B. Altman & Co. began as a family-run dry-goods shop in lower Manhattan. A successful new location in Sixth Avenue built the brand’s reputation, setting the conditions for the later, riskier leap to Fifth Avenue.

At that time, Fifth Avenue had little retail presence, and was an elite residential boulevard defined by mansions, churches, and high-society institutions. around 1900, B. Altman & Co. assembles a full Midtown block between Fifth and Madison, and builds a new flagship department store as a bold expansion.

Altman’s new store helps make Fifth Avenue into a major luxury-shopping corridor. Over the decades the store modernized interiors and adjusted the building, but the classic design and limestone façade stayed its defining feature.

NYC designates the building’s exterior a landmark. Soon after, B. Altman’s closed down, setting up the building’s next life.

The Madison Avenue portion of the building is bought by Benchmark Properties and a group of investors passionate about New York architecture that saw the potential in this wonderful building. Modernized and rebranded "The B. Altman Building", it now.... **missing**