Fifth Avenue skyscraper, home of Aman resort, named historic landmark

MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) – A skyscraper on Fifth Avenue known as the Crown Building, home to the exclusive Aman New York resort, is now a historic landmark.  The LPC unanimously voted to make the 57th Street building – “one of Fifth Avenue’s best known and most visible early skyscrapers” – an individual landmark Tuesday.  The [...]

MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) – A skyscraper on Fifth Avenue known as the Crown Building, home to the exclusive Aman New York resort, is now a historic landmark. 

The LPC unanimously voted to make the 57th Street building – “one of Fifth Avenue’s best known and most visible early skyscrapers” – an individual landmark Tuesday. 

The skyscraper was finished in 1922 at 25 stories tall, and now houses the Aman Resort, where rooms rent in the thousands per night. The property will soon house a Prada store, according to TheRealDeal. 

LPC Commissioners said the designation was a no-brainer, even with flexibility for the retail floors to make changes. 

“Its history, its extraordinary beauty, and the fact that it MoMA really started here – I mean, all of this is so worthy of being landmarked,” said Commissioner Frederick Bland. 

The building holds rich New York City History. It was designed by Warren & Wetmore, the architects behind Grand Central Terminal, the Helmsley Building on Park Avenue and the Con Edison tower on East 14th Street according to the LPC. 

It was home to the Museum of Modern Art’s first exhibition in 1929 and one of the first tall buildings on this stretch of Fifth Avenue, signaling the early shift from residential to commercial in the 1920s, according to the LPC. 

It was commissioned by Anahma Realty Corporation, helmed by August Heckscher, once described as the largest holder of office buildings in the city at the time. 

"It's a real standout on the street, and I think it's already a landmark with a lower-case l," said Chair Sarah Carroll.