THEN

This large store and loft building was constructed in at least two phases. While the five-story section at the corner of East 87th Street dates to the 1880s, the six-story addition dates to 1910. The latter structure, designed by William Tuthill, architect of Carnegie Hall, displays classical elements on the upper floors. Sometimes called the Greenwald Building, for the owner who operated a dry goods store here, it was later leased to the S. S. Kresge department store, a predecessor to the once ubiquitous Kmart chain. Upstairs, the building housed a varied roster of early 20th century firms, such as Colonial Tobacco, a cigar and cigarette manufacturer associated with Philip Morris & Company, and Yerkes Manufacturing, which marketed sound effect devices to accompany silent films.