the third-floor balustrade on the store's facade may have been removed by 1967. in january 1976, it was announced that five of the building's floors, including the main floor, would be remodeled with mirrored glass on the columns and walls, as well as travertine sales counters. the renovation was completed that september, at which point lord & taylor ceo joseph e. brooks announced that the branches would receive similar renovations. starting in 1979 during the iran hostage crisis, the store played the star-spangled banner, the u.s. national anthem, each morning before opening. the tradition, which continued until the store's closure in 2019, was implemented because lord & taylor's chairman at the time wanted to send the message that the u.s. was "the greatest country in the world". lord & taylor's parent company signed a lease for the dreicer building, the "holdout" building at fifth avenue and 39th street, in 1986. the store was later expanded into the dreicer building. new windows were added in 2003.