Charles Scribner's Sons Building

The Charles Scribner's Sons Building is at 597 Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, on the eastern side of the avenue between 49th Street to the north and 48th Street to the south. The land lot covers {{convert|5,341|ft2}} with a frontage of {{convert|53.41|ft}} on Fifth Avenue and a depth of {{Convert|100|ft}}. Nearby buildings include 600 Fifth Avenue to the west, 608 Fifth Avenue to the northwest and Tower 49 to the east.{{Cite web|title=597 5 Avenue, 10017|url=https://zola.planning.nyc.gov/l/lot/1/1284/2#18.21/40.757338/-73.977081|url-status=live|access-date=March 20, 2020|publisher=New York City Department of City Planning|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908165811/https://zola.planning.nyc.gov/l/lot/1/1284/2 |archive-date=September 8, 2021 }}

597 Fifth Avenue was designed by Ernest Flagg in the Beaux Arts style for the company Charles Scribner's Sons.{{cite aia5|pages=327, 328}}{{harvnb|Stern|Gilmartin|Massengale|1983|ps=.|p=201}}{{Cite book|url=https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/applicants/env-review/east_midtown/06_feis.pdf|title=East Midtown Rezoning and Related Actions Final Environmental Impact Statement|date=2013|publisher=New York City Department of City Planning|page=32|chapter=6: Historic and Cultural Resources|access-date=April 1, 2021|archive-date=January 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110204006/https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/applicants/env-review/east_midtown/06_feis.pdf|url-status=live}} The building is ten stories tall{{Cite news|last=Dallas|first=Gus|date=December 8, 1988|title=Closing the books|pages=217|work=New York Daily News|issn=2692-1251|via=newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74878771/closing-the-books/|url-status=live|access-date=April 1, 2021|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908165810/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74878771/closing-the-books/}}{{efn|It is also described as eleven stories.{{Cite web|title=597 Fifth Avenue|url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/397267/597-5th-avenue-new-york-city-ny-usa|access-date=January 1, 2021|publisher=Emporis|archive-date=October 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006003428/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/397267/597-5th-avenue-new-york-city-ny-usa|url-status=usurped}}}} and is of non-load-bearing construction. It is similar in appearance to the predecessor Scribner's bookstore at 155 Fifth Avenue, which Flagg also designed; both structures have symmetrical limestone facades divided horizontally into multiple sections. Flagg said of 597 Fifth Avenue's design, "I think the building is the best thing I ever did."{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=October 6, 1996|title=Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Wolfe – and now Benetton|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/06/realestate/hemingway-fitzgerald-wolfe-and-now-benetton.html|access-date=March 31, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908170628/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/06/realestate/hemingway-fitzgerald-wolfe-and-now-benetton.html|url-status=live}} The structure was erected by steel contractor George A. Just Co. and masonry contractor John T. Brady & Co.,{{Cite magazine|date=August 31, 1912|title=Stores, Offices and Lofts|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_050&page=ldpd_7031148_050_00000540&no=9|magazine=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=90|pages=402|via=columbia.edu|number=2320|access-date=March 16, 2022|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908165812/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_050&page=ldpd_7031148_050_00000540&no=9|url-status=live}} with additional materials from painter William F. Eastberg & Co.,{{Cite magazine|date=October 12, 1912|title=Stores, Offices and Lofts|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_050&page=ldpd_7031148_050_00000886&no=12|magazine=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=90|pages=684|via=columbia.edu|number=2326|access-date=March 16, 2022|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908211636/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_050&page=ldpd_7031148_050_00000886&no=12|url-status=live}} wiring contractor Peet & Powers, and plastering contractor H. W. Miller.{{Cite magazine|date=September 14, 1912|title=Stores, Offices and Lofts|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_050&page=ldpd_7031148_050_00000656&no=10|magazine=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=90|pages=498|via=columbia.edu|number=2322|access-date=March 16, 2022|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908165821/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_050&page=ldpd_7031148_050_00000656&no=10|url-status=live}}

The facade is largely subdivided into five vertical bays, except at the two lowest stories, which contain a tripartite storefront. The storefront has glazed glass windows, dark ironwork, and brass-colored trim. The center section of the storefront corresponds to three bays in the upper stories. It has a centrally positioned double door, atop which is a broken pediment with the Scribner bookstore's logo at the center. The leftmost bay has another shop window while the rightmost bay leads to a separate lobby for the upper stories.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1989|ps=.|p=7}} At the top of the storefront are clerestory windows. The window in the center is a broad elliptical arch flanked by fluted columns, with decorative spiral ornament in the corner spandrels. The outer bays are topped by glass roundels.{{efn|The clerestory windows are above the ceiling of the second retail story, within the outermost bays of the storefront. The ceiling of the main retail space extends to the top of the storefront.}} Above the second floor is a cartouche with the words "Charles Scribners' Sons", above a garland flanked by putti.{{Cite news|date=May 18, 1913|title=Scribners in New Home; Publishing Firm Moves to Fifth Avenue and Forty-eighth Street.|language=en-US|page=37|work=The New York Times|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/05/18/100265552.pdf|access-date=March 31, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164833/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/05/18/100265552.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite news|date=May 18, 1913|title=Scribners' New Home: Publishing House Now Established at 5th Ave. And 48th St|page=7|work=New-York Tribune|issn=1941-0646|id={{ProQuest|575077558}}}} A sill runs above the storefront.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1982|ps=.|p=6}}

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The third story is clad with rusticated blocks of limestone and has five rectangular casement windows. At the tops of the spaces between each window are brackets shaped like lions' heads. On the upper stories, the three center bays are flanked by vertical piers and are more ornate in design compared to the outer bays.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1982|ps=.|p=5}} The fourth story has a balcony in front of the three center bays, as well as windows topped by triangular pediments on the outer bays. The piers at the fourth story contain medallions with cartouches of the printers Benjamin Franklin, William Caxton, Johann Gutenberg, and Aldus Manutius.{{cite web|author=Virginia Kurshan|date=April 1981|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Charles Scribner's Sons Building|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=5825|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401125123/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=5825|archive-date=April 1, 2012|access-date=October 8, 2008|publisher=New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation}} See also: {{cite web|title=Accompanying two photos, exterior, from 1980|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=5826|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401125219/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=5826|archive-date=April 1, 2012|access-date=October 9, 2008}} and {{cite web|title=Accompanying nomination correspondence|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=5827|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401125314/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=5827|archive-date=April 1, 2012|access-date=October 9, 2008}}

