Commissioned in the mid-1950s by luxury auto importer Max Hoffman to market Jaguars, the 3,600-sf Hoffman Auto Showroom at 430 Park Avenue by Frank Lloyd Wright has been razed.
Opened in 1955, the showroom features Wright's signature organic style, with a spiraling ramp that circled a car display turntable. It served as the home for a Mercedes dealership from 1957 to 2012. Months after Mercedes vacated the space, the new owner of the building, Midwood Investment & Management and Oestreicher Properties, was granted a permit to demolish the space.
While the showroom had been altered over the years, including the installation of mirrors as part of a 1982 renovation, it remained quintessentially Frank Lloyd Wright, writes Hyperallergic's Allison Meier. In a post yesterday, Meier detailed the surprising demolition of the showroom.
Read Hyperallergic's report on the demolition of Frank Lloyd Wright showroom.
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