Knox Building
452 5th Avenue | Midtown | built 1902
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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.
- 1901
Edward Knox buys the Kip mansion on the corner for $450,000 and hires John Duncan
In April 1901 Edward Knox took title to the Lawrence Kip mansion on the Fifth Avenue corner at 40th Street, a house that had stood there since the mid-nineteenth century and was later replaced by the Knox Building. The press named the Central Realty, Bond and Trust Company as buyer, but it was acting for Knox, and the price was $450,000. Knox first hired John Duncan to remodel the old mansion for business use, and at the end of the next month Duncan filed plans for a new ten-story building.
“Knox received title to the site that April for $450,000, and he hired John Duncan to extend and remodel the old Kip mansion for commercial use.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1902
John H. Duncan completes the Beaux-Arts Knox Building
Hatmaker Edward M. Knox bought the corner site at Fifth Avenue and 40th Street, formerly Colonel Lawrence Kip's mansion, in 1901 for $450,000. Architect John H. Duncan completed a ten-story Beaux-Arts building for him in October 1902, topped with a two-story mansard roof and copper torch-and-anthemion cresting.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1902
The Knox Hat Company sells to a clientele that includes presidents
The Knox Hat Store occupied the ground floor and mezzanine, while the Knox Hat Manufacturing Company and E.M. Knox Hat Retail Company filled the upper-floor offices alongside other businesses. The firm was the premier name in hats in New York, and United States presidents counted among its customers.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1903
Knox splits his hat business into separate manufacturing and retail companies
In 1903 Edward Knox split the firm in two, creating the Knox Hat Manufacturing Company and the E. M. Knox Hat Retail Company. The building housed the offices of both firms and the main retail shop, while other offices were rented to outside businesses. The Landmarks Preservation Commission notes that Knox kept ownership of the building until his death.
“In 1903 he had split the company into the Knox Hat Manufacturing Company and the E.M. Knox Hat Retail Company.”
- 1916
Edward Knox dies, and his will remembers his employees
Edward Knox died in 1916 at age 75. His New York Times obituary dwelled on his military career and mentioned his hat business only briefly, as a leader in the industry. His will left sums from $1,000 to $20,000 to employees, among them store cashier Catherine Maher, with the largest amounts going to two old and faithful workers.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1918
The Republican National Committee rents space in the Knox Building
In 1918 the Republican National Committee leased space in the Knox Building but moved out after eighteen months. Other office and shop tenants during the 1900s and 1910s included photographer Percy D. Brewster, a store run by Louise Lewis, the Town Topics Publishing Company and architect George K. Thompson.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1966
Republic National Bank moves into the former hat headquarters
Knox's heirs sold the building in 1964 to a group that established Republic National Bank there. Architects Kahn & Jacobs renovated the interior while preserving the historic facade, and the bank's new space formally opened in January 1966.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1980
The Landmarks Commission designates the Knox Building after a hearing with one objector
The Landmarks Preservation Commission held its hearing on September 11, 1979, where three witnesses spoke in favor of designating the Knox Building and one spoke against. On September 23, 1980, it designated the building a city landmark, naming it among the best Beaux-Arts commercial buildings in the city. The commission praised Duncan for carrying motifs from his residential work over to a large commercial building.
“Three witnesses spoke in favor of designation. There was one speaker in opposition to designation.”
- 1985
A modern bank tower rises around the preserved Knox facade
New York City designated the Knox Building a landmark in 1980, and it joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Architects Attia & Perkins wrapped the Republic National Bank's new headquarters tower, later renamed for HSBC, around the preserved Knox Building when construction finished in 1985, creating a hybrid of historic and modern architecture.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2022
A planned $855 million sale of 452 Fifth Avenue collapses and the owner keeps a $30 million deposit
In December 2021 Andrew Chung of the Innovo Property Group said he would buy the building, which includes the Knox Building, for $855 million, with closing set for May 2022. That month HSBC announced it would move to the Spiral at Hudson Yards in January 2024. Chung, who had put down $30 million, could not raise $200 million by the deadline, so the deal fell through. Owner PBC kept the deposit and refinanced with a $385 million JPMorgan loan.
“Chung had put down $30 million for the purchase but was not able to raise $200 million before the deadline.”
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- 452 Fifth AvenueWikipedia
- The 1902 Knox Hat Building - 452 Fifth AvenueDaytonian in Manhattan
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