executives, who were planning a renovation of the retail space, said they would not oppose such a designation; an attorney for the company said they were "used to landmarks". On July 11, 1989, the LPC designated the building as an interior landmark. Although there were indications Benetton would lease the space as a
Waterstones bookstore, the space was instead leased to a
Brentano's bookstore in September 1989. The Brentano's store opened two months later. Brentano's announced its intention to vacate the store in 1994 and ultimately closed on January 19, 1996. After Brentano's departure, Benetton hired Phillips Janson Group to conduct interior restorations for several million dollars. Restoration architect
Dennis Janson took two months to research the building's history, while decorative art firm Terra Firma was hired to look at paint samples to determine the original color. Most of the project was dedicated to restoring old design elements, including adding a spiral staircase that had been removed. Benetton opened its United States flagship store in the space in November 1996. Rizzoli operated a pop-up bookstore with 300 titles as part of an agreement with Benetton. A cafe was also opened on the lower story of the retail space. Meanwhile, to attract office tenants, Benetton gave free Prince tennis bags to brokers who successfully leased space in the building.
21st century Cosmetics store
Sephora signed a ten-year lease for the ground-level retail space in 2004. A&A Investment Co. bought 597 Fifth Avenue in 2006 for $79.1 million, and it was resold to
Thor Equities in 2011 for $108.5 million. Thor refinanced the building in 2014, receiving a $105 million loan for 597 Fifth Avenue and the neighboring 3 East 48th Street from
UBS Group AG.
Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm, had its New York office at 597 Fifth Avenue between 2016 and the company's
collapse in 2018. Sephora vacated the commercial space in the base in early 2017. Shortly afterward, in May 2017,
Lululemon Athletica signed a short-term lease for the retail space. In February 2019, less than two years after its lease was signed, Lululemon decided to relocate across the street. Thor was at risk of having to forfeit 597 Fifth Avenue to SL Green unless it could secure a luxury retail tenant. and
Club Monaco signed a lease for the retail space that November. The onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic in New York City in 2020 caused a sharp decline in Thor's business. the company was delinquent on two months' worth of loan payments on 597 Fifth Avenue during mid-2020. This placed the building in danger of "imminent payment default" by November 2020, Club Monaco paid only in rent by 2022; at the time,
market rate rents on Fifth Avenue averaged . LNR Partners initiated
pre-foreclosure proceedings against 597 Fifth Avenue and 3 East 48th Street in early 2023, requesting that a court auction off both structures. The buildings went into
receivership during the middle of that year, and the receiver claimed that Thor had abandoned the building. and a state judge approved a foreclosure sale of 597 Fifth Avenue and 3 East 48th Street that August. JLL, the court-appointed property manager, alleged in December 2024 that the roof was leaking, making it difficult to lease out the upper floors. However, the
special servicer for the building's loan, LNR Partners, allegedly refused to pay for the repairs.--> in April 2025. ==See also==