On the fifth through seventh stories, the center bays are slightly recessed behind the piers, with carved iron spandrels separating the windows on each story. In the center bays, the seventh story is topped by an entablature, while the eighth story contains segmentally arched windows with ironwork railings at the bottom. The outer bays contain smaller windows with simple moldings, as well as window sills supported by guttae. The outermost windows on the fifth through seventh stories are rectangular and those on the eighth story are segmental arches. An entablature, which contains a frieze designed as a pellet molding, runs above the eighth story. There are decorative torch motifs beneath the entablature, at the tops of each pier.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1982|ps=.|p=7}}

The ninth-story windows are flanked by pilasters, of which the four center pilasters are fluted. The three center windows on this story are each designed as tripartite openings with two small colonettes. A cornice with console brackets runs above the ninth story, topped by a parapet and a copper-edged mansard roof. In the center bay above the cornice is a double-height dormer that projects from the roof. This dormer is flanked by caryatids and topped by a broken pediment containing a lion's-head motif and a cartouche. There are two double hung windows in the roof on either side of the dormer. The corners of the parapet have obelisk-shaped finials.

The building has a gross floor area of {{Convert|52,727|ft2}} according to the New York City Department of City Planning. However, according to The Real Deal magazine, there are {{Convert|58000|ft2}} of office space and {{Convert|12000|ft2}} of retail space.{{cite web|date=March 13, 2019|title=597 Fifth Avenue|url=https://therealdeal.com/new-research/topics/property/597-fifth-avenue/|access-date=April 1, 2021|website=The Real Deal|archive-date=October 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006002339/https://therealdeal.com/new-research/topics/property/597-fifth-avenue/|url-status=live}} Each of the office floors has about {{Convert|5000|ft2}} of usable area. As designed, the Scribner's bookstore was placed within what is now the ground-story and second-story retail space, and the business, editorial, and financial departments occupied four stories above.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1989|ps=.|p=6}} For Scribner's executive offices, Flagg designed some furniture such as bookshelves.{{Cite news|last=Sheffield|first=Margaret|date=April 7, 1974|title=Renovation Brightens a Notable Interior|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/04/07/archives/renovation-brightens-a-notable-interior-a-notable-interior.html|access-date=March 31, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908171501/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/04/07/archives/renovation-brightens-a-notable-interior-a-notable-interior.html|url-status=live}}

File:Scribner 597 5 Av Architecture 1913 p180 (interior cropped).jpg

The retail space is asymmetrical, but the design of the 155 Fifth Avenue store was emulated at 597 Fifth Avenue, in keeping with Scribner's preferences.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1989|ps=.|p=5}} It was once characterized by Henry-Russell Hitchcock as "the grandest, interior space that had been created in New York", akin to the interior of Grand Central Terminal. The retail space consists of a long nave-like room with a {{Convert|30|ft|m|-tall|adj=mid}}, ornately decorated vaulted ceiling. The ceiling vaults are supported by seven white rectangular pillars on each side.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1989|ps=.|pp=7–8}} The grilles were originally painted with gold and bronze dust, despite the fact that original specifications had called for green decoration. The floor surface was made of herringbone and oak wood.{{Cite magazine|last=Bernstein|first=Elizabeth|date=March 31, 1997|title=Hemingway to Benetton to...Sidaris|volume=244|issue=13|page=23|magazine=Crain's New York Business|id={{ProQuest|196993505}}}} The bookstore was designed with only one entrance, even though Flagg had wanted two.{{Cite book|last=Bacon|first=Mardges|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/11726785|title=Ernest Flagg : beaux-arts architect and urban reformer|date=1986|publisher=Architectural History Foundation|isbn=0-262-02222-2|location=New York, N.Y.|pages=368|oclc=11726785|access-date=March 16, 2022|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164849/https://www.worldcat.org/title/ernest-flagg-beaux-arts-architect-and-urban-reformer/oclc/11726785|url-status=live}} A lobby for the office stories is on the southern side of the ground floor.

At the eastern end of the ground-story retail space is a central staircase that leads up to a mezzanine display area. A mirrored surface at the mezzanine's eastern wall reflected the entire shop. From the mezzanine, staircases lead to two second-story balconies, one above the north wall and the other above the eastern section of the south wall. An additional balcony is on the western section of the south wall, above the office lobby, and is not connected to either of the other two. The southwestern balcony is accessed by a spiral staircase; a similar staircase originally existed to the northern balcony. All three balconies have decorative cast-iron railings, ornamental moldings, and plaster-paneled ceilings. The ceilings of the balconies are lower than the vaulted ceiling at the center of the room. Consequently, clerestory windows are placed at the top of the central vault's northern and southern walls. At the far eastern section of the retail space, beyond the end of the mansard roof, a skylight was installed.

