Sotheby's

1334 York Avenue | Lenox Hill | built 1921

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Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1980

    Sotheby's moves into 1334 York Avenue, once a cigar factory and a Kodak warehouse

    Sotheby's moved into 1334 York Avenue in 1980. Before the auction house settled there, the building had served as a cigar factory and later as a Kodak warehouse. Its first American offices were at 980 Madison Avenue, following its 1964 purchase of the Parke-Bernet firm.

    Source: sothebys.com

  2. 1990

    Sotheby's wins a zoning change for a 27-story residential tower above its headquarters that is never built

    In 1990 Sotheby's New York successfully lobbied for a zoning change that would have allowed a 27-story residential tower above its existing headquarters. The expansion was never realized. Through the 1990s the firm instead showed interest in other sites, including the old Alexander's building on East 59th Street, the New York Coliseum site at Columbus Circle and the B. Altman Building on Fifth Avenue.

    Source: Wikipedia

  3. 2001

    Sotheby's finishes a $140 million expansion that adds six floors and 240,000 square feet

    Sotheby's bought the York Avenue building in 2000, and a $140 million renovation and enlargement was finished in 2001. It added six floors and 240,000 square feet. It also let Sotheby's store works in the same building as its specialist departments, galleries and salerooms.

    Source: Wikipedia

  4. 2002

    Sotheby's sells the York Avenue building for $175 million and buys it back for $370 million in 2009

    To help cover its debts during the price-fixing scandal, Sotheby's sold 1334 York Avenue in 2002 for $175 million to RFR Holding, the firm founded by collectors Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs. RFR leased space back to the auction house until 2009, when Sotheby's bought the building again for $370 million.

    Source: theartnewspaper.com

  5. 2019

    May

    OMA opens the first four floors as public galleries, with more than 90,000 square feet of exhibition space

    Timed to Sotheby's 275th anniversary, a redesign by Shohei Shigematsu of OMA turned the first four floors, formerly mostly storage and offices, into exhibition space, and the ground floor opened for public viewing for the first time. The galleries total over 90,000 square feet, with 40 public galleries and nine private sales galleries. Sotheby's had been planning to move, but asked OMA to sketch a version staying put and found it could remain.

    Source: Untapped New York

  6. 2025

    October 2

    Sotheby's sells 1334 York Avenue to Weill Cornell Medicine ahead of its move to the Breuer Building

    Sotheby's told staff on October 2, 2025, that it had sold its longtime headquarters to Weill Cornell Medicine, about a month before relocating to the Breuer Building at 945 Madison Avenue. Bloomberg reported a price of around $510 million. Weill Cornell was scheduled to take the first four floors in April 2026, while Sotheby's would lease the seventh through tenth floors.

    Source: theartnewspaper.com

Further reading

Nearby

All 31 buildings with stories in Lenox Hill