Scribner Building

The Scribner Building is a ten-story structure with a limestone facade on Fifth Avenue featuring vertical piers adorned with portrait busts. The lower two stories display a distinctive glass-and-iron storefront enhanced with black and gold decorative details that define the street-level presence.

Charles Scribner's Sons commissioned architect Ernest Flagg to design and construct this Beaux-Arts building between 1912 and 1913. The structure became part of the major publishing and retail activity that defined Fifth Avenue during that era.

The building served as a gathering place for prominent writers who met in its offices and collaborated on their literary works. The facade honors celebrated publishers and printers through portrait busts that remain visible reminders of the site's role in the literary world.

The ground level now hosts retail businesses different from the original bookstore, yet the architectural quality remains protected through landmark preservation laws. Visitors can view the facade and storefront from the street and appreciate the classical craftsmanship of this Beaux-Arts design.

The structure was named after its original publisher tenant but ceased housing the publishing company decades ago, now serving various retail businesses in its valued spaces. The glass-and-iron combination in the storefront area was a modern construction technique for its time, demonstrating how functionality merged with artistic design.

Location: Manhattan

Architects: Ernest Flagg

Architectural style: Beaux-Arts

GPS coordinates: 40.74028,-73.99083

Latest update: December 8, 2025 21:01