Arlen Realty & Development Corp.

Arlen Realty and Development was one of the largest supermarket developers in the country in the 1970s. It also known as the developer of some impressive buildings that dot the Manhattan skyline.

Arlen’s Olympic Tower was the first building erected under the city's Special Fifth Avenue Zoning District regulations that were enacted in 1971, Olympic Tower introduced major mixed-use towers and glass-curtain walls and reintroduced housing to midtown Fifth Avenue.

The 51-story building, located at the corner of 51st and 5th, contains 225 condominium apartments on its top 29 floors, more than 250,000 square feet of office space on floors 2 though 21 and retail space and a through-block public arcade at street level.

The special zoning district was designed to prevent the avenue's transformation "from an international boulevard into a street lined with anonymous office buildings." – which ironically is a pretty accurate description of this building – anonymous.

The building replaced the white marble, 12-story Best & Co. department store building. In the 19th Century, the site had been used as an orphanage by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese and was across the avenue from important Vanderbilt mansions.


Close Up of Vignette:




Certificate: Common Stock, issued in the 1970’s

Printer: Security-Columbian Bank Note Company

Dimensions: 8” (h) x 12” (w)

State: NY-New York

Subject Matter: Real Estate and Related

Vignette Topic(s): Allegorical Featured | Winged Wheel or Gear | Skyline Scene

Condition: Vertical fold lines, punch hole and pen cancels in the signature areas and body, and some toning and edge faults from age.