[4] It was demolished in 2004 to make room for an apartment tower,[5] a twenty- five story, 136 unit, luxury condominium designed by architect Einhorn Yaffee Prescott.
Its construction date was listed erroneously as 1912 and its design was falsely attributed as the work of a minor architectural firm.
[1] The absence of its elaborate cornice hurt its chances of gaining national historic landmark protection against demolition.
Robert Redlion, an engineer employed by the owner, submitted plans to repair ornamental cornice in October 1999.
One reason for leaving the area was its redevelopment as a locale in which theaters, restaurants, and hotels replaced older buildings.
They leased the building for a period of years to a single tenant, at first rumored to be Bustanoby Freres, which owned the Cafes des Beaux Arts at Sixth Avenue (Manhattan) and 40th Street.
[2] It was resolved in December 1910 that the Bustanoby Brothers,[11] Andre', Jacques,[12] and Louis[13] had acquired the Studebaker Building from the Crossett Realty Company, the Juilliard Estate, for a period of ninety-nine years.
[11] A 1933 New York Times article states that the Bustanoby brothers incorporated the Palace of Fine Arts with $1,500,000 capital in December 1910.
[10] The buyers were led by Jesse Froelich, the United States representative of Benz & Cie.[12] The building remained in the ownership of Mrs. A.D.
[14] When Helen Cossitt Juilliard died in April 1916, her one third interest in the Studebaker Building, $263,777, was listed as part of her fortune which totaled $3,273,505.
[15] The Bustanoby brothers retained the ground floor and basement for their restaurant, the Palais des Beaux Arts, planned to open in November 1911.
[10] While the edifice was being renovated for the restaurant, its roof was leased by a breakfast food company for $25,000 a year, with the intention of placing an electric sign there.
The ground floor and basement was leased to Morton & Keiser by Mark Rafalsky & Co. for twenty-one years for a price in excess of $1,000,000.