Starrett & van Vleck

The architectural firm of Starrett & van Vleck, often spelled Starrett & Van Vleck, specialized in the design of early 20th century department stores primarily in New York City. The partner Goldwin Starrett, brother of Colonel William A. 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 & Taylor, Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Abraham & Straus, and Alexander's. The Lord & Taylor Building, located on Fifth Avenue between 38th and 39th Streets, was completed in 1914 and was Starrett & van Vleck’s first major department store and is a New York City designated landmark.[1]

Heinz 57 Center (formerly the Gimbel Brothers Department Store), built in 1914, located at 339 Sixth Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Starrett & van Vleck was also responsible for the design of the designated New York City landmarks Everett Building (1908), American Stock Exchange Building (1921), 21 West Street (1929), and Downtown Athletic Club (1930).[2] 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.[3] It is located in the J.N. Adam-AM&A Historic District. Starrett & van Vleck, credits also include the flagship store of Washington, D.C.'s Garfinckel's, and the Miller & Rhoads department store in Richmond, VA as well as the former Mosby Dry Goods Store in Richmond, VA, which is now undergoing restoration and renovation as a hotel. Garfinckel's was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

In Pittsburgh, Starrett & van Vleck was responsible for the design of the downtown flagship of the Gimbels Department Store which was built in 1914 at 339 Sixth Avenue. Gimbels closed in Pittsburgh in 1987.[4] The building was renamed the Heinz 57 Center in 2002 after the remodeled building became the North American headquarters for the H.J. Heinz Co..[5] It was added to the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation as a Historic Landmark in 1982.[6] Near Pittsburgh, in 1912, they designed the house that later became the clubhouse of the Foxburg Country Club.[7]

A number of its works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[8]

Works
Saks Fifth Avenue Building, 1924

Works include (with attribution):

  • J.N. Adam Department Store, Buffalo, New York, June 2009
  • Houses at 1026-1028 Fifth Avenue
  • Von Cramm Coop, West Campus, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, Winter, 2007

See also
  • Houses at 1026-1028 Fifth Ave., 1026-1028 Fifth Ave., New York, New York (Van Vleck & Goldsmith), NRHP-listed,[8] designed by a Goldwin Goldsmith and a Van Vleck,[10] very similar in name to Goldwin Starrett and Van Vleck
  • First Methodist Episcopal Church, 24 N. Fullerton Ave., Montclair, New Jersey (Van Vleck & Goldsmith), NRHP-listed,[8] designed by a Goldwin Goldsmith and a Van Vleck, very similar in name to Goldwin Starrett and Van Vleck
  • Foxburg Country Club and Golf Course, 369 Harvey Rd., Foxburg, Pennsylvania (Vleck, Van), NRHP-listed[8]

References
  1. "A Landmark Department Store," by Francis Morrone, The Sun, December 27, 2007.
  2. "Manhattan House, Lord & Taylor Flagship Landmarked," by Tom Acitelli, The New York Observer, October 30, 2007.
  3. "J.N. Adam (AM&As) Threatened by Vampiric Policies of Development Agencies," Greater Buffalo Blog, March 3, 2005, (accessed Aug 16, 2008).
  4. Rotstein, Gary (2002-11-17). "Gimbels gets one more bow". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  5. "Heinz 57 Center". McKnight Realty Partners. 2018-01-01. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  6. Historic Landmark Plaques 1968-2009 (PDF). Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. 2010. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  7. "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Note: This includes David L. Taylor (October 2006). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Foxburg Country Club and Golf Course" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  8. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  9. "3121-Von Cramm Hall Facility Information". Cornell Facilities and Campus Services. Cornell University. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  10. Melissa Canoni; Peter Gray & Peter Shaver (October 1, 1998). "Fifth Avenue, Houses at 1026-1028 / The Marymount School".and accompanying six photos
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