Manhattan Landmarks-Madison Square North

This district consists of approximately ninety-six buildings representing the city’s commercial history from the 1870s into the 1930s. Many were designed by leading architects such as McKim, Mead & White, Francis Kimball and Ely Jacques Kahn in a succession of fashionable styles for speculative developers including John Jacob Asor and Charles A. Baudouine. The area was a fashionable residence after the opening of Madison Square Park in 1847. The district’s earliest structure is a brick home dating to 1850. Within a few decades, a major entertainment center flourished here with theaters, clubs, hotels, stores and apartments built. At the turn of the century, the area became a mercantile district with banks, high-rise office and loft buildings. Designated June 26, 2001.