Main Facade Intact at Ladies\' Mile Landmark, but Damage Is Serious

David W. Dunlap/The New York Times The principal facade of the Hugh O'Neill department store on the Avenue of the Americas, between 20th and 21st Streets, was not damaged in the structural collapse.

News of a facade collapse on Tuesday at the former O'Neill & Company dry-goods emporium conjured images of significant architectural loss. This gleaming white facade on the Avenue of the Americas, from 20th to 21st Streets, is among the largest single expan ses of ornamental cast-iron in the city. Its signature elements - gold-colored beehive domes at each corner turret and Hugh O'Neill's name boldly inscribed in the pediment - make it especially memorable.

David W. Dunlap/The New York Times Zigzag cracks, some looking older, others looking new, are visible in the area above the column collapse.

A visit Friday morning to the 19th-century shopping district once known as Ladies' Mile brought quick reassurance. The principal facade appeared untouched. But the sense of relief was short-lived.

Troubling signs were evident in the brick facade on 20th Street. A grea t chunk was missing from the bottom of one of the westernmost columns. The horizontal beams connected with that column at the first-floor level seemed to incline slightly. Zigzag cracks were evident in the brickwork above. Some cracks had been patched, others looked new. It was as if the whole end of the wall had sagged just a bit.

During its inspection of the seven-story building on Thursday, the Buildings Department “found that a load-bearing column on the ground floor had collapsed, structurally compromising the building,” said Tony Sclafani, the associate commissioner for communications and public affairs. “As a result, the department issued a full vacate order to the building and a violation to the building owner for failing to maintain the building.”

Mr. Sclafani identified United American Land L.L.C. as the owner. (The company lists 655 Avenue of the Americas among its properties on i ts Web site.) A caller was told on Friday afternoon that none of the principals were in the office. A voice mail message left for one of the principals, Albert Laboz, had not been returned by Friday evening.

“The owner's contractor is in the process of installing shoring,” Mr. Sclafani said, “and the department has partially lifted the vacate order, allowing the store on the Sixth Avenue side of the building to reoccupy, along with the apartments on that wing of the building.”

“The cause of the collapse is still under investigation,” he said.

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The collapsed column on the 20th Street side of the O'Neill building, as it appeared on Wednesday morning.

O'Neill & Company was among the largest department stores on Ladies' Mile, between Union Square and Madison Square, in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Its building, designed by Mortimer C. Merritt, opened in 1887 and was subsequently expanded. The store closed in 1907 after merging with Adams Dry Goods. It sits in the Ladies' Mile Historic District, created in 1989. (Pages 366-70 of the official designation report, available as a PDF.)

After several intermediate incarnations, including a spell as the Elsevier Science Publishing Building, 655 Avenue of the Americas was converted into a condominium apartment house six years ago, when its domes - missing since the early 20th century - were restored. Construc tion work during the redevelopment caused damage to the small cemetery of Congregation Shearith Israel, around which the O'Neill building wraps like an L.

David W. Dunlap/The New York Times The damaged column, at left, as it appeared Friday morning. A protective sidewalk shed has been erected and workers are preparing to shore up the facade. “OEM” is the city's Office of Emergency Management.