Our Times Square-gazing eyes popped when we strolled by 1552-1560 Broadway, the adjoining buildings on the northeast corner of West 46th Street where joint-venture partners SL Green and Jeff Sutton have leased 30,000 square-feet to sportswear retailer Express.
Plywood which had covered the corner for months is down at last, revealing a radiant restoration of the façade which had been buried for 13 years under tacky TGI Friday signs.
“We were diligent in bringing back what the Landmarks Preservation Commission wanted,” said SL Green senior VP Brett Herschenfeld. The agency’s oversight was required because 1552 Broadway – the four-story former I. Miller Building decorated with statues of Mary Pickford and other early 20th Century showbiz luminaries – is a designated city landmark.
The restoration included reburbishing the statues and the famous “The Show Folks’ Shoe Shop” engraving, repairing ruined limestone and marble, and burnishing long-invisible bronze window frames.
Herschenfeld wouldn’t say what the job cost, but to anyone who cares about Times Square’s history, it was worth whatever price.
The three-level Express store will open in spring 2014.