Summit Hotel and Crawford Clothes Building considered for designation. On March 29, 2005, Landmarks held a joint public hearing on two buildings designed by the modern architect Morris Lapidus: the 1961 sea-foam brick Summit Hotel at Lexington and East 51st Street and the 1948 Crawford Clothes Building, also known as the Paterson Silk building, at West 14th Street and University Place.

brothers Preston Robert and Laurence Tisch, following the success of his modern Florida hotels, designed a dramatic 21-story, S-curved slab facade hotel, clad in turquoise brick and green Italian tile. The S-curve shape, both dramatic and practical, permitted Lapidus to increase the hotel room count to 800 from the 500 projected from a traditional box design. When challenged about the dramatic shape and its bright interior following its opening, Lapidus responded, “Why be exotic in private.” The three-story Crawford Clothes store, one of Lapidus’ earliest distinguished works, was noted for the slanted center glass tower that separated its metal-screen and Roman brick facades. (read more…)