647 Fifth Avenue, originally known as the George W. Vanderbilt Residence, is a commercial building in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City.

The first floor has arched openings topped by a balustrade, while the second and third stories contain fluted pilasters supporting an entablature.

The southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street was planned as a hotel in the early 1900s after the Roman Catholic Asylum vacated the site.

Other nearby buildings include 650 Fifth Avenue to the west, 660 Fifth Avenue to the northwest, Austrian Cultural Forum New York to the north, 12 East 53rd Street and Omni Berkshire Place to the northeast, St. Patrick's Cathedral to the south, and the International Building of Rockefeller Center to the southwest.

The second story had the airline's reservations area, which displayed flight information, as well as an 80-seat showroom that demonstrated in-flight travel equipment.

[30] When the building was renovated for fashion company Versace in the late 1990s, the stairway on the south side of 647 Fifth Avenue was restored.

The private boutique was intended as a VIP fitting room and could only be reached by turning a key in the elevator.

[35] A group of developers led by Stewart H. Chisholm bought the southeast corner lot at 52nd Street and Fifth Avenue, measuring 100 by 125 feet (30 by 38 m), from Flake & Dowling in early 1901.

[36] That October, Chisholm's syndicate filed plans for an 18-story apartment hotel, designed by William C. Hazlett, to be built on that site.

[38] The corporation was acting on behalf of the Vanderbilt family, which did not want to see a high-rise hotel development opposite their houses.

[9][10][40] The Vanderbilts sold the northern section of the plot, facing 52nd Street and measuring 50 by 100 feet (15 by 30 m), to financier Morton F. Plant.

[10][40] In September 1902, George W. Vanderbilt announced plans for marble townhouses at 645 and 647 Fifth Avenue on the southern section of the site, measuring 75 by 100 feet (23 by 30 m).

[44] The Real Estate Record and Guide said that the Vanderbilt houses would "will long act as an absolute barrier" against further business development on Fifth Avenue above 50th Street.

[20][49] The Goelet home was used for events: in 1910, they hosted a sixty-person dinner and a George Bernard Shaw play,[50] and in 1912, they held an "Oriental"-themed party.

[51] Fifth Avenue was widened in 1911, and the marble steps in front of Goelet's and Field's houses had to be cut back.

[58] According to the Real Estate Record and Guide, these sales marked "another step in the transition of this section of Fifth avenue from the residential to the business stage".

As a term of the sale, Wildenstein & Co. would be allowed to remain in the house until 1932, after which Cartier planned to either renovate or replace the building with a commercial structure.

[71][72] In 1937, Wallace K. Harrison and J. André Fouilhoux filed plans for a renovation of the facade, a new mezzanine, and new elevators to cost $125,000.

[29] After the renovation, the American Express Company leased space in June 1939[74] and opened its offices that October, taking up the basement through the second story.

[79] The second floor was rented to tailors James W. Bell & Co. in 1942,[80] and costumer Harry Collins leased space at the building the same year.

[83] 645 Fifth Avenue, along with the clubhouse of the Union Club and the residence at 3 East 51st Street to the south, were to be demolished and replaced with a taller structure.

The buyer, who reportedly paid for the buildings in cash, held the properties as an investment and continued leasing 647 Fifth Avenue to American Express.

[95] Aristotle Onassis, the president of Olympic Airways, established a family trust called Victory Development in March 1970.

Victory formed a joint venture with Arlen Realty & Development Corporation to acquire Best's store, 647 Fifth Avenue, and the Cartier Building.

[98] As part of the Olympic Tower's construction, a pedestrian plaza was built east of 647 Fifth Avenue and the Cartier Building.

[99] Olympic Airways initially intended to renovate 647 Fifth Avenue with a glass facade similar to that of the tower.

[100] Architectural critic Ada Louise Huxtable described the plan as an "undesirable change" and said the Olympic Tower's architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) "have obviously never heard of the Let-It-Alone Club".

In February 1995, fashion designer Gianni Versace leased 647 Fifth Avenue for 20 years on behalf of his company.

Rocco Magnoli and Lorenzo Carmellini, two architects with Laboratio Associati, used historic photos of the house to recreate its original appearance.

[16] The Versace store opened in October 1996 with a party attended by celebrities such as Sheryl Crow and Jon Bon Jovi.