New York's Times

Several years ago, real estate attorney Belinda Schwartz was walking a client and his grandchildren through the offices at Herrick Feinstein in Midtown, showing them the collection of historical New York City artifacts the firm has curated since the late 1970s. Standing before an IRT ticket box from 1904, one of the grandchildren asked Schwartz the obvious: “Where’s the iPhone thing to just pay?” When it was explained how the IRT worked back then, the child motioned to the ancient box and asked, “‘Is that how you used to pay to get on the subway when you were my age?’

“And I’m like, ‘Thank you very much,’” she says with a knowing smile. “But it is iconic. It’s from an era that people today will never know.”

According to Schwartz, Herrick’s executive chair, and Barbaros M. Karaahmet, its chief operating partner, the firm’s collection includes 50-60 artifacts, including: a section of terracotta fresco from the Beach Pneumatic Transit, the first subway system constructed in the U.S.; iron ornamental shields representing different seals for the City of New York, made for the West Side Highway; and the original finial that sat atop the Woolworth Building, which was, in the early part of the 20th century, the highest point in Manhattan, and thus one of the highest man-made points in the world.

The two attorneys are each steeped in their own New York history. Karaahmet, who emigrated from Turkey, remembers the first time he rode the elevator in the building where he now works. “I came here to meet with a Turkish American lawyer who worked for Larry Kaye and Howard Spiegler literally a month after I started going to school at NYU,” he says. “The offices are beautiful, like you would see in the movies. … And now from my office window, I see the Empire State Building. It’s fascinating to me.”

Schwartz didn’t have to immigrate. She was born on the Upper West Side and currently resides on the Upper West Side. Asked if she moved around the city much, she nods. “Four blocks,” she says.

Even the building where Herrick is located, 2 Park Avenue, in the Murray Hill neighborhood, is historic. It was built between 1926 and 1928 and its lobby was designated an historic landmark in 2006. “You see tour groups come and look at the the lobby’s ceiling and arches,” says Schwartz. “It’s a nice segue for a firm like ours that has all these beautiful artifacts from other New York buildings.”

The firm’s offices are currently being moved to a new space in the building. “One of our missions has been to really figure out how to best incorporate these incredible artifacts into the design of our new space,” says Schwartz. “The ones we all love, the ones that really pop and that clients and visitors really care about, will be highlighted.”

Karaahmet says the renovation will be completed by April 2025. “We have lighting consultants who are going to help us highlight the collection,” he says. “All these pieces say ‘Story: New York.’”

Copper Lion’s Head, Fireman’s Fund Building, Circa 1922

It was removed from the building in 1983 to comply with the façade maintenance law. “All the office buildings that are going up, the apartment buildings, a lot of them are glass towers,” says Schwartz. “It’s a very different aesthetic now. I think what people find so intriguing about the collection is the artistry: how much effort and energy went into making things special.”

Harvard Club Squash Game Chalkboard, 1910

“That’s my favorite,” says Schwartz. “Most clients believe that it was a way of keeping track of which court has which case—but it has nothing to do with the court system. It has to do with squash courts. There’s also a crack in it. The story goes that somebody lost a game and punched the board in, but clients think, ‘Somebody lost a case.’”

IRT ticket box, 1904

When it cost a nickel. iPhone scanner not included.

Ride Board from Coney Island SteepleChase Park, circa 1905 (left)

“We also have different pieces from the rides,” says Karaahmet.

Empire State Building Model, Made of Ribbons and Spools of Thread (middle)

“A tenant in the Empire State Building put that together,” says Schwartz. “At some point they were emptying their space, and we were able to get it. They used their own spools of thread.”

Original Finial from Woolworth Building, 1913 (right)

From 1913 to 1930, the Woolworth Building was the tallest building in the world. “It had a Woolworth in its downstairs, so it was always known as the Woolworth Building,” says Schwartz. Ten years ago, its top half was converted to high-end condos. “We were involved in that transaction,” she says.