Since 1985, the elegant limestone building at the southwest corner of Sixth Avenue and 34th Street—originally the Herald Square home of Saks—has been sheathed behind ugly blue mirrored glass.
The store had a long history as Saks 34th Street; in the 1960s it became a Korvette’s and was most recently occupied by Daffy’s.
But during its current renovation into a new branch of retailer H&M,the lovely old department store came back into view.
A sharp-eyed Ephemeral reader noticed that some of the blue glass panels had been removed. There, a sliver of the facade finally got a chance to breathe and reveal itself to Herald Square.
Those windows look like they need a good scrubbing—that’s more than 80 years of 34th Street exhaust and grime up there! But it’s wonderful to see them in any condition after all this time hidden away.
[Thanks to Jeffrey P. for the “palimpsest moment” and photos.]
Tags: Building facades revealed NYC, defunct New York City Department Stores, department stores 34th Street, Gimbels and Saks Herald Square, Herald Square 1900, Old buildings renovation NYC, Saks Herald Square
October 18, 2014 at 7:01 am |
Nice post! It was “Daffy’s” not “Daffy Dan’s”
October 18, 2014 at 8:29 pm |
Thank you, fixed!
October 18, 2014 at 12:05 pm |
I guess it comes down to personal taste but I can’t imagine why anyone would want to cover that facade up? It’s a pleasure to the eye to take in the detail.
Great blog!
October 18, 2014 at 4:14 pm |
Thank you! I guess in the 1980s, it seemed like an architecturally forward-thinking move.
October 18, 2014 at 12:27 pm |
But will H&M be restoring it?
October 18, 2014 at 1:17 pm |
Amazing—I was just there last night, but missed the reveal in my efforts not to be mowed down by rush-hour commuters. I hope the old building can continue to breathe.
October 18, 2014 at 5:43 pm |
I saw the original facade peeking through on October 7th.
October 19, 2014 at 12:41 am |
does anyone know if the original facade will be restored?
October 19, 2014 at 8:59 pm |
[…] store is now set to become a massive H&M.[Ephemeral NY] – Christopher […]
October 19, 2014 at 10:50 pm |
The original facade was drastically altered in the 1960’s when Korvettes renovated and “modernized” the building after Saks 34th Street closed in 1965.
October 20, 2014 at 6:35 pm |
Why would anyone do this??? Would the same person (s) put aluminum siding on their brownstone??? It would be great if this building was returned to its original splendor but I’nm not holding my breath. Too sad! KLBazur
October 20, 2014 at 9:50 pm |
Not only will the old facade not be restored, it will be covered in LED signs. Google Herald Center.
October 21, 2014 at 12:53 am |
klbazur: Maybe you forgot but in the 80s that area was seedy and home to dominatrix clubs and Macy’s among urban decay. It wasn’t worth it then to renovate that facade back then.
October 21, 2014 at 1:29 am |
Just like the rest of the H&M stores. Another ugly, neon building on 34th street. Looks just awful.
October 23, 2014 at 1:00 pm |
[…] Image via Ephemeral New York […]
October 23, 2014 at 10:35 pm |
Actually, the blue glass is an improvement on the ugly old (dirty) opaque white with black exterior of Korvettes that looked oh-so-modern when I was growing up in the 70s. Would love it if they uncovered it completely!
May 16, 2016 at 7:57 pm |
Saks 34th moved to Massapequa, right? How long did it last in Massapequa? It was a unique store
August 8, 2016 at 8:36 am |
[…] of the old Saks facade came back into view last year during construction—a sweet site to […]