{"nrhp_refnum":"82003381","name":"Knox Building","other_names":["Republic National Bank Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"452 5th Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.75224759300005,"lon":-73.98203644399996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-06-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A ten-story Beaux-Arts commercial office and retail building at 452 Fifth Avenue, on the southwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 40th Street in Manhattan, opposite the New York Public Library. It was built in 1901-02 for the Knox Hat Company to designs by John H. Duncan.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it one of the finest Beaux-Arts commercial buildings in New York City, designed by the notable architect John H. Duncan. Its position opposite the Public Library shows the design to full advantage. It also recalls the Knox Hat Company and its prominent place among Fifth Avenue retailers at the turn of the century.","narrative":"Rising ten stories at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 40th Street, this Manhattan building was constructed in 1901-02 as the headquarters of the Knox Hat Company. Colonel Edward M. Knox bought the corner lot and hired architect John H. Duncan, who had also designed the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch in Brooklyn and Grant's Tomb. Duncan applied features familiar from his residential work, including a fully rusticated facade, large-scale ornament and a two-story mansard roof crowned with torch and eagle cresting. The design also served as an advertisement for the hat company. The building housed the company's offices and main retail store, with other space leased to businesses. It was converted in 1964-65 by Kahn & Jacobs for Republic National Bank, when the mezzanine was removed and the ground floor was fitted with plate glass. The upper facade remains largely intact, and its site opposite the New York Public Library gives the Beaux-Arts design a prominent setting.","period_of_significance":"1901-02","architect_builder":"John H. Duncan","architectural_style":"Beaux-Arts","criteria":[],"status_note":"Altered in 1964-65 for use as the headquarters of Republic National Bank; the exterior retains a high degree of integrity and the condition is marked good. The owner is listed as Republic National Bank.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:42.876573-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/82003381.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003381/4442c8b857-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003381/4442c8b857-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Americasroof at English Wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Knox-building.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Americasroof at English Wikipedia</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Knox-building.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319670","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5818159"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/knox-building-82003381/"}