On May 14, 2024, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate the Heckscher Building (now known as the Crown Building) as an individual landmark. The building at 750 Fifth Avenue, is one of the avenue’s earliest skyscrapers.
The 25-story building was designed in the French Renaissance Revival style by Warren & Wetmore and was completed in 1922. The building was one of the first to conform to the 1916 zoning resolution that required setbacks for taller buildings. The building’s facade features limestone, buff brick, and cream terracotta bands. The roof features large dormer windows and bull’s eye windows, and a multi-story chimney stack with a rooster-shaped weathervane.
Historically, the building held the inaugural exhibition for the Museum of Modern Art in November 1929. The museum rented several floors in the building for several years. The building was renamed the Crown Building in 1983. The upper floors were converted to a hotel and residences in 2022, with the lower floors housing major retail tenants.
Landmarks Chair Sarah Carroll stated, “The Heckscher Building represents a critical moment in New York City history when architecture rose to meet the moment, innovating to improve quality of life and creating iconic structures that shaped our skyline, and has undergone a recent rehabilitation that supports New York City’s economic strength. By designating the Heckscher Building (now the Crown Building), we are honoring the important role that design and public policy can play in our modern urban environments, and ensuring this incredible early skyscraper is preserved for generations to come.”
By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the Editor of CityLand and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)