Historic 
preservationists will rally Wednesday at the Demarest Building on 5th Avenue in Manhattan in hopes of saving the commercial building built to showcase carriages from demolition.
Th 1890 structure, designed by noted architect James Renwick (Renwick, Aspinwall & Russell), is located across from the Empire State Building at the northeast corner at Fifth Avenue and 33rd Street. It is believed to have been home to the world’s first electric elevator. An announcement of the rally said the building was “an important piece of New York and American history and architecture which should be saved.”
The Demarest building Beaux-Arts architecture is said to resemble Carnegie Hall. It was located directly across the street from William Waldorf Astor’s mansion, where the Waldorf–Astoria hotels were later built. The Demarest building housed the high-end carriage manufacturer A. T. Demarest & Company. The iron-framed building is four stories high with three-story arched openings with to illuminate the interior showrooms. The building was later converted to offices and work areas for small manufacturers.
Opponents of the building’s demolition will meet Wednesday, December 18, 2019, at 10:30 am at the building, at 339 5th Avenue (at 33rd) in New York. Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer and New York City Council Member Keith Powers are expected to attend.
The rally is being organized by the 29th St. Neighborhood Association, Village Preservation, Historic Districts Council and Victorian Society NYC. Their is also a petition, which can be found here.
You can read more about the fight ot save the Demarest Building here.
Photos: Above, the Demarest Building (provided by the Historic Districts Council); and below, a circa 1891 gelatinous print of the building.
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