In 1846, Charles Scribner I and Isaac D. Baker formed publishing company Baker & Scribner, which Scribner renamed the "Charles Scribner Company" after Baker's death in 1857.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1982|ps=.|p=1}}{{harvnb|Scribner's Magazine|1894|ps=.|p=793}} The company was headquartered at several buildings in Lower Manhattan through the mid-19th century.{{Cite news|date=April 26, 1913|title=Publishers Uptown: Chas, Scribner's Sons and E. P. Dutton & Co. In New Quarters|pages=11|work=New-York Tribune|issn=1941-0646|via=newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74816117/publishers-uptown-chas-scribners/|url-status=live|access-date=March 31, 2021|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908165816/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74816117/publishers-uptown-chas-scribners/}} The name of the company was changed to Charles Scribner's Sons in 1878,{{harvnb|Scribner's Magazine|1894|ps=.|p=794}} and the firm moved to 155 Fifth Avenue, near 22nd Street, in 1894.{{Cite news|date=April 26, 1913|title=Publishers Uptown: Chas, Scribner's Sons and E. P. Dutton & Co. In New Quarters|pages=11|work=New-York Tribune|issn=1941-0646|via=newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74816117/publishers-uptown-chas-scribners/|access-date=March 31, 2021|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908165821/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74816117/publishers-uptown-chas-scribners/|url-status=live}}{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1982|ps=.|p=2}} Flagg was hired for the 155 Fifth Avenue project because he was the brother-in-law of Charles Scribner II, the head of the Scribner's bookstore during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=October 23, 1994|title=Streetscapes/The Charles Scribner House; A Quintessential Flagg Building Is Being Restored|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/23/realestate/streetscapes-charles-scribner-house-quintessential-flagg-building-being-restored.html|access-date=March 31, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908171658/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/23/realestate/streetscapes-charles-scribner-house-quintessential-flagg-building-being-restored.html|url-status=live}} At the beginning of the 20th century, development was centered on Fifth Avenue north of 34th Street.{{cite book|last=Wist|first=Ronda|title=On Fifth Avenue : then and now|publisher=Carol Pub. Group|year=1992|isbn=978-1-55972-155-4|location=New York|oclc=26852090}}{{Cite news|date=November 3, 1912|title=Catharine Street as Select Shopping Centre Recalled in Lord & Taylor's Coming Removal|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/11/03/archives/catharine-street-as-select-shopping-centre-recalled-in-lord-taylors.html|access-date=October 11, 2019|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191011143425/https://www.nytimes.com/1912/11/03/archives/catharine-street-as-select-shopping-centre-recalled-in-lord-taylors.html|url-status=live}} Scribner's was among the companies that decided to relocate further north in Manhattan. The Charles Scribner's Sons Building, along with the Gorham, Tiffany, Coty, and Demarest buildings, is among the few surviving stores that were erected for smaller retailers on Fifth Avenue during the early 20th century.{{Cite news |last=Gill |first=John Freeman |date=2020-01-17 |title=Fighting to Preserve the Magic of Lower Fifth Avenue |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/17/realestate/fighting-to-preserve-the-magic-of-lower-fifth-avenue.html |access-date=2022-05-10 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221125125638/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/17/realestate/fighting-to-preserve-the-magic-of-lower-fifth-avenue.html |url-status=live }}

File:Scribner 597 5 Av Architecture 1913 p180 (storefront cropped).jpg

By January 1911, Ernest Flagg had written in his diary that Charles Scribner II had discussed the possibility of constructing a new quarters along Fifth Avenue. In February 1912, Charles Scribner's Sons bought the houses at 597 and 599 Fifth Avenue, near 48th Street, from the estates of Sarah M. and Roswell P. Flower, with the intention of constructing a 10-story structure there for retail and offices.{{Cite magazine|date=February 17, 1912|title=Private Realty Sales|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_049&page=ldpd_7031148_049_00000459&no=4|magazine=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=89|pages=327|via=columbia.edu|number=2292|access-date=March 16, 2022|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908211642/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_049&page=ldpd_7031148_049_00000459&no=4|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|date=February 16, 1912|title=The Real Estate Field; Stern Brothers Lease Forty-second Street Site – Scribners Buy Fifth Avenue Plot – Old Waldo Mansion Sold at Auction – Record Price for Forty-fourth Street Property.|language=en-US|page=15|work=The New York Times|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1912/02/16/104891558.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=March 31, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164818/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1912/02/16/104891558.pdf}} Scribner hired Flagg to construct the new building,{{Cite magazine|date=April 13, 1912|title=Contemplated Construction|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_049&page=ldpd_7031148_049_00000999&no=6|magazine=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=89|pages=763|via=columbia.edu|number=2300|access-date=March 16, 2022|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908211839/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_049&page=ldpd_7031148_049_00000999&no=6|url-status=live}} and a steel contract was awarded in May.{{Cite magazine|date=May 4, 1912|title=Contracts Awarded|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_049&page=ldpd_7031148_049_00001223&no=4|magazine=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=89|pages=939|via=columbia.edu|number=2303|access-date=March 16, 2022|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908211657/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_049&page=ldpd_7031148_049_00001223&no=4|url-status=live}} The foundations and excavations were nearly completed by the following month, when Flagg submitted building plans to the New York City Department of Buildings.{{Cite news|date=June 9, 1912|title=New Scribner Building: Work on Foundation for Fifth Avenue Structure Nearly Completed|pages=49|work=New-York Tribune|issn=1941-0646|via=newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74880154/new-scribner-building-work-on/|access-date=April 1, 2021|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908211638/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74880154/new-scribner-building-work-on/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|date=June 9, 1912|title=New Scribner Building; Now in Course of Construction on Fifth Ave., Near 48th Street.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1912/06/09/100370243.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=April 1, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164838/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1912/06/09/100370243.pdf}} The steelwork was being constructed by August 1912.

The building opened by May 18, 1913, and became the seventh headquarters of Charles Scribner's Sons.{{Cite news|date=February 14, 1962|title=Plaques Will Mark 3 Notable Buildings|language=en-US|page=31|work=The New York Times|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1962/02/14/107174782.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=April 1, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164837/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1962/02/14/107174782.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false}} In addition to the bookstore and offices at 597 Fifth Avenue, Scribner's had a building at 311–319 West 43rd Street for its printing press.{{cite news|date=July 3, 1955|title=Realty Men Buy Printing Building: 50-year-old Landmark on. 43d St. Near Times Sq. Sold by Scribner's|page=R1|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|id={{ProQuest|11341601}}}} The development of the 597 Fifth Avenue building was described by architectural writer Robert A. M. Stern in 1983 as "sure testimony to the rapid march of commerce to upper Fifth Avenue".{{harvnb|Stern|Gilmartin|Massengale|1983|ps=.|p=200}} New York Times journalist David W. Dunlap, writing in 2012, said 597 Fifth Avenue was like "the Apple store of its day".{{cite web|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|date=April 3, 2012|title=When Books Mattered|url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/02/when-books-mattered/|access-date=March 31, 2021|website=City Room|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908220947/https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/02/when-books-mattered/|url-status=live}} At opening, the bookstore contained shelves of books arranged along both the ground floor and the balconies. Some retail offices were also placed below the mezzanine.

