140 West 57th Street

Midtown | built 1908

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

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

1909
January
A twin studio building for artists opens on West 57th Street
Painter Robert Vonnoh bought four brownstones at 134-142 West 57th Street in mid-1907, and the 136 West 57th Street Corporation hired Pollard and Steinam to design a $500,000 studio building there. It was designed with 36 studios lit by north light, financed with a $475,000 Metropolitan Life loan, and completed in January 1909. The building is a near twin of 130 West 57th Street, built by the same developers.
Source: Wikipedia
1944
The studio building is converted to rental apartments
The building was converted to rental apartments in 1944. When it changed hands the following year, it held 68 residential units and two stores. Tenants during its earlier years included the opera singer Beniamino Gigli.
Source: Wikipedia
1991
Planet Hollywood opens at the building's base
Planet Hollywood opened a restaurant at the base of 140 West 57th Street in 1991, and it shared the street frontage with a Motown Cafe and a Planet Hollywood merchandise shop. The Planet Hollywood closed by late 2000, when the restaurant relocated to Times Square.
Source: Wikipedia
1999
The city designates the building a landmark
New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission designated 140 West 57th Street a landmark in 1999. Macklowe Properties, which had bought the building in 1981, wanted offices there and bought out the last residents between 1995 and 1998.
Source: Wikipedia

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