Charles Scribner's Sons Building
Encyclopedia
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
at 597 Fifth Avenue, built 1912-13 to house the Scribner's Bookstore.
It was designed by Ernest Flagg
Ernest Flagg
Ernest Flagg was a noted American architect in the Beaux-Arts style. He was also an advocate for urban reform and architecture's social responsibility.-Biography:...
in a Beaux Arts style. Among its many details are piers anchoring three large bays which include four medallions with busts of printers: Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, William Caxton
William Caxton
William Caxton was an English merchant, diplomat, writer and printer. As far as is known, he was the first English person to work as a printer and the first to introduce a printing press into England...
, Johann Gutenberg, and Aldus Manutius
Aldus Manutius
Aldus Pius Manutius , the Latinised name of Aldo Manuzio —sometimes called Aldus Manutius, the Elder to distinguish him from his grandson, Aldus Manutius, the Younger—was an Italian humanist who became a printer and publisher when he founded the Aldine Press at Venice.His publishing legacy includes...
.
It was nominated for listing on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1981 and was deemed to have met the architectural and historical criteria for acceptance. But its owners objected in January 1982 as they were entitled to do in the NRHP listing process, so it was not finally listed.
The Benetton Group
Benetton Group
Benetton Group S.p.A. is a global luxury fashion brand, based in Treviso, Italy. The name comes from the Benetton family who founded the company in 1965. Benetton Group is listed in Milan....
purchased the building in the 1980s. Declining business forced the Scribner's Bookstore to relocate to a lower-rent district in New York before it was acquired by Barnes & Noble, Inc. The building has subsequently housed Brentano's
Brentano's
Brentano's was an American bookstore. In addition to the numerous locations in the United States, there was a Brentano's on Avenue de l'Opéra in Paris, at the same location for 114 years....
bookstore, a Benetton
Benetton Group
Benetton Group S.p.A. is a global luxury fashion brand, based in Treviso, Italy. The name comes from the Benetton family who founded the company in 1965. Benetton Group is listed in Milan....
clothing store, and presently Sephora
Sephora
Sephora is a chain of cosmetics stores founded in France in 1970 and acquired by Paris-based conglomerate LVMH in 1997. The Sephora chain includes more than 750 stores in 17 countries...
, a cosmetics retailer.
The Old Scribner Building
Scribner Building
The Scribner Building, also known as Old Scribner Building, was designed by Ernest Flagg in a Beaux Arts style and was built in 1893. It is located at 153-157th Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, at 21st Street...
, at 153-157 Fifth Ave. (at 21st), another Beaux Arts building designed by Ernest Flagg and built in 1893, was listed on the National Register in 1980.