During much of the 20th century, the building contained a Scribner's bookstore and the offices of Scribner's publishers. Visitors included the authors F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Thomas Wolfe, who met with their editors on the upper stories, as well as Theodore Roosevelt, who was an early shopper.{{Cite news|last=Will|first=George|date=January 15, 1989|title=Small bookstores survive because they have a personality|pages=4|work=Star-Gazette|via=newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74876379/small-bookstores-survive-because-they/|url-status=live|access-date=April 1, 2021|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908165818/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74876379/small-bookstores-survive-because-they/}} The editors working at the building included Maxwell Perkins, whose fifth-floor office was the site of a fight between Hemingway and Max Eastman over who had more chest hair.{{cite news|last=Blades|first=John|date=December 12, 1988|title=Farewell to a Literary Shrine More Will Be Lost Than Just a Store When Scribner in Manhattan Closes|work=Chicago Tribune|issn=1085-6706|id={{ProQuest|282583379}}}} The Charles Scribner's Sons bookstore had a rare book vault, which was used to store items such as a manuscript of the Haffner Symphony by Mozart,{{cite news|date=June 6, 1936|title=$15,000 Script Of Mozart Gets New Home Here: Rests in Scribner's Vault After Queen Mary Trip; It Is Haffner Symphony|page=6A|work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646|id={{ProQuest|1243472616}}}} one of two attested copies of George Washington's proclamation of Thanksgiving in 1789;{{Cite news|date=January 15, 1952|title=Scribners Gets Rare Document|language=en-US|page=20|work=The New York Times|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1952/01/15/84296012.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=April 1, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164825/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1952/01/15/84296012.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false}} and a collection of Adolf Hitler's books and papers.{{cite news|date=May 22, 1946|title=Hitler's Papers and Books in 5th Av. Display: 1929 Dog License, Found in 'Brown House', Shown in Book Store Window|page=21A|work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646|id={{ProQuest|1284550617}}}} The bookstore sometimes held exhibitions, such as a display illustrating the manufacturing process of books,{{Cite news|date=December 27, 1913|title=The Making of a Book|pages=3|work=The Boston Globe|via=newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74872887/the-making-of-a-book/|access-date=April 1, 2021|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908165820/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74872887/the-making-of-a-book/|url-status=live}} as well as an event where a copy of the Gutenberg Bible was displayed.{{cite news|date=February 4, 1951|title=Another Bible By Gutenberg Brought Here: Scribner's Buys it for More Than $106,000; It's 46th Copy known to Remain|page=64|work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646|id={{ProQuest|1291333256}}}} Some of the upper stories were leased to tenants, such as a perfumer in 1960.{{Cite news|date=February 1, 1960|title=Perfume Concern in 5th Ave. Lease; Mary Chess Takes Floor in Scribner Building at 48th – Other Leases|language=en-US|page=41|work=The New York Times|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1960/02/01/99340187.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=April 1, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316164856/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1960/02/01/99340187.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false}}

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) was considering a landmark designation for the Charles Scribner's Sons Building in 1967, although a real estate expert testified that such a designation would reduce the building's value by up to $1 million.{{Cite news|date=February 1, 1967|title=Says Designation Would Cost Money|pages=22|work=The Glens Falls Times|via=newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74812789/says-designation-would-cost-money/|access-date=March 31, 2021|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908165813/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74812789/says-designation-would-cost-money/|url-status=live}} When the bookstore interior was renovated in 1974, the lighting was replaced and new shelves and counters were installed. By the 1980s, the store was described in The New York Times as "the last bastion of the Fifth Avenue old-school bookstore", with its specialty in hardcover books.{{Cite news|last=Slesin|first=Suzanne|date=August 11, 1980|title=...And to the Rare Shops That Are the City's Forte|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/08/11/archives/and-to-the-rare-shops-that-are-the-citys-forte.html|access-date=April 1, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908175924/https://www.nytimes.com/1980/08/11/archives/and-to-the-rare-shops-that-are-the-citys-forte.html|url-status=live}} The building was nominated for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 and was deemed to have met the architectural and historical criteria for acceptance. However, it was not listed because of objections from its owners. The following year, on March 23, 1982, the LPC designated 597 Fifth Avenue's exterior as a landmark.{{Cite news|date=March 24, 1982|title=City Landmarks Panel Adds 6 Sites to Its Roll|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/24/nyregion/city-landmarks-panel-adds-6-sites-to-its-roll.html|access-date=March 31, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908171628/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/24/nyregion/city-landmarks-panel-adds-6-sites-to-its-roll.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last1=Miele|first1=Al|last2=La Rosa|first2=Paul|date=March 24, 1982|title=Scribner's, Morgan library tagged as landmarks|pages=117|work=New York Daily News|issn=2692-1251|via=newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74875639/scribners-morgan-library-tagged-as/|url-status=live|access-date=April 1, 2021|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908165812/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74875639/scribners-morgan-library-tagged-as/}} At a public hearing for the city-landmark designation, six speakers had supported the designation and four had opposed it.

