Starrett & van Vleck

The architectural firm of Starrett & van Vleck specialized in the design of early 20th century department stores primarily in New York City. The partner Goldwin Starrett had worked for four years in the Chicago office of Daniel Burnham. Included in their designs were the New York City flagship stores of Lord and Taylor, Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, Abraham & Straus, and Alexander’s. The Lord and Taylor store, located on Fifth Avenue between 38th and 39th streets, was completed in 1914 and was Starrett & van Vleck’s first major department store. In December 2007, the store was named a New York City landmark. [ [http://www.nysun.com/arts/landmark-department-store/68609/ "A Landmark Department Store,"] by Francis Morrone, "The Sun", December 27, 2007.]

Starrett & van Vleck was also responsible for the design of the New York City landmarks Everett Building (1908), American Stock Exchange (1921), and Downtown Athletic Club (1930). [ [http://www.observer.com/2007/manhattan-house-lord-taylor-flagship-landmarked "Manhattan House, Lord & Taylor Flagship Landmarked,"] by Tom Acitelli, "The New York Observer", October 30, 2007. ] Between 1937 and 1948, they designed the downtown flagship store of the J. N. Adam & Co. in Buffalo, New York, which is currently threatened with demolition. [ [http://greaterbuffalo.blogs.com/gbb/2005/03/jn_adam_amas_th.html "J.N. Adam (AM&As) Threatened by Vampiric Policies of Development Agencies,"] Greater Buffalo Blog, March 3, 2005, (accessed Aug 16, 2008).] Starrett & van Vleck, credits also include the flagship store of Washington, D.C.'s Garfinckel's. The latter was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

References

*"Guide to New York City Landmarks", By Andrew Dolkart, Matthew A. Postal, New York (N.Y.). Landmarks Preservation Commission, Published by John Wiley and Sons, 2003.

External links

[http://www.dshistory.com/architecture/starrett_van_vleck_architec/ Department Store History website]