| Demarest Building | |
|---|---|
 gelatinous print, 1891 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Address | 339 Fifth Ave |
| Town or city | New York City |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 40°44′52″N73°59′05″W / 40.7478°N 73.9847°W /40.7478; -73.9847 |
| Construction started | 1889 |
| Demolished | 2021 |
| Owner | Pi Capital Partners |
| Height | four stories |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | James Renwick Jr. |
TheDemarest Building was a four-story structure at 339Fifth Avenue inMidtown Manhattan,New York City, designed byRenwick, Aspinwall & Russell and constructed forcoachbuilderAaron T. Demarest. An 1893 fire destroyed property in the building, which was later used for other purposes.
The Demarest Building is located on the northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 33rd Street inMidtown Manhattan, just east of theEmpire State Building and across the street from theHotel Waldorf.[1][2][3][4][5][6] The building has been compared stylistically toCarnegie Hall.[3] The building was designed in a modifiedBeaux Arts style.[7]
A July 26, 1893 fire destroyed property at the building.[6][3][8] It was originally used as ashowroom for luxuryhorse carriages. The world's first electric elevator was installed there. It was thereafter fragmented into retail units.[9] The building was later converted to other uses.[10][3]
By 2015, developer Pi Capital Partners planned to replace the building and neighboring structures with a new residential tower.[11] In 2019, Pi Capital filed plans for a 26-story mixed-use development on the site of the Demarest Building,[12][13] with 82 apartments.[13] This prompted preservationists and groups, including theGreenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, to petition theNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to designate the building as an official city landmark, thereby protecting it from demolition. The LPC expressed concern that the building's exterior had been altered too frequently throughout its history and the old building was not saved.[12][7] As of 2021[update], it is being replaced by a 21-story, 82-unit mixed-use building with commercial space at the base and up to five residential units on each floor.[14]
"Unfortunately, despite all its history, the Landmarks Preservation Commission determined that the structure had undergone too many alterations throughout its life to qualify for any sort of designation." Demolition commenced in 2022.[9]
The Otis brothers had installed the first two successful electric elevators in the Demarest Building in New York in 1889
.The then-upcoming Carnegie Hall was thought to be the design inspiration for the light-orange Beaux Arts building...
.
The first electric elevator successfully operated was installed in 1889 by Otis Brothers and Company in the Demarest Building, Fifth Avenue and 33rd Street, New York City.