File:5th Av Oct 2020 54.jpg

In 1984, Scribner's publishing division was acquired by Macmillan Inc.{{Cite news|last=Mitgang|first=Herbert|date=April 26, 1984|title=Macmillan Acquires Scribner|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/26/books/macmillan-acquires-scribner.html|url-status=live|access-date=March 31, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106162824/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/26/books/macmillan-acquires-scribner.html}} Rizzoli International Bookstores acquired Scribner's bookstores the same year{{Cite news|last=Mitgang|first=Herbert|date=December 10, 1984|title=Rizzoli Acquires Bookstores of Scribner|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/10/arts/rizzoli-acuires-bookstores-of-scribner.html|url-status=live|access-date=March 31, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908170635/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/10/arts/rizzoli-acuires-bookstores-of-scribner.html}} and relocated to the two stories above the retail space.{{Cite news|last=Mitgang|first=Herbert|date=December 7, 1988|title=Scribner Book Store, 75, Will Close Next Month|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/07/nyregion/scribner-book-store-75-will-close-next-month.html|access-date=March 31, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908213433/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/07/nyregion/scribner-book-store-75-will-close-next-month.html|url-status=live}} Scribner's executive vice president Charles Scribner III subsequently announced the same year that the building would be sold to the Cohen family, which ran the Duane Reade chain of drugstores.{{Cite news|last1=Anderson|first1=Susan Heller|last2=Carroll|first2=Maurice|date=August 1, 1984|title=New York Day by Day; Landmark 5th Ave. Building To Be Sold by Scribner's|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/01/nyregion/new-york-day-by-day-landmark-5th-ave-building-to-be-sold-by-scribner-s.html|url-status=live|access-date=March 31, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006135956/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/01/nyregion/new-york-day-by-day-landmark-5th-ave-building-to-be-sold-by-scribner-s.html}} Scribner's sought to relocate from 597 Fifth Avenue, where it was no longer economically feasible to operate, and Rizzoli was also planning to move from its location at 712 Fifth Avenue. When Scribner's preferred location was found to be unavailable, the Scribner's bookstore remained in place, and Rizzoli leased the retail space and two floors of offices. The Cohen family planned to rent out the remaining {{Convert|36,000|ft2}} of office space in the building, although the office stories were small by modern standards.{{Cite news|last=Depalma|first=Anthony|date=February 13, 1985|title=About Real Estate; Office Space Offered in Landmark Scribner Building|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/13/business/about-real-estate-office-space-offered-in-landmark-scribner-building.html|url-status=live|access-date=March 31, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908171622/https://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/13/business/about-real-estate-office-space-offered-in-landmark-scribner-building.html}} Ultimately, the Benetton Group purchased the building in June 1988 from Duane Reade.{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|p=567}}

By December 1988, Scribner's leadership announced the building's bookstore would close the next month because of the excessive costs of continuing to operate the store.{{cite news|last=Lander|first=Estelle|date=December 6, 1988|title=Last Chapter for Scribner Store|page=9|work=Newsday|issn=2574-5298|id={{ProQuest|278083597}}}} The rent was projected to increase three hundred percent. At the time, the president of Rizzoli's American companies said the retail space, a "cathedral in honor of bookselling", was no longer efficient for commercial use. On the last day of the bookstore's operation, Leonard Riggio, executive chairman of B. Dalton and Barnes & Noble, intervened to try to keep the store open.{{Cite news|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|date=January 23, 1989|title=For Scribners, Bookstore Closing Is Put Off but Not for Long|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/23/nyregion/for-scribners-bookstore-closing-is-put-off-but-not-for-long.html|access-date=March 31, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908213838/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/23/nyregion/for-scribners-bookstore-closing-is-put-off-but-not-for-long.html|url-status=live}} Nevertheless, the bookstore location closed as scheduled. After B. Dalton acquired the Scribner's brand in May 1989, Riggio started negotiating with Benetton to discuss the possibility of reopening a bookstore branch in the building.{{Cite news|last=McDowell|first=Edwin|date=May 12, 1989|title=The Media Business; Scribner Name and Store Are Sold to B. Dalton|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/12/business/the-media-business-scribner-name-and-store-are-sold-to-b-dalton.html|access-date=March 31, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908165812/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/12/business/the-media-business-scribner-name-and-store-are-sold-to-b-dalton.html|url-status=live}} Shortly after the Scribner's store closed, the LPC considered the store's interior for landmark status. Benetton executives, who were planning a renovation of the retail space, said they would not oppose such a designation; an attorney for the company said they were "used to landmarks".{{Cite news|last=Shepard|first=Joan|date=February 8, 1989|title=Horsing around with landmarks|pages=763|work=New York Daily News|issn=2692-1251|via=newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74876265/horsing-around-with-landmarks/|url-status=live|access-date=April 1, 2021|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908211807/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74876265/horsing-around-with-landmarks/}} On July 11, 1989, the LPC designated the building as an interior landmark.{{Cite news|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|date=July 16, 1989|title=Latest Landmarks Include Scribner's, a Theater and a Clinic|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/16/nyregion/latest-landmarks-include-scribner-s-a-theater-and-a-clinic.html|access-date=March 31, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908175848/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/16/nyregion/latest-landmarks-include-scribner-s-a-theater-and-a-clinic.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|date=July 12, 1989|first=Joan|last=Shepard|work=New York Daily News|issn=2692-1251|via=newspapers.com|title=Panel okays 3 buildings as landmarks|pages=42|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82781682/panel-okays-3-buildings-as-landmarks/|access-date=August 4, 2021|archive-date=February 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202100147/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82781682/panel-okays-3-buildings-as-landmarks/|url-status=live}}{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1989|ps=.|p=1}} Although there were indications Benetton would lease the space as a Waterstones bookstore, the space was instead leased to a Brentano's bookstore in September 1989.{{Cite news|last=Scardino|first=Albert|date=September 14, 1989|title=Scribner's Site to Be a Bookstore Again: a Brentano's Branch|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/14/nyregion/scribner-s-site-to-be-a-bookstore-again-a-brentano-s-branch.html|access-date=March 31, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214132120/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/14/nyregion/scribner-s-site-to-be-a-bookstore-again-a-brentano-s-branch.html|url-status=live}} The Brentano's store opened two months later.{{Cite news|last=Smith|first=Jack|date=November 3, 1989|title=Read 'em and reap|pages=189|work=New York Daily News|issn=2692-1251|via=newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74875922/read-em-and-reap/|url-status=live|access-date=April 1, 2021|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908211758/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74875922/read-em-and-reap/}}

