980 Madison Avenue

980 Madison Avenue (also known as the Parke-Bernet Galleries building) is a building located at Madison Avenue and East 76th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It served as the headquarters of Parke-Bernet Galleries from its opening on November 10, 1949, to its sale in 1987. In 2006, The New York Times wrote that the building had functioned as "the Grand Central Terminal of the art world."[2] The building is part of the Upper East Side Historic District.

980 Madison Avenue
General information
Architectural styleModern[1]
Location980 Madison Avenue, New York, New York, U.S.
Construction started1948
Completed1950[1]
Costover $1,000,000
Design and construction
ArchitectWalker & Poor[1]

History

The Galleries had previously been headquartered at 30 East 57th Street, which were recognized as very lavish. The New York Times wrote that they were "always looked on as the most luxurious auction rooms in the world."[3] In June 1949, after auctioning the Joseph Brummer art collection, Parke-Bernet ended auctions for the summer as its headquarters were to be torn down and a new building be constructed to hold the galleries. While the building was under construction, the auction house was based in the Brummer Gallery.[4] The building was opened on November 10, 1949, with a ceremony that had around 2,500 attendees. Speakers included Hiram H. Parke, Robert W. Dowling and Leslie A. Hyam.[3]

When completed at a cost of over $1,000,000, the building occupied a block, from Seventy-sixth to Seventy-seventh streets on Madison Avenue. It had ten galleries and a larger auditorium, all covered in mohair, that could seat 600 and 2,000 people, respectively. The building had over 45,000 square feet and had a stage modeled upon Broadway stages. The New York Times wrote that the building was "hailed as a new departure in commercial structures."[3] It was designed to be only six stories tall by the architects, A. Stewart Walker and Alfred Easton Poor, to protect light going to the Carlyle Hotel.[2] The move led to the development of an art market on upper Madison Avenue.[5] In March 1966, then president of Sotheby Parke Bernet, Peregrine Pollen, used the building for a concert by pianist Philippe Entremont.[6] In 1967, a brownstone neighboring the galleries caught fire, and 200 people were evacuated from the building. None of the exhibits were damaged.[7]

On June 9, 1987, Sotheby Parke-Bernet announced that it was closing the galleries, causing an uproar in the New York City art community. Klaus Perls, a German art dealer said, ''I am shattered by the news. I thought that Sotheby's was the greatest asset to the art market in New York that could be imagined. I think a lot of the glamour that has characterized the art market in New York over the last 20 years is going to disappear when Sotheby's leaves the premises.'' Parke-Bernet relocated to its York Avenue galleries.[5] The building was then divided into small rooms for tenants and included in the Upper East Side Historic District. In the 2000 A.I.A. Guide to New York City, the authors called it "an insipid box unrelated to any cultural values."[2]

Statue

The building has an aluminum sculpture titled "Venus and Manhattan" by Wheeler Williams of Venus. The statue is roughly 16 feet (4.9 m) by 9 feet (2.7 m), and upon its construction was praised by William Adams Delano, Robert W. Dowling, and Francis Keally (the president of the Municipal Art Society). Parts of the statue protruded 18 inches (46 cm) over the building line, and Parke-Bernet agreed to pay $25 per year to 'rent' the space occupied by the statue.[8][9]

Proposed 2006 remodel

In 2006, Aby Rosen offered to restore the building to its original appearance, but made the offer contingent upon being able to construct a 30-story glass tower on top of the galleries.[2][10] The tower was designed by Norman Foster, and supported by prominent figures, such as Jeff Koons, Tory Burch, and Ronald Perelman. However, many in New York disliked the proposed design.[10][11] The New York City Landmarks Commission reviewed the proposal, and in January 2007 rejected it.[12] Rosen and Foster then proposed a new, six story addition in May 2008,[13] and in November 2009 a smaller, five story addition was accepted.[14]

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References
  1. Pearson, Marjorie, ed. (1981). "Upper East Side Historic District Designation Report" (PDF). Landmarks Preservation Commission. p. 1055.
  2. Gray, Christopher (2006-12-10). "Parke-Bernet Galleries: A Blocky Base for Proposed Towers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  3. "NEW HOME OPENED BY PARKE-BERNET; Galleries' Block-Long Building Hailed as New Departure in Commercial Structures". The New York Times. 1949-11-11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  4. "Galleries Reduce Auction Schedule". The New York Times. June 12, 1949. p. 80.
  5. Reif, Rita (1982-06-11). "Art Dealers Dismayed at Sotheby's Closing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  6. Genzlinger, Neil (11 March 2020). "Peregrine Pollen, Who Livened Up Auctions, Dies at 89". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  7. Weinraub, Bernard (1967-02-23). "Fire Sweeps House, Routs 200 in Parke-Bernet; Galleries Vacated as Smoke Billows From Adjoining Brownstone--2 Hurt". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  8. Judy, B. "Obstrusive Venus". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  9. "Heroic Venus Adds to City's Revenue: $25 Yearly Rental Specified for Protrusion Over Building Line of Parke-Bernet". The New York Times. November 3, 1949.
  10. Pogrebin, Robin (2006-10-26). "A Builder Dusts Off His Starry Rolodex". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  11. Grimes, Christopher (March 30, 2007). "Downside of the Upper East". The Financial Times. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  12. Chan, Sewell (2007-01-17). "Preservation Commission Turns Down Proposal for Upper East Side Tower". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  13. "Foster Tries Again in Upper Manhattan". Architectural Record. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  14. "At Last, A Green Light for Foster's 980 Madison Avenue Scheme". Architectural Record. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
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