Located on a prime corner of Herald Square at the intersection of Sixth Avenue, Broadway and 34th Street, 2 Herald Square is one of the greatest shopping districts in New York City. Home to over 175 department stores, specialty shops, and national flagships, Herald Square offers a huge selection for every taste and budget, while Penn Station provides an abundance of transportation options including the subway, Amtrak and Path Train.
Originally known as the Marbridge Building, 2 Herald Square was completed in 1910 and is an excellent example of the commercial architecture of the period. The building was the work of Townsend, Steinle & Haskell, whose chief partner, Ralph S. Townsend, was the designer of the famous Kenilworth Apartments at West 76th Street and Central Park West. Praised by architectural historian Christopher Gray as “solid and attractive,” 2 Herald displays “the bold tactile quality” associated with Townsend’s practice. An application of the Beaux Arts style applied to a commercial project, the building’s chamfered corner addresses the bustling square below while grand cartouches and a handsomely detailed cornice lend a continental air.
2 Herald’s early tenants included the famed men’s department store Roger Peet, founded in the 1870s, who shared space with John McGraw, then owner of the New York Giants, who ran a popular billiards parlor in the building in co-ownership with Giants outfielder Mike Donlin. Other tenants included the New York office for the commission of San Diego’s Panama-California Exposition of 1915-1916. From the 1950s on, numerous footwear companies took up residence, to the extent that 2 Herald was the second biggest lessor to the industry citywide – after the Empire State Building, a block away.
Today, 2 Herald is a centerpiece of the dynamic neighborhood, augmented with new plantings and pedestrian areas which include a lively food cart scene. The hotels and hotspots of the chic NoMad District are steps away, and Madison Square and Bryant Park are both just a 15-minute walk. 2 Herald Square is an example of the past and present coming together to provide tenants with a full slate of building and neighborhood amenities.