Brentano's announced its intention to vacate the store in 1994{{Cite news|date=April 17, 1994|title=Brentano's to Abandon Bookstore on Fifth Avenue|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/17/nyregion/new-yorkers-co-797928.html|url-status=live|access-date=April 1, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008033708/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/17/nyregion/new-yorkers-co-797928.html}}{{Cite magazine|date=April 11, 1994|title=Can the Scribners Book Store be saved yet again?|magazine=New York|volume=27|issue=15|pages=20}} and ultimately closed on January 19, 1996.{{Cite news|last=Lambert|first=Bruce|date=January 21, 1996|title=In Memoriam; Closing the Book On Brentano's|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/21/nyregion/neighborhood-report-in-memoriam-closing-the-book-on-brentano-s.html|access-date=June 14, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614170754/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/21/nyregion/neighborhood-report-in-memoriam-closing-the-book-on-brentano-s.html|url-status=live}} After Brentano's departure, Benetton hired Phillips Janson Group to conduct interior restorations for several million dollars.{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|p=568}} Restoration architect Dennis Janson took two months to research the building's history, while decorative art firm Terra Firma was hired to look at paint samples to determine the original color. Most of the project was dedicated to restoring old design elements, including adding a spiral staircase that had been removed. The restoration uncovered several decorative elements that had previously been hidden, including the rear skylight and glass planks. Monica Geran of Interior Design magazine called the reopening of the skylight a "crowning glory" of the renovation.{{Cite magazine|last=Geran|first=Monica|date=Sep 1997|title=Design by Detection|magazine=Interior Design|volume=68|pages=218–220}} Benetton opened its {{Convert|13000|ft2|adj=on}} United States flagship store in the space in November 1996.{{Cite news|date=November 21, 1996|title=Benetton trying again|pages=61|work=South Florida Sun Sentinel|via=newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74875477/benetton-trying-again/|access-date=April 1, 2021|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908180037/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74875477/benetton-trying-again/|url-status=live}} Rizzoli operated a pop-up bookstore with 300 titles as part of an agreement with Benetton.{{Cite news|last=Marcano|first=Tony|date=March 20, 1997|title=Benetton Adds Books|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/20/nyregion/benetton-adds-books.html|access-date=April 1, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908165814/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/20/nyregion/benetton-adds-books.html|url-status=live}} A cafe was also opened on the lower story of the retail space.{{Cite news|last=Foderaro|first=Lisa W.|date=June 17, 1997|title=Another Fifth Ave. Bookshop Is Felled by High Rents|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/17/nyregion/another-fifth-ave-bookshop-is-felled-by-high-rents.html|access-date=March 31, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023152032/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/17/nyregion/another-fifth-ave-bookshop-is-felled-by-high-rents.html|url-status=live}} Meanwhile, to attract office tenants, Benetton gave free Prince tennis bags to brokers who successfully leased space in the building.{{Cite news|last=Deutsch|first=Claudia H.|date=October 29, 1995|title=Commercial Property: Marketing;Landlords Vie for Ways to Catch a Tenant's Eye|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/29/realestate/commercial-property-marketing-landlords-vie-for-ways-to-catch-a-tenant-s-eye.html|access-date=April 1, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908213423/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/29/realestate/commercial-property-marketing-landlords-vie-for-ways-to-catch-a-tenant-s-eye.html|url-status=live}}

File:5 Av Mar 2022 100.jpg

Cosmetics store Sephora signed a ten-year lease for the ground-level retail space in 2004.{{Cite news|date=May 9, 2004|title=Postings: Landmark Building on Fifth Avenue; Sephora to Rent Scribner Space|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/09/realestate/postings-landmark-building-on-fifth-avenue-sephora-to-rent-scribner-space.html|url-status=live|access-date=March 31, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908165816/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/09/realestate/postings-landmark-building-on-fifth-avenue-sephora-to-rent-scribner-space.html}} A&A Investment Co. bought 597 Fifth Avenue in 2006 for $79.1 million,{{Cite web|date=July 27, 2006|title=Two-Building Sale Price Tops $1,000 per sq. ft.|url=https://www.nreionline.com/news/two-building-sale-price-tops-1000-sq-ft|access-date=March 31, 2021|website=National Real Estate Investor|language=en|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908165818/https://www.nreionline.com/news/two-building-sale-price-tops-1000-sq-ft|url-status=live}} and it was resold to Thor Equities in 2011 for $108.5 million.{{Cite web|last=Clarke|first=Katherine|date=July 21, 2011|title=Thor Equities closes on Scribner Building|url=https://therealdeal.com/2011/07/21/joe-sitt-s-thor-equities-closes-on-scribner-building/|url-status=live|access-date=March 31, 2021|website=The Real Deal New York|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427052002/http://therealdeal.com/2011/07/21/joe-sitt-s-thor-equities-closes-on-scribner-building/ |archive-date=April 27, 2016 }} Thor refinanced the building in 2014,{{cite web|last1=Porter|first1=Kiel|last2=Levitt|first2=David M.|last3=Rupp|first3=Lindsey|date=May 22, 2017|title=Lululemon Said in Talks to Fill Sephora's Fifth Avenue Vacancy|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-22/lululemon-said-in-talks-to-fill-sephora-s-fifth-avenue-vacancy|access-date=March 30, 2021|website=Bloomberg|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908165816/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-22/lululemon-said-in-talks-to-fill-sephora-s-fifth-avenue-vacancy|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=Larsen|first=Keith|date=November 25, 2020|title=Thor Equities' Loan Troubles at 597 Fifth Mount|url=https://therealdeal.com/2020/11/25/thors-150m-loan-on-597-fifth-heads-to-special-servicing/|access-date=March 30, 2021|website=The Real Deal New York|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908185526/https://therealdeal.com/2020/11/25/thors-150m-loan-on-597-fifth-heads-to-special-servicing/|url-status=live}} receiving a $105 million loan for 597 Fifth Avenue and the neighboring 3 East 48th Street from UBS Group AG. Oxford Properties placed a mezzanine loan of $10 million on the building, which was senior to another mezzanine loan of $25 million from by SL Green Realty. During this time, 597 Fifth Avenue contained several office tenants as well. During the city's 2013 mayoral election, Anthony Weiner opened a campaign office on the upper stories of 597 Fifth Avenue.{{cite web|last=Cowan|first=Alison Leigh|date=September 10, 2013|title=Sept. 10: Where the Candidates Are Today|url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/10/sept-10-where-the-candidates-are-today/|access-date=March 30, 2021|website=City Room|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908171315/https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/10/sept-10-where-the-candidates-are-today/|url-status=live}} Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm, had its New York office at 597 Fifth Avenue between 2016 and the company's collapse in 2018.{{cite web|last1=Collins|first1=Ben|last2=Schecter|first2=Anna|last3=Banic|first3=Vladimir|date=May 2, 2018|title=Data analytics firm engulfed in Facebook's privacy scandal closes down|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/cambridge-analytica-close-down-following-facebook-data-scandal-n870831|access-date=March 30, 2021|website=NBC News|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908165817/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/cambridge-analytica-close-down-following-facebook-data-scandal-n870831|url-status=live}}

