Silk Building

The Silk Building is a historical building located at 14 East 4th Street in the NoHo neighborhood of New York City. It consists of 12 floors and is made up of 55 apartments. It takes up a whole city block on 4th Street and stretches between Broadway and Lafayette with entrances on both streets.

Built in 1912 as a factory for producing silk garments, it was converted into a condominium building in 1982. Since then, it was the residence of global stars such as Keith Richards, Cher and Britney Spears. Its penthouse is the most famous four-storey quadruplex in New York.

The Silk Building was designed by Clinton & Russel Architects in the Italian Renaissance style. Construction began in 1908 and was completed in 1912.

The building was initially constructed to be a factory space for workers producing silk garments. The only remaining traces of the factory are the two friezes in the lobby. The first, called Silk Textile Workers of New York, shows a silk manufacture with female workers performing various tasks. The second frieze, called Silk Production in China, shows how silk itself was traditionally produced in China.

At the time, many buildings in the neighborhood, such as the American Thread Building or the Spinning Wheel Building, contained clothing manufacturers. Over the decades, they have all been repurposed into office buildings or, as in the case of the Silk Building, into luxury residential buildings.

In 1982, the Silk Building was bought by David Walentas of Two Trees Management Company. He developed it into a condominium-style building with retail spaces, designed by Buttrick White & Burtis. The condominiums range from studios to four bedrooms with high-beamed ceilings. Many of the layouts are duplexes or triplexes.

An important event for the whole neighborhood was the leasing of the Silk Building's entire retail spaces to Tower Records in 1983. Their music store became a major destination store in New York, attracting rock musicians and other celebrities.

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