The appearance of this building in 1846 introduced a new architectural mode based on the palaces of the Italian Renaissance. Designed by the New York architects, Joseph Trench and John B. Snook, it was built by one of the century’s greatest merchants, A.T. Stewart. Within the building Stewart began the city’s first department store, a type of commercial enterprise which was to have a great effect on the city’s economic growth and which would change the way of merchandising in this country. The image of the Renaissance palace conveyed by the building reflected a new, more conspicuous, image on the part of the city’s wealthy merchants and captured the imagination of the public.
STATUS Designated Individual Landmark
The Neighborhood
Tribeca
The area now known as Tribeca was originally developed in the early 19th century as a residential neighborhood close to the city’s center in Lower Manhattan. Its street grid was laid out at right angles off of Greenwich Street and on a diagonal off of...
Explore the Neighborhood >