The world-renowned Tiffany & Co. store at the corner of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue opened its doors for business on October 21, 1940. Tiffany's move to this new location was heralded as an important step in extending trade north along Fifth Avenue and established the area as Manhattan's most fashionable shopping district.
The ten-million-dollar real estate transaction was the largest and most significant such transaction in New York at that time. Designed by Cross & Cross and executed by Turner Construction Company, the modern, seven-story structure was embraced as the ideal new home for the treasures of Tiffany. In 1941, the building was honored with the Gold Medal Award presented by the Fifth Avenue Association.
The limestone, granite and marble façade is free of ornamentation, except for the famous Atlas clock, a nine-foot figure of Atlas shouldering a round clock approximately four feet in diameter. The clock was initially mounted in 1853 over the store entrance of the third Tiffany location at 550 Broadway. Having given New Yorkers the correct time from its Fifth Avenue post since 1940, the fabled Atlas clock was restored in 1990 and again in 2006.
To maintain the façade's streamlined quality, the flagpoles are concealed in attic space over the first floor ceiling and appear only when flags are on display. Each flagpole, measuring 18 feet in length and 4 inches in diameter, clears the building through openings in the façade. In addition, the window frames, constructed in stainless steel and bordered in Alpine marble, were specially designed to accommodate the unusual size (12 x 18 feet) of Tiffany's famous windows.
The dominant consideration in the planning of the structure was the comfort and convenience of the customer, which led to a number of architectural innovations. At 8,400 square feet, the Main Floor, one of New York's grandest retailing spaces, is the largest column-less retail space in the U.S. The ceiling (24 feet high) is secured with three 106-ton trusses at mezzanine level, an advance developed for bridge construction. The store was also the first mercantile building to have central air conditioning.
The spacious floor easily accommodates the wide aisles and showcases of Macassar and ebonized sycamore trimmed with brushed stainless steel and brass. Six of the eight showcases surround outsize pedestals of burl wood, stainless steel and granite. The floor and wall treatments are lustrous teakwood, with Macassar pilasters, mirrored panels and windows framed by black and green Italian marble architraves.
Precision LED lighting is evenly dispersed throughout the showcases and is built into the unique coffered ceiling to provide more direct illumination over the cases. LED lighting in the private salons has individual settings for normal light, candlelight, or simulated daylight to allow viewing of diamonds for color clarity.
In 2000 the company embarked on a storewide renovation that concluded in 2006 and resulted in a 25% increase in selling space. Each floor was given a lavish makeover worthy of the building's architecture and Tiffany's renowned jewelry collections. The Main Floor showcases are filled with the world's most celebrated jewels from breathtaking diamonds, gemstones and luminous pearls to the sculptural designs of Elsa Peretti, the bold and colorful gemstones of Paloma Picasso, ravishing jewels of Jean Schlumberger, and expanded men's collections. Engagement jewelry and more of Tiffany's spectacular jewels are on Two; the Frank Gehry® Collection, sterling silver jewelry and gifts shine on Three; the Home collection resides on Four; special events and exhibitions are on Five; and customer service is on Six.
In 2008 Tiffany opened a Patek Philippe salon on the flagship's mezzanine. The 3,000-square-foot salon, the first in the U.S., showcases the legendary watchmaker's renowned timepieces and celebrates the historic partnership between Tiffany & Co. and Patek Philippe.
At the time of its founding in 1837 by Charles Lewis Tiffany, the store was located at 259 Broadway. Since then Tiffany has had five other Manhattan addresses: 271 Broadway (1847), 550 Broadway (1853), Union Square and 15th Street (1870), Fifth Avenue and 37th Street (1905), and 727 Fifth Avenue (1940).
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