In the first years following the end of the Civil War Fifth
Avenue below 14th Street was already changing. By 1870 the Lenox House hotel stood at the
northwest corner of the avenue and 13th Street—a formidable
brownstone structure that looked as much mansion as hotel. Run by James Slater, it was described by
Appleton’s Hand-book of American Travel that year as a family hotel with a “deservedly
high reputation.”
The "Washington Parade" in celebration of the centennial of the formation of the Federal Government marched past the Lenox House (near left) on May 1, 1889 -- NYPL Collection |
At the time, neither D. Appleton & Company, publishers,
nor James Slater could know that their paths would intersect at the corner of 13th
Street and Fifth Avenue a quarter of a century later.
Daniel Appleton had founded the publishing house in 1825 far
to the south on Exchange Place near the Bowery. Originally a book importer and seller, the
business grew at an astounding rate.
Before long Appleton moved to Clinton Hall at Beekman Street. It was the first of a rapid succession of
relocations.
In January 1838 Appleton’s son, William, was taken into the
business and it moved again, to No. 200 Broadway. Upon Daniel Appleton’s retirement in 1848
William formed a partnership with his brother, John Adams Appleton, and the
business moved once more—to Broadway and Leonard Street. Then to Nos. 443 and 445 Broadway. Then to No. 94 Grand Street at the corner of
Greene. After that, around 1880, the
firm moved to Nos. 1 through 5 Bond Street.
By now Appleton & Company was among the leading
publishers in the nation, producing school books, religious tracks, encyclopedias,
and a wealth of other texts; along with stereopticon cards, pamphlets and
cabinet photographs.
In 1893 the publisher was ready to move yet again. The old Lenox House hotel was demolished and
in its place two sets of brothers, Marx and Moses Ottinger, and Isidore I. and
Max S. Korn, built Appleton’s new headquarters and store. Completed in 1894 the new 51-foot wide structure
stood in stark contrast to the dour brownstones along the avenue. Constructed of light-colored stone, buff
brick and terra cotta, it was a brilliant presence. The Romanesque Revival design
unapologetically blended medieval and Celtic motifs with a classical Greek key
frieze between the third and fourth floors.
Below the pressed metal cornice a row of aloof female faces
stared with disinterest and a pointed story-tall corner finial completed the
design.
Awnings shield interior spaces from the afternoon sun in 1894 -- photo from The School Journal, Volume 50, January 5, 1895 (copyright expired) |
Appleton & Company opened its doors in June 1894. The New York Times called it a “handsome new
building…where the accommodations are spacious and everything for the different
departments conveniently arranged.”
Books magazine noted that “In addition to their trade and two
subscription departments there is a Spanish department, and a very large and
important medical department which has just produced a monumental work, “Foster’s
Medical Dictionary.”
A close look reveals cornice brackets in the form of female faces. |
On March 22, 1900 the 75-year old Appleton & Company
surprised the publishing community when it was placed into receivership. The New York Times explained that “’Too much
prosperity’ is given as the cause of the suspension. For years the Appletons have done a large
business in the installment branch of the book trade. This meant paying the original cost of the
books, as well as the agents’ commissions long before the price of the books
had been obtained from the customers, who had from six to thirty-six months’
time to make their payment. As a result,
the company had to borrow considerable amounts on its promissory notes, and
these are now falling due.”
Despite the embarrassment, the Appleton firm continued
publishing and selling on a grand scale.
So grand, in fact, that in September 1902 the company moved once again,
this time to a fine new building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 39th
Street.
In April of 1910 Henry Corn signed a 21-year lease on the building,
still owned by the Lorillard family.
Corn was in the process of building an L-shaped store and loft building
that would wrap around the corner lot. “He
has secured the corner property primarily to protect the light and air of the
adjoining building,” explained The Times.
In March 1915 the former Appleton Building got a new name
when cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris & Co. leased the building “for a
long term of years.” For years No. 72
Fifth Avenue would be known as the Philip Morris building.
Another long-term change came about on August 12, 1929 when
The National City bank leased the ground floor, once the retail store of
Appleton publishers. The space was renovated as a branch banking
and safe deposit office that would be a familiar presence in the neighborhood for
decades.
By the time Philip Morris & Co. took the building the finial had disappeared from the corner. -- photo NYPL Collection |
The building that had been erected as a publishing house
became one again when Ginn & Co., educational publishers purchased it in
October 1946. The nationally-recognized
firm had been across the street at No. 70 Fifth Avenue for sixty years. It announced that the National City Bank
would continue to occupy the first floor while it would use the upper six
floors for its own use.
By 1959 when an investor purchased the building, Ginn &
Co. had reduced its space in the building and leased out a portion of the third
floor to the New York Brass and Copper Company.
Two years later New York Brass and Copper expanded to a full floor.
As the century progressed, other publishers moved into the
building. In 1976 Longman, Inc. was
here, as well as Penguin Books. Three years later
publisher Hamilton Fish moved his magazine The Nation into the building. It was the oldest continuously published
weekly in the country, having been founded in 1865. The Nation, which dealt in politics and
culture, proudly deemed itself “the flagship of the left.”
In the 1980s the Human Sciences Press, publishers of The
Journal of Aging and Judaism among other periodicals, joined the publishing
community within the building.
By now the façade of the first floor banking level had been
seriously modernized. The medieval
columns and arches had been covered over by stone panels to disguise the
Victorian design. But by the end of the
century a restoration found, incredibly, that everything was entombed and
waiting to be exposed.
The polished granite columns with their stylized Ionic capitals were intact behind the modern facade. |
non historic photographs taken by the author
Nice building. I am glad that the ground floor has not been totally butchered as seen in so many other "modified" gems.
ReplyDeleteAlas, one of the volutes of the capitals on the Fifth Avenue facade has split/spalled. They appear to be painted terracotta, and that may be the problem.
ReplyDelete