Sephora vacated the commercial space in the base in early 2017.{{cite web|last=Thomas|first=Lauren|date=May 23, 2017|title=Lululemon reportedly in the running to fill Sephora's Fifth Avenue vacancy|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/23/lululemon-in-the-running-to-fill-sephoras-fifth-avenue-vacancy.html|access-date=March 30, 2021|website=CNBC|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908165816/https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/23/lululemon-in-the-running-to-fill-sephoras-fifth-avenue-vacancy.html|url-status=live}} Shortly afterward, in May 2017, Lululemon Athletica signed a short-term lease for the retail space.{{Cite web|last=Schram|first=Lauren Elkies|date=May 30, 2017|title=Lululemon Signs a One-Year Deal at Thor's Scribner Building|url=https://commercialobserver.com/2017/05/lulemon-lease-scribner-building-thor-equities/|access-date=March 30, 2021|website=Commercial Observer|language=en-US|archive-date=August 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802045936/https://commercialobserver.com/2017/05/lulemon-lease-scribner-building-thor-equities/|url-status=live}} In February 2019, less than two years after its lease was signed, Lululemon decided to relocate across the street.{{cite web|last1=Echikson|first1=Julia|last2=Loria|first2=Keith|last3=Rizzi|first3=Nicholas|date=February 6, 2019|title=Lululemon Nails Down 20K-SF Two-Story Glass Corner at 592 Fifth Avenue|url=https://commercialobserver.com/2019/02/lululemon-athletica-retail-lease-592-fifth-avenue-united-overseas-bank/|access-date=March 30, 2021|website=Commercial Observer|archive-date=March 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301054104/https://commercialobserver.com/2019/02/lululemon-athletica-retail-lease-592-fifth-avenue-united-overseas-bank/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|date=February 12, 2019|title=Thor Equities is in a very precarious position at 597 Fifth|url=https://therealdeal.com/2019/02/12/thor-is-in-a-very-precarious-position-at-597-fifth/|access-date=March 30, 2021|website=The Real Deal New York|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908165816/https://therealdeal.com/2019/02/12/thor-is-in-a-very-precarious-position-at-597-fifth/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=Geiger|first=Daniel|date=February 11, 2019|title=Lululemon exit makes Thor vulnerable on Fifth Avenue—again|url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/lululemon-exit-makes-thor-vulnerable-fifth-avenue-again|access-date=March 30, 2021|website=Crain's New York Business|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908221701/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/lululemon-exit-makes-thor-vulnerable-fifth-avenue-again|url-status=live}} Thor was at risk of having to forfeit 597 Fifth Avenue to SL Green unless it could secure a luxury retail tenant. Coworking space Knotel signed a lease for {{Convert|6,400|ft2}} in May 2019,{{cite web|last=Kim|first=Betsy|date=May 24, 2019|title=Knotel Leases Nearly 18,000 SF on Fifth Ave.|url=https://www.globest.com/2019/05/24/knotel-leases-nearly-18000-sf-on-fifth-ave/|access-date=March 30, 2021|website=GlobeSt|archive-date=September 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908171505/https://www.globest.com/2019/05/24/knotel-leases-nearly-18000-sf-on-fifth-ave/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Gourarie|first=Chava|date=May 23, 2019|title=Knotel Signs Two Leases at Thor Properties in Midtown|url=https://commercialobserver.com/2019/05/knotel-signs-two-leases-at-thor-properties-in-midtown/|url-status=live|access-date=March 30, 2021|website=Commercial Observer|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811211909/https://commercialobserver.com/2019/05/knotel-signs-two-leases-at-thor-properties-in-midtown/ |archive-date=August 11, 2019 }} and Club Monaco signed a lease for the retail space that November.{{Cite web|last=Baird-Remba|first=Rebecca|date=November 8, 2019|title=Club Monaco Plans Midtown Store at 597 Fifth Avenue|url=https://commercialobserver.com/2019/11/club-monaco-597-fifth-avenue/|url-status=live|access-date=March 30, 2021|website=Commercial Observer|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191108220551/https://commercialobserver.com/2019/11/club-monaco-597-fifth-avenue/ |archive-date=November 8, 2019 }}{{Cite web|last=REW|date=November 13, 2019|title=Club Monaco enters new chapter on Fifth|url=https://rew-online.com/club-monaco-enters-new-chapter-on-fifth/|access-date=March 30, 2021|website=Real Estate Weekly|language=en-US|archive-date=October 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006003438/https://rew-online.com/club-monaco-enters-new-chapter-on-fifth/|url-status=live}} The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City in 2020 caused a sharp decline in Thor's business. Although the building's mortgage was restructured in May 2020,{{cite web |last=Elstein |first=Aaron |date=December 13, 2024 |title=Leaky Scribner Building's value slashed by nearly 40%, report says |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/scribner-building-value-falls-nearly-40 |access-date=December 14, 2024 |website=Crain's New York Business |archive-date=January 24, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250124171721/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/scribner-building-value-falls-nearly-40 |url-status=live }} the company was delinquent on two months' worth of loan payments on 597 Fifth Avenue during mid-2020.{{cite web|last=Larsen|first=Keith|date=November 3, 2020|title=Thor Equities Delinquent on $105M Loan Tied to Scribner Building|url=https://therealdeal.com/2020/11/03/thor-delinquent-on-105m-loan-at-597-fifth/|access-date=March 30, 2021|website=The Real Deal New York|archive-date=January 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129093602/https://therealdeal.com/2020/11/03/thor-delinquent-on-105m-loan-at-597-fifth/|url-status=live}} This placed the building in danger of "imminent payment default" by November 2020, and after Thor defaulted on its loan, SL Green took over as the property manager in 2021.{{cite web |last=Larsen |first=Keith |date=September 8, 2023 |title=Lender accuses Thor of abandoning historic Scribner Building |url=https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2023/09/08/suit-accuses-thor-equities-of-abandoning-scribner-building/ |access-date=December 14, 2024 |website=The Real Deal |archive-date=April 21, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250421073901/https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2023/09/08/suit-accuses-thor-equities-of-abandoning-scribner-building/ |url-status=live }}

