The decorative details include urns at the ninth-story setback, garlands, and a mechanical penthouse with a pyramidal roof and a lantern.

689 Fifth Avenue was commissioned by iron and steel magnate Charles A. Gould, who died before the building's completion.

[3][4] Warren sought to soften the edges of the exterior with the curved corner, bronze ribbon sashes, and slightly pitched roof.

[21] The ground story originally contained a storefront made of black and white marble, which was designed by Mott B. Schmidt in 1929.

The southern storefront was renovated in 1939 with yellow marble cladding in place of the limestone pilasters,[19] as well as a large curved-glass window designed by Robert Carson.

[19] In the early 2010s, a replacement storefront with bronze-framed windows, limestone pilasters, and a granite water table was designed.

On both facades, pilasters separate the vertical bays of windows from the third story to the setbacks above either the ninth or eleventh floors.

[19] The upper section of the building is clad with buff-colored architectural terracotta,[19] which was manufactured by the Federal Terra Cotta Company.

[27] When the building had opened in 1927, it had five showroom floors, a second-floor rotunda with a fountain, and a 150-seat recital hall for the Aeolian Company.

[29] The space, leading to the main showroom, was a circular vestibule with a black marble floor and a coffered ceiling supported by pilasters.

[30] In February 1925, the site of the William Rockefeller house at Fifth Avenue and 54th Street was sold to Commodore Charles A. Gould,[31] a developer who had made his fortune in the steel and iron industry.

In April 1925, the media reported that instrument manufacturer Aeolian Company had signed a 63-year lease for much of the space in the building.

[28] The company's vice president William H. Alfring said that Aeolian officials had felt "a sentimental urge to return to Fifth Avenue".

[28][35] According to initial plans, the building was to be 12 stories tall, with a design in the "Francis I" style, and it was to contain a corner entrance and large show windows.

[36] The interior was to have instrument-display areas, recital hall, artists' room, music recording library, and offices for the Aeolian Company.

Warren and Wetmore officially submitted plans for the building in July 1925, with an expected cost of $1 million.

[41][42] According to the New York Herald Tribune, hundreds of spectators gathered at the nearby University Club and Saint Thomas Church.

[21] Early the next month, the Franklin Savings Bank placed a first mortgage loan of $1.8 million on the building.

It contained glass walls with jade green surrounds, as well as rooms for salon treatments, exercise, and tap dancing on each of the upper floors.

[52] In the 1920s, the new Aeolian Building hosted art exhibits such as a collection of works created by Albert, 4th duc de Broglie.

[51] The I. Miller & Sons storefront was damaged in 1949 when a motorist, experiencing a heart attack, crashed into the store and subsequently died.

[60] These included the Institute of Pacific Relations, which took two floors;[65] the Greater New York chapter of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis;[66] and the Fund for the Republic.

[51] In 1969, the building was purchased by the Arden-Esquire Realty Company,[69] a partnership headed by Larry Silverstein and Bernard H.

Larry Silverstein arranged for Elizabeth Arden Inc. and Aldo Gucci to share the costs of remodeling the storefronts.

The renovation was conducted by Weissberg Castro Associates, which used travertine marble and finely detailed stainless steel to harmonize with the character of the existing facade.

[70] According to Ernest Castro, one of the renovating architects, the building was probably the city's first to use finely detailed stainless steel decoration, as opposed to mechanically stamped panels.

[1] Yamaha Artist Services opened a piano salon on the third floor in 2004,[79][80] and fashion retailer Zara leased the corner storefront in 2005.

[81] Vornado proposed a renovation of the building's base in the early 2010s, a move that Manhattan Community Board 5 approved.

[89] According to the Real Estate Record and Guide, the building was a "graceful addition to the music and art center" around Fifth Avenue near 57th Street.

[90] When the storefront was renovated in 1939, architectural critic Lewis Mumford called it "the most satisfactory piece of remodeling" on the upper part of Fifth Avenue.