Architect	Warren & Wetmore
Date Built	Completed 1921
Location	57th Street and Fifth Avenue
Description
The daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com charts the history of the Crown Building, (or as it was known when it was first built, the Heckscher Building).  It says that, "On February 15, 1920 the New-York Tribune announced “The sensational development planned for the southwest corner of Fifth Avenue and Fifty-seventh Street by George Backer and August Heckscher will mark a new epoch in the structural and commercial future of Fifth Avenue.  The building is to be thirty stories high and will be a combination of stores, showrooms, offices, apartments and a theater.  At least $8,500,000 is involved in the project.”  The ambitious scheme would include 10 stories of theater, concert and art exhibition space.  August Heckscher had leased the land to Backer; but after Backer disclosed his grand plans, Heckscher purchased a half-interest in the project.  “Heckscher Building is the title selected for the great structure,” reported the Tribune. The blogspot goes on to say that, ".... On August 15 The New York Times reported that a 'radical change' had been made in the Heckscher Building plans.  The entire theater idea was scrapped and the structure’s height, originally 32 stories, was reduced to 25.  The architects now described the style as “Francis I,” which The Times felt “will make the building one of the finest examples of its type in the country.”  'The first nine stories of the main portion of the building and the entire Fifty-sixth Street façade will be built of limestone, the exterior of the remaining walls to be face brick ornamented with terra cotta,' advised the newspaper.  The completed structure was decorated with French Renaissance elements and rose to an imposing chateauesque tower with a pyramidal roof accentuated by ornate dormers and oculi.  Above the crown-like finial a 12-foot gold-plated weathervane in the form of a rooster perched."  The rooster is no longer there. The building's story is expanded on by its Wikipedia page that explains that, "... The name was changed to the Crown Building in 1983, attributing its crown-like look when illuminated at night.  The building was purchased in 1981 by then Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos. Marcos used international companies to purchase the building secretly, also obtaining help from Ralpy and Joseph Bernstein as well as Adnan Khashoggi.  The Crown Building was the focus of various lawsuits after the fall of the Marcos regime. Numerous parties, including the Philippine government, claimed rights to it. Lawsuits claimed that Marcos entered into various agreements for the building or purchased it with money that was not his. The parties involved agreed to sell the building and split the proceeds in excess of the $89 million mortgage."  Over the years the building changed hands on a number of occasions.  Wikipedia says that in 2015, the building was acquired by Michael Shvo in partnership with Vladislav Doronin. General Growth Properties and Wharton properties acquired the retail part of the building. The $1.8 billion purchase was one of the largest in New York City real estate history.

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