The architectural firm of Starrett & van Vleck specialized in the design of early 20th century department stores primarily in New York City. The partner Goldwin Starrett had worked for four years in the Chicago office of Daniel Burnham. Included in their designs were the New York City flagship stores of Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, Abraham & Straus, and Alexander's. The Lord and Taylor store, located on Fifth Avenue between 38th and 39th streets, was completed in 1914 and was Starrett & van Vleck’s first major department store. In December 2007, the store was named a New York City landmark.[1]
Starrett & van Vleck was also responsible for the design of the New York City landmarks 21 West Street (1929), Everett Building (1908), American Stock Exchange (1921), and Downtown Athletic Club (1930).[2] Between 1937 and 1948, they designed the downtown flagship store of the J. N. Adam & Co. in Buffalo, New York, which is currently threatened with demolition.[3] It is located in the J.N. Adam-AM&A Historic District. Starrett & van Vleck, credits also include the flagship store of Washington, D.C.'s Garfinckel's. The latter was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
In Pittsburgh, Starrett & van Vleck was responsible for the design of the downtown flagship of the Gimbels Department Store which was built in 1914 at 339 Sixth Avenue. After Gimbels went out of business in the late 1980's, the building was renamed the Heinz 57 Center. It was added to the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation as a Historic Landmark in 1987.