Demarest Building

The Demarest Building, located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Thirty-third Street, holds a unique place in history as the first building in the world to be equipped with an electric passenger elevator. Completed in eighteen eighty-nine, this four-story structure was designed by the architectural firm Renwick, Aspinwall and Russell, who were successors to James Renwick Jr., the architect of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. The building was commissioned by A. T. Demarest and Company, a luxury carriage manufacturer, to serve as a high-end showroom where potential buyers could view fine carriages displayed behind the structure's massive, multi-story arched windows.