Starrett-Lehigh Building ca. 1990

The Starrett-Lehigh Building on Manhattan's west-side waterfront stretches a full block between 26th and 27 th streets was the first Modern building of its scale in New York City. Designed by Architects Cory & Cory, in association with Yasuo Matsui and engineers Purdy & Henderson, the Starrett-Lehigh features long, horizontal layers punctuated by continuous glass windows and bands of red brick and concrete spandrels. Each floor was rented to a different tenant, including printers, doll makers, and clothing manufacturers with the promise of easy access to transportation. Along with its connection to the waterfront and a railway hub on the ground floor, the building allowed trucks to drive into the building on W. 27th Street and into elevators located in the central core, deliver their goods upstairs, then exit onto W. 26th Street.