BLACK ENTERPRISE
Executive Offices
Black Enterprise, 1984
Black Enterprise, 1984
Lefcourt's tendency to name his buildings after himself, and to carve his name prominently on their facades, led to claims that he was "touched by a Napoleonic complex." It did not seem to bother the real estate mogul, who assembled all of his buildings into one imposing urban skyline described as "Lefcourt City" in a 1930 promotional book.
In 1930 the New York Times declared that "no other individual or building organization has constructed in its own behalf as many buildings as are in the Lefcourt Group", and the Jewish Forum lauded him as one of the most important "Jewish pioneers in the construction of New York City." The building's storied history appealed to Graves, who wanted a building that embodied the qualities of his new publishing venture. Its location on Madison Avenue placed the magazine in close proximity to other major consumer periodicals, as well as many of the nation's most prominent advertising and marketing firms. |
In the winter of 1983/1984 Black Enterprise relocated one and a half miles South to 130 Fifth Avenue. The current building stands on the former site of Chickering Hall, a major New York concert venue built in 1872 by the Chickering Piano Company that became a hot-spot for the late 19th century New York music scene. Towards the turn of the century its popularity waned as many events moved uptown to sites such as Carnegie Hall and the Waldorf-Astoria, and Chickering Hall was demolished in 1901.
Its replacement was a Renaissance-revival structure originally designed as a store-and-loft building, with an imposing brick and stone facade that belies its modern steel framework. Its architect Robert Maynick was renowned as a pioneer in the development of the modern loft building. |