Club Monaco paid only {{Convert|285|$/ft2}} in rent by 2022; at the time, market rate rents on Fifth Avenue averaged {{Convert|2000|$/ft2}}.{{cite web |last=Cavanaugh |first=Suzannah |date=January 22, 2024 |title=Thor Equities' 597 Fifth Ave value cut in half |url=https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2024/01/22/thor-equities-597-fifth-ave-value-cut-in-half-after-default/ |access-date=December 14, 2024 |website=The Real Deal}} LNR Partners initiated pre-foreclosure proceedings against 597 Fifth Avenue and 3 East 48th Street in early 2023, requesting that a court auction off both structures.{{cite web |last=Hall |first=Miriam |date=February 20, 2023 |title=Sternlicht's LNR Moving To Foreclose On 2 Of Thor's Manhattan Properties |url=https://www.bisnow.com/new-york/news/retail/barry-sternlicht-moving-to-foreclose-on-two-thor-manhattan-properties-117740 |access-date=December 14, 2024 |website=Bisnow}} The buildings went into receivership during the middle of that year,{{cite web |last=Hall |first=Miriam |date=August 22, 2023 |title=2 Of Thor Equities' Manhattan Properties Placed In Receivership |url=https://www.bisnow.com/new-york/news/capital-markets/2-of-thors-manhattan-properties-now-in-receivership-120337 |access-date=December 14, 2024 |website=Bisnow}} and the receiver claimed that Thor had abandoned the building. At the time, 597 Fifth Avenue was only 25% occupied, its facade was crumbling, and its fire-suppression system needed at least $1 million in repairs. 597 Fifth Avenue and 3 East 48th Street were valued at $84 million, less than half the $180 million valuation they had a decade earlier. Club Monaco, the building's only remaining tenant, renewed its lease for seven years in May 2024,{{cite web |last=Elstein |first=Aaron |date=May 6, 2024 |title=Struggling Fifth Avenue landmark Scribner Building gets a new chapter |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/scribner-building-renews-club-monaco-lease |access-date=December 14, 2024 |website=Crain's New York Business |archive-date=November 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241102233422/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/scribner-building-renews-club-monaco-lease |url-status=live }} and a state judge approved a foreclosure sale of 597 Fifth Avenue and 3 East 48th Street that August.{{Cite web |last=Monterose |first=Isaac |date=August 6, 2024 |title=Judge OKs Foreclosure, Sale Of Midtown Manhattan Buildings |url=https://www.law360.com/real-estate-authority/articles/1867104/judge-oks-foreclosure-sale-of-midtown-manhattan-buildings |access-date=2024-12-14 |website=Law360 |language=en}} JLL, the court-appointed property manager, alleged in December 2024 that the roof was leaking, making it difficult to lease out the upper floors. However, the special servicer for the building's loan, LNR Partners, allegedly refused to pay for the repairs. Subsequently, the building was scheduled for auction in April 2025.{{cite web |last=Burke |first=Lilah |date=April 29, 2025 |title=Midtown’s Scribner Building to be auctioned off Wednesday |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/charles-scribners-sons-building-headed-auction-block |access-date=May 1, 2025 |website=Crain's New York Business}}

{{Portal bar|Architecture|New York City}}

• List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite magazine|date=December 1894|title=The History of a Publishing House, 1846–1894|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924097557270&view=1up&seq=801|magazine=Scribner's Magazine|volume=16|ref={{harvid|Scribner's Magazine|1894}}}}
• {{cite report|title=Charles Scribner's Sons Building|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1100.pdf|date=March 23, 1982|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|ref={{harvid|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1982}}|last=Kurshan|first=Virginia}}
• {{cite report|title=Charles Scribner's Sons Building Interior|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1698.pdf|date=July 11, 1989|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|ref={{harvid|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1989}}|last=Marthey|first=Lynne D.}}
• {{cite New York 1900}}
• {{cite New York 2000}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Charles Scribner's Sons Building 597 Fifth Avenue}}

{{Midtown North, Manhattan}}

{{Fifth Avenue}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1910s architecture in the United States

Category:1913 establishments in New York City

Category:Beaux-Arts architecture in New York City

Category:Bookstores in Manhattan

Category:Buildings with mansard roofs

Category:Charles Scribner's Sons

Category:Commercial buildings completed in 1913

Category:Commercial buildings in Manhattan

Category:Fifth Avenue

Category:Midtown Manhattan

Category:New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan

Category:New York City interior landmarks

Category:Office buildings completed in 1913

Category:Office buildings in Manhattan