At the turn of the 19th century, architect Alfred Drucker designed 495 Broadway to showcase the best of Art Nouveau Style, characterized by its two-story copper fronted mansard, three large cast iron columns with iron ornamentation, and loft-like vast interiors.

Although its lofts were originally used by the New Era Printing Company, the building was soon occupied by the Butler Brothers, founded as an early mail-order business. The firm was selling to about 100,000 customers when it moved into The New Era Building, and in the subsequent 30 years, became one of the largest wholesalers in the country. From the 1960s to the late 1980s, the building was used for textile warehousing and packing. As SoHo’s popularity grew among artists and then the mainstream alike, the building became ever more attractive to other uses, becoming a home for those in marketing, technology, and fashion. After significant building upgrades, continuing with a renovation to the façade and interiors, 495 Broadway is be better today than new, but still paying tribute to its past.