edward hatch, a partner in lord & taylor, and his grandson wilson hatch tucker decided to look for a new location for lord & taylor's headquarters in 1909. a site abutting the western sidewalk of fifth avenue, running from west 38th to 39th streets, was leased from the burton brothers in october 1912. the site measured on 38th street by deep, but excluded a holdout lot at the site's northwest corner, at 39th street. starrett & van vleck were announced as the architects, while the structure was erected by e. brooks & company inc. at the time, the store was planned to open at the beginning of 1914. the old home of john h. starin on the site was torn down at the end of 1912, and construction was well underway by the middle of the following year.