361-363 Seventh Ave
1930-31, Emery Roth

Built by developer Louis Kleban, this 22-story brick structure housed offices and showrooms for manufacturers during most of the 20th century, especially those associated with the fur industry. Additionally, publishing companies and educational institutions were among its first tenants. This included the School of Jewish Woman, endorsed by Prof. Albert Einstein in 1933. The ground floor housed a restaurant, and was converted to a retail store in the 1970s. The design has Art Deco and Gothic influences, with a series of setbacks capped with geometric stone decorations. The entrances on the ground floor are framed by fluted pilasters with carved panels that feature foliate designs. It was the work of renowned architect Emery Roth, who began his career in Chicago and moved to New York after meeting Richard Morris Hunt at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. Roth soon established his own firm, developing some of the most influential examples of residential architecture in Beaux Arts style.